Michigan Football: The Wolverines' 5 Worst Bowl Games in History

The Michigan Wolverines are one of the most prestigious college football programs out there and they have a ton of history. Although with that history comes a lot of bowl games and for whatever reason there are a lot of letdowns and disappointing bowl games in there.

With the Wolverines returning to a BCS Bowl for the first time since 2006, it's only right to look over some of the worst bowl games involving this historic team.

Here are the top five.

2005 Rose Bowl

This was a fantastic game that went back-and-forth and featured a ton of offense.

The game was tied 14-14 going into halftime and the Wolverines ended up pulling ahead by 10 going into the fourth quarter. But if you ever saw Vince Young play college ball, you knew he was going to pull off a comeback and that's exactly what he did. 

Michigan was ahead 37-35 with only three minutes left to play. Young then responded by leading his team down the field, which set up a 37 yard field goal by Texas kicker Dusty Mangum.

This was a great game if you're a college football fan but if you're true to Michigan, it's a game you'd like to forget.

1979 Gator Bowl

This was another season where head coach Bo Schembechler for whatever reason couldn't win a bowl game. It was a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels and it was played in front of 70,000 people. 

The Wolverines were trailing 14-9 heading into the fourth quarter. North Carolina ended up adding a field goal with about 7:30 left in the game to go up 17-9. Michigan quarterback B.J. Dickey hooked up with wide receiver Anthony Carter for a 30 yard touchdown pass with under two minutes to go. The problem is, that the two-point conversion attempt failed.

To be so close but so far.

Head coach Bo Schembechler ended up finishing his Michigan career with a 5-12 bowl record.

2000 Orange Bowl

This game featured two top 10 teams in Michigan and Alabama and was a very entertaining game in the second and third quarter. The first and fourth quarters included no scoring at all from either team. 

The game ended up going into overtime tied at 28 apiece.

Michigan won the coin toss and scored a touchdown quickly into their drive. Alabama got the ball and did the same thing. The only difference is that kicker Ryan Pflugner ended up missing the extra point and that's how the game ended.

Everybody was shocked and it was really an awful way for the game to end.

1948 Rose Bowl

This game featured the undefeated Michigan Wolverines against the 7-0-1 USC Trojans.

Sure, the Wolverines won the game 49-0 but the score alone is enough to put this as one of the worst bowl games Michigan has ever been involved in. But the aftermath doesn't help either as Notre Dame was No.1 overall before the bowl games were played.

After Michigan destroyed the Trojans, the AP had conducted its first ever post-bowl poll and the Wolverines ended up receiving more votes than the Irish, 266-119. And although Michigan ended up going undefeated the next season, they weren't able to play in the Rose Bowl because of the no-repeat rule.

You see, there were problems before the BCS came along.

2011 Gator Bowl

Last season had to be the worst bowl game Michigan fans have ever experienced. It's not just the fact they lost to the Bulldogs, but they lost by a score of 52-14. It's the largest margin of victory in the history of Michigan football.

The Wolverines defense allowed nearly 500 total yards and Denard Robinson was shut down for majority of the game. This game ended up being the final straw for head coach Rich Rodriguez and he was fired after this horrible loss.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]