2011 Michigan Wolverines Football
Heading into its Big Ten showdown with the Purdue Boilermakers (4-3, 2-1 Big Ten) on Saturday, Oct. 29, the Michigan Wolverines 2011 football team, led by new head coach Brady Hoke, has an overall record of 6-1, 2-1 in the Big Ten, and was ranked No. 18 in the all-important BCS poll.
The highlight of the 2011 season BY FAR occurred on Saturday, Sept. 10, when the Wolverines and Michigan Stadium played host to ancient rival Notre Dame in the first-ever night game in the 84-year history of “The Big house.”(1927-2011)
More than 114,000 screaming fans, the largest crowd in college or pro football history, were treated not only to the intrinsic history of the event, but also a thrilling, come-from-behind 35-31 Wolverine victory.
The Wolverines’ hopes for a perfect season were crushed on Saturday, Oct. 15. The 28-14 loss was made all the more painful since it came at the hands of in-state rival Michigan State.
A silver lining to that otherwise black cloud for Wolverines’ fans came a week earlier, when it defeated Northwestern 42-24 and achieved bowl eligibility. This win also gave the U of M its best start since the Rose Bowl season of 2006. Michigan opened the 2011 campaign by beating Western Michigan, and has also defeated Eastern Michigan, San Diego State (coach Brady Hoke’s previous team) and Minnesota.
After this Saturday’s UM-Purdue game, Michigan travels to Iowa and Illinois before returning to the Big House to face new Big 10 member Nebraska on Nov. 19. Michigan’s last game of the regular season, on Saturday, Nov. 26, brings the annual chance to bang helmets with longtime nemesis, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
