The Wolverines may have started slowly in 1980, but
by October, nobody was able to stop them. Beginning
with the Illinois game on October 25, Michigan put
together a streak of 15 consecutive scoreless quarters,
shutout Indiana, Wisconsin, and Purdue, won the
Big Ten title outright for the first time since 1971,
and took a string of 18 straight quarters without
allowing a touchdown into the Rose Bowl to face the
Washington Huskies.
The Huskies compiled more total yards against the Michigan
defense, 374, than any team had all season, but the
Wolverines continued their consecutive no-touchdown
string, and Bo Schembechler won his first Rose Bowl
in six tries.
Washington dominated the game early, and on its second
drive, the Huskies reached the Michigan one-yard line.
But the Wolverines then stonewalled tailback Toussiant
Tyler on fourth down and took the momentum from Washington.
Butch Woolfolk put Michigan in the lead with a six-yard
TD burst near halftime, and despite Chuck Nelson’s
two field goals, the Wolverines remained in command
the rest of the way.
Ali Haji-Sheikh’s 25-yard field goal capped a
six-minute, 83-yard drive to open the second half. John
Wangler connected with Anthony Carter for a seven-yard
score,
widening the Michigan margin to 17-6 with three minutes
remaining in the third quarter. From there, the Wolverine
defense took over with Keith Bostic forcing an interception
and limiting the Huskies to 23 yards in total offense
until the game’s final minutes. Michigan clinched
the victory on Stan Edwards’ one-yard TD dive
with
four minutes remaining in the game to provide the final
margin.
Butch Woolfolk’s 182 yards rushing earned him
game MVP honors, while Don Bracken’s 73- yard
punt in the first quarter set a Rose Bowl record. The
season that
had looked so bleak after a 1-2 beginning thus concluded
with nine straight ‘M’ wins.
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SCORING
Second Quarter
W Nelson, 35-yard field goal
M Woolfolk, 6-yard run (Haji- Sheikh kick)
W Nelson, 26-yard field goal
Third Quarter
M Haji-Sheikh, 25-yard field goal
M Carter, 7-yard pass from
Wangler (Haji-Sheikh kick)
Fourth Quarter
M Edwards, 1-yard run (kick failed)
Team Stats UM UW
First Downs 23 20
Net Yards Rushing 292 92
Net Yards Passing 145 282
Total Plays 80 69
Total Yards 437 374
PA/PC/Int 20/12/0 39/23/2
Punts/Avg. 6/47.3 5/39.2
Return Yards 22 120
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 2/1
Penalties/Yards 3/37 5/32
Rushing— (M): Woolfolk 26-182; Edwards 19-68;
Carter 4-33; Ricks 6-21;
(W):Stevens 17-59; Tyler 10-45
Passing— (M): Wangler 12-20-145; (W): Flick 23-39-282
Receiving— (M): Carter 5-68; Betts 3-21; Mitchell 2-36;
(W): Allen 6-101; Bayle6-45; Skansi 4-61; Stevens 3-16
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