11 win seasons, 11-0 starts

Submitted by Vasav on November 19th, 2022 at 5:22 PM

Today's win secures Michigan's second straight 11 win season. The last time that happened was in 1905...but from 1906-1968, Michigan didn't play 11 games in a season. This is our first 11-0 start since 2006, when we lost the last 2, and the second since 1997, where we won the 12th.

Since 1968, M had 11+ wins in '71, '86, '97, '11, and '21. And now 2022. 12 win seasons have numbered exactly 3 - 1905, 1997, and 2021. But a similar caveat applies, as it was impossible to win 12 from 1906-1974.

Nevertheless, winning 10 of the first 11 games in two straight seasons is something Michigan last did in 1974. This win was ugly, the ugliest of the season, against a good team. But this 2 year run is the best that Michigan has had since Bo's earliest days. Enjoy it.

Go Blue. Beat Ohio.

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stephenrjking

November 19th, 2022 at 5:30 PM ^

I thought ‘86 was a mistake, but then I remembered that we played that post-OSU game at Hawaii.

1986 may or may not have come to mind at certain points of today. Ricky Foggy. Ugh. 

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BlueMk1690

November 19th, 2022 at 5:43 PM ^

Honestly, it's clear that we should appreciate the results of the last 2 seasons. Especially given how bad some of the stretches in the 00s and 10s were or even how bad 2020 was.

However, I will say that this year the schedule has aligned so perfectly well to make for a smooth ride to 11-0 it's probably the most fortuitous setup I've seen in over 20 years of Michigan fandom. A soft non-conference schedule without a heavyweight opponent (or a road game for that matter), a Big Ten schedule that serves us with the following road games up to this point: Indiana, Rutgers, offense-less Iowa. Only one good opponent overall - Penn St - who we get at home.

Basically this schedule lacks any of the elements that in previous good seasons would trip us up: a good Notre Dame team on the road, a trip out West to face a Pac team, a neutral site game against a powerhouse, difficult night road games vs amped up, dangerous Iowa/Wisconsin/PSU, a trip to East Lansing. A Michigan team doing its job absolutely should be 11-0 at this point. It does not in any way mean this is a super team or even better than say the 2016 team. I think with this schedule we would have been 11-0 in a few seasons under Harbaugh, Carr, Bo. The fact that list is missing the two guys between Carr and Harbaugh is of course an indication that we should definitely not take it for granted because even being a good Michigan team isn't a thing that just happens by accident. A lot of good work had to go into it. But let's keep it in perspective.

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Vasav

November 19th, 2022 at 10:41 PM ^

The 1974 season featured 1 ranked Big Ten win (#12 MSU, 7-3-1/6-1-1) and out of conference wins over 5-6 Colorado, 4-7 Navy and 5-4 Stanford. They also had an escape over 7-4 Wisconsin. Yes, this OOC schedule is worse but...11 wins is 11 wins. Scholarships limits exist. This two year run is historically excellent, and this season included.

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jmblue

November 19th, 2022 at 6:15 PM ^

But a similar caveat applies, as it was impossible to win 12 from 1906-1974.

Nitpicking - that should be 1906-1970.  From 1971 on we played 11-game regular seasons.

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