Week 1: Wisconsin Michigan opened the season on September 11, 1976, with a 40–27 victory over Wisconsin. Michigan scored two points on a safety on the second play from scrimmage as Wisconsin running back Mike Morgan fumbled the handoff on a reverse play and the ball rolled out of the end zone.
Harlan Huckleby then extended the lead to 9-0 with a 56-yard touchdown run on Michigan's third play from scrimmage. Michigan led the game 23–0 at the end of the first quarter and held on for a 40–27 win. Team captain
Rob Lytle gained 76 yards on 16 attempts, but also fumbled three times. and Wisconsin's 426 yards of offense was the most allowed by Michigan since before
Bo Schembechler took over as head coach. After the game, Schembechler told the press: "Twenty seven points that's what we usually give up in the first half of the season. I wasn't happy with the movement, I wasn't happy with the pursuit, I wasn't happy with the tackling, I wasn't happy with the playing of the ball in the secondary and I wasn't happy with the heat we put on the passer."
Week 2: Stanford On September 18, 1976, Michigan played
Stanford at
Michigan Stadium. Michigan and Stanford had played to a 19–19 tie in 1975, and the Associated Press picked the rematch as its "Upset Special of the Week", predicting a Stanford win by a 24–20 score. Instead, Michigan defeated Stanford by a score of 51–0. Three Michigan running backs rushed for at least 100 yards in the game.
Harlan Huckleby led the group with 160 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
Russell Davis added 115 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries, including an 85-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Rob Lytle had 101 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Rick Leach completed only two of eight passes for 15 yards, but added 70 rushing yards and a touchdown on seven carries. One of Leach's completions went three yards to tight end Gene Johnson for a touchdown in the third quarter. In total, the Wolverines gained 531 rushing yards against the Cardinal. On defense, Michigan intercepted three Stanford passes.
Calvin O'Neal led the team with 11 total tackles. On the Wednesday before the Stanford game, the #1-ranked Michigan team received a visit from President
Gerald Ford. Ford, who was the most valuable player of the
1934 Michigan Wolverines football team, spent time with team during a practice session and later ate with the team. Ford noted, "They're an awful lot bigger today. Not only are they bigger but they're better." Split end Curt Stephenson later recalled the dinner:"A tray appeared with a big New York steak in front of the President. . . . What happened next is kind of a blur. President Ford started to choke and the secret service started to circle the table. I don't know why, but in one immediate action, I reached back and gave him a good whack on the back. A hunk of beef flew out and across the table. The President turned to me and said, 'Thanks'. . . . From that point on, there were about six agents who were giving me eagle eyes." Later that day, Ford formally opened his reelection campaign with a speech to a boisterous crowd of 14,000 at
Crisler Arena.
Week 3: Navy On September 25, 1976, Michigan faced
Navy at
Michigan Stadium. Two days before the game, the schools' most famous alumni (
Gerald Ford of Michigan and
Jimmy Carter of the Naval Academy) faced off in a presidential debate. The Associated Press reported that a survey of registered voters gave Ford a slight edge over Carter in the debate, but noted that things were "not expected to be that close" when the two schools met on the football field. In fact, Michigan defeated Navy by a 70-14 score. The game marked the worst defeat in the history of the Naval Academy's football program. The point total was also the highest by a Michigan team since an 85-0 win over the
University of Chicago in 1939.
Harlan Huckleby rushed for 79 yards on 11 carries but did not score and left the game early after sustaining a shoulder injury. After the game,
Bo Schembechler denied running up the score, having used 53 players in the game. Schembechler told the press told the press that his squad was not a great team and that he would prefer not to be ranked #1. The Wolverines shut out the Demon Deacons by a score of 31–0. Commenting on Leach's passing, one sportswriter noted: "[W]hen the Wolverines are rolling up a shutout, and 340 yards rushing, hardly anybody notices the passing. Maybe that's a good thing. ... [Leach] was wild high, and wild low, but in games like these it really doesn't matter."
Bo Schembechler told the press after the game: "You people like passing and there it is. That's how we keep the score down." Michigan's 42 points was the most it had scored against Michigan State since
1947. Fullback
Rob Lytle rushed for 180 yards on 10 carries, including a 45-yard gain on a fake punt and a 75-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. After the game,
Bo Schembechler said of Lytle, "If that guy isn't an All-American, I don't know who is." Lytle added, "All backs like to break away on a long one like that. It was the longest run I've had at Michigan. In fact, I think this was my biggest day ever."
Week 6: at Northwestern On October 16, 1976, Michigan faced Northwestern for its first game on the road. Playing at
Dyche Stadium, the Wolverines scored 28 points in the second quarter, compiled 346 yard of total offense in the first half, and led 31-0 at halftime. Michigan applied the brakes in the second half, and both teams scored single touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Michigan won by a final score of 38–7.
Rob Lytle, who moved from fullback to tailback in the game, rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. With his performance against Northwestern, Lytle moved past Ron Johnson and into third place on Michigan's all-time rushing yardage list. Michigan remained ranked #1 in both polls after its victory over Northwestern. It captured 40 out of 42 first place votes from the UPI Board of Coaches.
Week 7: at Indiana For its seventh game of the year, Michigan defeated Indiana by a 35-0 score in cold, wet conditions at
Bloomington.
Rick Leach completed all four of his passes for 102 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown pass to Gene Johnson in the second quarter and a 15-yard touchdown pass to Russell Davis and the third period.
Rob Lytle rushed for 175 yards on 25 carries and scored touchdowns on runs of 14 yards and one yard. Russell Davis also rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown, while
Harlan Huckleby rushed for 67 yards, including a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Week 8: Minnesota with track coach Jack Harvey On October 30, 1976, Michigan defeated
Minnesota 45-0 in the annual battle for the
Little Brown Jug. The game was played in steady rain and cold conditions before a homecoming crowd of 104,426, at that time the fifth largest crowd to watch a game at
Michigan Stadium. Quarterback
Rick Leach accounted for four touchdowns, two rushing and two passing. He rushed for a career-high 114 yards on 10 carries, including a 28-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a six-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Leach also completed all four of his passes for 40 passing yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to
Rob Lytle in the second quarter and a 22-yard touchdown pass to
Jim Smith in the third quarter. Lytle alternated at the tailback and fullback positions and rushed for 129 rushing yards (107 in the first half), including a two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Defensively, Michigan held Minnesota to 80 rushing yards. Minnesota quarterback
Tony Dungy completed 12 of 20 passes for 85 yards, but
Dwight Hicks intercepted a Dungy pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 51 yards. After the game,
Bo Schembechler told the press, "If we can keep improving, we will be very difficult to beat. We are playing with more confidence now and our defense is getting better. It seems to be improving every week." Schembechler also praised Lytle: "There is no back in the United States of America who does more for his team than Rob Lytle does for Michigan."
Week 9: at Purdue Michigan traveled to
West Lafayette, Indiana, to play
Purdue on November 6, 1976. Michigan was heavily favored and had not lost a game to Purdue since 1966. The Boilermakers came into the game with a 3–4 record, but proceeded to stun the college football world with a 16-14 upset victory over the Wolverines. It was the first time Michigan had lost to a
Big Ten Conference team other than Ohio State since its loss to Michigan State in 1969. Michigan took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter on an eight-yard touchdown run by
Rick Leach. Leach's score was set up by linebacker Jerry Vogele's recovery of a fumble at the Michigan 42-yard line. Purdue's Scott Dierking responded with two touchdown runs, one each in the first and second quarters. Purdue held a 13–7 lead at halftime. Early in the third quarter, Michigan drove to Purdue's one-yard line, but Leach fumbled and the ball was turned over to Purdue. Later in the third quarter, Leach threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Jim Smith, and Bob Wood kicked the extra point to give Michigan a 14–13 lead. On the next drive, Jerry Zuver intercepted a pass to stop a Purdue drive at Michigan's 22-yard line. However,
Rob Lytle fumbled on the next drive, and Purdue recovered the ball at its own 29-yard line. Purdue drove to the Michigan six-yard line. While Michigan's defense held, Rock Supan kicked a field goal on fourth down with four minutes remaining in the game. With nine second left in the game, Bob Wood's attempt at a 37-yard field goal went wide to the left.
Rob Lytle rushed for 153 yards in the game to pass
Gordon Bell at the number two position on Michigan's career rushing yardage list. Purdue rushed for 251 yards in the game, including 162 yards by Dierking. In a post-game account, the UPI dubbed Purdue the "Spoilermakers", noting that Purdue had upset a #1 ranked Notre Dame team in 1974 before upsetting #1 ranked Michigan. Four days before the Wolverines lost to Purdue, the team's most famous alumnus lost the
1976 presidential election to
Jimmy Carter. After losing a close election, Ford harkened back to his days as a football player, "We lost, in the last quarter."
Week 10: Illinois After the loss to Purdue, Michigan returned to Ann Arbor and played
Illinois on November 13, 1976. Prior to the game, Associated Press writer Fred Rothenberg noted that Illinois was in the unenviable position of playing Michigan on the heels of the Purdue game. Rothenberg wrote: "The University of Michigan and its most famous alumnus both lost their No. 1 positions last week. President Ford immediately went on vacation; the Wolverines went back to work. Pity poor Illinois." Michigan defeated the Illini by a score of 38–7.
Rob Lytle rushed for 89 yards on 21 carries and scored three touchdowns, a five-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter and a pair of touchdown runs in the third quarter.
Rick Leach rushed for 65 yards and completed 9 of 15 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. With Illinois putting seven or eight men on the line at times, no Michigan player was able to rush for 100 yards in the game. Accordingly, Michigan opened up the passing attack.
Bo Schembechler said after the game, "When they put that many people on the line of scrimmage, you have to throw the ball over their heads." In addition to the touchdown pass to Lytle, Leach connected with tight end Mark Shmerge in the second quarter for a seven-yard touchdown pass. Jim Smith also caught six passes for 127 yards. Leach's two touchdown passes gave him 13 for the season, tying the Michigan record set in 1947 by
Bob Chappuis. After the game, Illinois coach
Bob Blackman said, "Leach is not just a good quarterback, he is a great quarterback. We knew he could run the option, but he can also pass the ball." Michigan concluded its home schedule with an average of 103,159 spectators per game, setting a new record for college football attendance. The prior record had been set by Michigan in 1975 with an average attendance of 98,449. but Schembechler rejected the notion: "I don't look at it as a jinx." On learning that his team was favored by 5-1/2 points, Schembechler said, "Being the favorite doesn't put any points on the board." Michigan defeated Ohio State by a 22-0 score. After a scoreless first half,
Russell Davis scored two touchdowns for Michigan in the third quarter. Davis tallied 83 yards on 24 carries. After Davis's second touchdown, holder Jerry Zuver ran for a two-point conversion.
Rob Lytle rushed for 165 yards on 29 carries, including a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Rick Leach completed none of his six passes and threw an interception. Bob Wood converted on both of his extra point kicks. On defense, the Wolverines became the first team to hold the Buckeyes scoreless since 1964. They held Ohio State to 173 yards of total offense, including 101 rushing yards and only five pass receptions. Michigan ended the season ranked first in the country in total offense (448.1 yards per game), scoring offense (38.7 points per game), and scoring defense (7.2 points per game). Michigan's offense was held to 155 rushing yards and 76 passing yards.
Rob Lytle gained 67 yards on 18 carries, and Russell Davis was limited to 39 yards on 10 carries.
Rick Leach completed only 4 of 12 passes and was held to 34 rushing yards on 13 carries. Press coverage of the game focused on Michigan's conservative, run-oriented offense and USC's more versatile attack.
Los Angeles Times columnist
Jim Murray wrote: "Of course, it's possible Michigan doesn't know how to catch a pass. They never throw any, so may not know it's legal. The way they play the game you could hold it in a cave." An Associated Press story noted: "It was the same old story. The Big Ten's Rose Bowl representative, a stick-to-the-ground team ... just couldn't cope with the versatility of its Pacific-8 Conference opponent." Another writer noted that the Rose Bowl had become an annual "wake" for the Big 10: "It is rapidly becoming an annual event. Only the corpses are different."
Post-season Several Michigan players, led by
Rob Lytle, received post-season honors and awards. Lytle, called "the greatest back I ever coached" by Bo Schembechler, In balloting for the
Heisman Trophy, Lytle finished third with 35 first-place votes and 413 points, trailing
Tony Dorsett (701 first-place votes, 2,357 points) and
Ricky Bell (73 first-place votes, 1,346 points). Lytle also won the 1976 Wiseman Trophy, presented each year to person selected as "the nation's best football player." Other Michigan players selected as All-Americans were
Calvin O'Neal (UPI first team, Walter Camp Foundation first team,
Sporting News first team,
College Football News first team, AP second team), Jim Smith (AP first team, FWAA first team [returner],
Sporting News first team,
Football News first team, UPI second team),
Mark Donahue (UPI first team, NEA first team, FWAA first team,
Football News first team, Walter Camp Foundation first team), and Bill Dufek (
College Football News first team). Nine Michigan players were selected for first-team All-Big Ten Conference honors. The Associated Press selected six offensive players (Jim Smith, Bill Dufek, Mark Donahue,
Walt Downing,
Rick Leach, and Rob Lytle) and two defensive players (
Greg Morton Calvin O'Neal). The UPI selected the same eight players plus defensive end
John Anderson. ==Roster==