BO

Submitted by KennyHiggins on

On the 11th anniversary of the great man's death, I know his spirit is with us as The Team goes to Madison.  Let's bring the smashmouth manball game as we celebrate Bo's 18-1 record as a coach against Wisconsin.

TrumpTrain

November 17th, 2017 at 2:13 PM ^

It's time, in year 3, for this team to rise up and win a game they shouldn't win. Let's do it for BO and return Wisconsin to their rightful place. Go Blue.

gremlin3

November 17th, 2017 at 2:20 PM ^

When was his lone loss?  When we were ranked #1 in the country, naturally.

Not criticizing, just sayin'.  As Bo himself stated, "the good Lord looked down on me and said, if you won those, too, you'd be impossible to live with."

Don

November 17th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^

It's not a coincidence that the three losses Bo had while ranked #1 all occurred on the road.

What's ironic about that loss up in Madison in 1981 is that the very next week Michigan played the new #1 team in the country, Notre Dame, led by first-year coach Gerry Faust. Michigan beat them 25-7 and the game wasn't that close.

It's also not a coincidence that Bo's own most famous victory over a #1 team occured at home, along with the other home victory against a #1 team, Miami FL in 1984.

 

Wave83

November 17th, 2017 at 3:50 PM ^

I distinctly remember the 1981 loss.  It was the opening game away on a Saturday afternoon (of course).  Back then, most games were not televised.  It was not unusual back then for us not to be following the game live.  Besides, it was against Wisconsin.

Instead, I was in the upper deck bleachers of Tiger Stadium with two friends from UM watching a sun-drenched doubleheader. 

When the final score of Michigan's loss to Wisconsin was announced by the public address announcer, it was a total shock.  As you said, Michigan was number 1 in the country, but more to the point we were playing Wisconsin.  To put it another way, we were playing a Big Ten team that was not Ohio State.  Wins were not always guaranteed, but they were assumed.

Great points about the difficulty playing on the road.

yzerman19

November 17th, 2017 at 2:25 PM ^

loved the 18, but the 1 i still remember to this day.  ranked number one to start the season with AC.  Ouch.  Did hamblast Gary Moeller and ND the next week.  Went with my dad.  Cool story.

WolverineHistorian

November 17th, 2017 at 4:06 PM ^

That Notre Dame game is a good one to watch. The scoring started with us backed up facing a 3rd down and 22. Steve Smith just throws up a bomb and hits Carter in stride for a 71 yard touchdown. The Big House crowd is amazing. (I think the astroturf field really helped magnify the crowd noise in the 80's).

#1 Notre Dame goes down 25-7. The score could have been so much worse but some turnovers left some points on the field.

M-Dog

November 17th, 2017 at 6:28 PM ^

I think the astroturf field really helped magnify the crowd noise in the 80's

Yes it did.  That astroturf was also at surface level (the field had not been lowered yet).

Sound reflects back up off of a hard flat surface . . . such as our field-level astroturf at the time.

You never heard any of that stuff about Michigan Stadium being a quiet place to play before they lowered the field and put in the soft grass.

When Harbaugh hit Kolesar in '85 for the touchdown to beat Ohio State, it was the loudest I have ever heard it, before or since.  There was nothing quiet about the place.

 

Michigan4Harbaugh

November 17th, 2017 at 5:09 PM ^

When the ol' season is over, it's going to be MICHIGAN, again! MICHIGAN! Bo was truly MICHIGAN, through and through.

LSAClassOf2000

November 17th, 2017 at 3:49 PM ^

On Twitter, there was some reminscing about where everyone was when Bo passed, and at least for this fanbase, it is remarkable how many of us remember the day well, proof that he held a very special place in our collective Michigan heart. 

 

SGBlue

November 17th, 2017 at 4:58 PM ^

One of my high school/U of M buddies sent several of us an e-mail that morning, saying that he had heard from a friend at Providence that Bo had been brought there and it didn't look good. Talk about changing the mood from rabid anticipation for The Game of The Century the next day to one which was much more crestfallen.

I was lucky enough to attend one of his high school football camps in the late '70s, and he was the real deal, as a person and as a leader. M football hasn't felt the same since...time to change that!