1997 Michigan Football Team Photo

Michigan Football: 1997 National Champion

The 1997 University of Michigan football team claimed the program's 11th national title with a perfect 12-0 season that was capped by a 21-16 Rose Bowl victory over Washington State. U-M finished the season undefeated and untied for the first time since the 1948 national championship season.

Michigan earned the Associated Press national championship trophy as the No. 1-ranked team in the final AP poll. The Wolverines also received the MacArthur Bowl as the nation's most outstanding football team from the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame, and the Football Writers Association of America awarded U-M the Grantland Rice Trophy, the second oldest national championship trophy.

The Wolverines finished the season with a flourish, taking down six ranked opponents over their last seven games. A resounding 34-8 win at No. 3 Penn State on Nov. 8 jumped U-M three spots to No. 1 in the AP poll, and they followed with victories over No. 23 Wisconsin and No. 4 Ohio State to claim the Big Ten title outright before vanquishing No. 8 Washington State in the Rose Bowl.

At the Rose Bowl, the Wolverines' No. 1-ranked defense held the high-powered Cougars' offense to their lowest scoring output of the season. Dhani Jones recorded two sacks and a team-high 10 tackles, and Charles Woodson collected an end-zone interception and tied a Rose Bowl record with four pass breakups. Offensively, quarterback Brian Griese was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game after throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns. Tai Streets caught four passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns, and Chris Howard gained 70 yards rushing on 19 carries.

Woodson became the first primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy and earned unanimous All-America honors during the 1997 season. He also claimed the Walter Camp Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award and Jim Thorpe Award. Woodson was selected by his teammates as the Bo Schembechler MVP of the 1997 football team, and the conference coaches voted him recipient of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's MVP.

Michigan's dominant defense allowed a mere 114 points (9.5 per game) in the 1997 season, with one shutout, three games of three points allowed, and three more single-digit defensive efforts (6, 7 and 8 points against). Only Iowa (24 points) managed to score more than 16 points against the Wolverines.

Head coach Lloyd Carr leads to Wolverines onto the field at the Rose Bowl