Michigan’s current national championship drought spanning more than two decades is fairly hard to believe. The Wolverines are the winningest program in college football history and were one of the first schools to attain “blue blood” status in college football.
Michigan dominated nearly the entire first century of the sport, being awarded a share of the national title 16 times — of which it claims 11. However, since 1947, the Wolverines have only reached the sport’s mountaintop once.
That came in 1997 under former coach Lloyd Carr. With a team led by Heisman Trophy-winner Charles Woodson — the last defensive player to win the Heisman — Carr guided Michigan to a perfect record and Big Ten title in his third season in Ann Arbor.
This was in the final season of the Bowl Alliance — the predecessor to the BCS — and the Wolverines were contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl. They defeated Ryan Leaf and Washington State 21-16, finishing as the No. 1 team in the AP Poll.
However, Michigan had to share the national title with Nebraska, which was voted into the top spot of the Coaches Poll after crushing No. 3 Tennessee in the Orange Bowl the following day.
Michigan was one of the first college football powerhouses in the country, winning titles in 1901-04, 1918, 1923, 1932-33 and 1947-48 in addition to its most recent championship. But Carr never matched that 1997 season, despite a successful tenure, and none of the three coaches who followed him have come particularly close.
Current coach Jim Harbaugh has an impressive record in Ann Arbor, but his first Big Ten title came in 2021, as did his first appearance in the College Football Playoff.
