The University of Michigan has played football since 1879. Their first game was on May 30th of that year. Their first opponent was against Racine College and the game was played in Chicago at White Stocking Park. Michigan won that first game. Clearly, the scoring was different in that era as the score was 1-0. In those days, it was called rugby football an early variant of today’s game. In their first 11 seasons, where they racked up a record of 24-10-1 they didn’t even have a coach.
On the way to play Racine for that first game, the Michigan team stopped in South Bend, Indiana and introduced the game to some students at the University of Notre Dame. On November 23, 1887, Michigan returned to South Bend to play Notre Dame in their first official game. Michigan won that game 8-0. In Notre Dame’s first season, they had only three games. All were against Michigan, which Michigan won as well.
Racine College? Racine College closed its doors as a college eight years after Michigan’s football game with them. Michigan continued to play football and is the win leader among all football playing universities. Yesterday, November 19, 2023, Michigan beat Maryland 31-24 to win their 1000th game. The first university to do so.
Michigan fans takes great pride in the fact that we are the all-time win leader and the first to achieve 1000 victories. We used be the leader in percentage of wins as well, but after the lackluster Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke years, Ohio State now holds that honor at 73.5%. Michigan is tied with Alabama for second at 73.3%.
In terms of on the field performance, Michigan is riding high the past three seasons. We were 12-2 in 2021, 13-1 in 2022, and 11-0 so far this year with The Rivalry Game against Ohio State looming next week in Ann Arbor.
The 100th win took place in SECU Stadium in College Park. I was planning to
attend the game and attend with my Michigan alumnus son and my nine-year-old grandson. We had made this plan around Labor Day, well before we knew the game would be for the 1000th win in program history. As circumstances would have it, my son had business out of town this very weekend and we had to cancel the plans. So, I facetimed my grandson and we watched it together. There was a lag in our viewing. His broadcast was about 30-40 seconds ahead of mine. As a result, he was seeing the plays before I did. So, I had his play-by-play setting me up for what I was about to see. It was like we were at the game together. It was very cool and perhaps one of the best times I have had watching any game.
Maryland was fired up and came to play. They came to upset Michigan, deny them their 1000th win, and basically making their season with an upset. Michigan was favored by over 30 points. Michigan had a few key injuries. A starting offensive lineman who covered JJ McCarthy’s blind side and JJ’s favorite target, wide receiver Roman Wilson, were both out. In spite of this, Michigan scored two touchdowns one by the offense and another by the defense to take a 14-3 lead in the first quarter. Special teams almost scored another on a blocked punt in the endzone, but the alert Maryland punter kicked the ball out the back of the end zone for a safety. Early in the second quarter Michigan had a nice 64-yard drive to up the score to 23-3.
It was not a pretty win, but it was a W. We could have had fourteen more points if the punt block was a TD and if JJ had not thrown a TD at the end of the first half instead of an interception.
We were the first college football team to win 1000 games and I got to watch it with my grandson.
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