The 1941 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1941 Big Ten Conference football season. Under fourth-year head coach Fritz Crisler, Michigan compiled a record of 6–1–1 (3–1–1 Big Ten), outscored opponents 147 to 41 and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll. The team played three ranked opponents, defeating No. 5 Northwestern (14–7), playing to a tie with No. 14 Ohio State (20–20), and losing by a 7–0 score to the 1941 Minnesota team that won the 1941 national championship. With a strong, veteran line, the Wolverines also shut out four of their eight opponents: Pittsburgh (40–0); Columbia (28–0); Illinois (20–0); and Iowa (6–0).
Fullback Bob Westfall was selected as a consensus first-team player on both the 1941 College Football All-America Team and the All-Big Ten Conference team. Halfback Tom Kuzma was the team's leading scorer with 48 points, and tackle Reuben Kelto received the team's Most Valuable Player award. Tackle Al Wistert received second-team All-America honors, and center Robert Ingalls was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten honors.
Schedule
Season summary
Pre-season
The 1940 Michigan Wolverines football team had compiled a 7–1 and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll. Michigan's coaching staff remained largely intact in 1941, with head coach Fritz Crisler returning for his fourth season and taking on an added role as athletic director following the retirement of Fielding H. Yost.
From the 1940 team, the Wolverines lost five key starters to graduation: halfback Tom Harmon, quarterback Forest Evashevski, end Ed Frutig and guards Ralph Fritz and Milo Sukup. In addition, halfback Cliff Wise was lost to the military draft, and several other players from the 1940 team were lost when they voluntarily enlisted in the military. Michigan's enlistees included halfback Bob Krejsa, fullback Bob Zimmerman, and tackle Jack Butler. Key veterans returning from the 1940 team included fullback and senior team captain, Bob Westfall, who was the nation's fourth leading rusher during the 1940 college football season with 807 net rushing yards. Michigan also returned several veteran linemen, including starting center Robert Ingalls and tackles Al Wistert and Reuben Kelto.
In an article published in mid-September, coach Crisler predicted that Michigan's outlook for another superior team was dim. Michigan's biggest task in the pre-season was to find a player to take on the tailback position that had been filled by Tom Harmon from 1938 to 1940. As fall practice got underway, the leading prospects to take over Harmon's position included the following individuals: Tom Kuzma, a sophomore and a native of Harmon's home town of Gary, Indiana; David M. Nelson, who was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach; Paul White, who later played for the Pittsburgh Steelers; Don Robinson, who served as a heavy bomber pilot in World War II; and Harold "Tippy" Lockard, a junior from Canton, Ohio, who enlisted in the Army Air Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Despite receiving an invitation from coach Crisler, sophomore track star Bob Ufer, who had played halfback in high school, did not report to the football team, opting instead to focus on track.
Week 1: Michigan State
On September 27, 1941, Michigan defeated Michigan State by a 19 to 7 score. The game was Michigan's first without Tom Harmon, who had led the Wolverines from 1938 to 1940. Sophomore tailback Tom Kuzma, from Harmon's home town of Gary, Indiana, took over Harmon's spot and scored two touchdowns in his first game for the Wolverines. Michigan State took the lead on the third play from scrimmage with a 74-yard sweep around left end by halfback Jack Fenton. Michigan came back with a touchdown in the second quarter and two more in the third quarter. In addition to Kuzma's two touchdowns, fullback Bob Westfall also scored on a one-yard run in the third quarter. Robert Ingalls kicked for one point after touchdown for Michigan. Michigan out-gained Michigan State on the ground with 235 rushing yards to 104 for the Spartans. Wilfrid Smith of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the key to Michigan's victory was its veteran line that "completely outplayed" the Spartans' line.
Michigan's starting lineup against Michigan State was Harlin Fraumann (left end), Al Wistert (left tackle), Robert Kolesar (left guard), Ingalls (center), Bill Melzow (right guard), Reuben Kelto (right tackle), Joe Rogers (right end), George Ceithaml (quarterback), David M. Nelson (left halfback), Harold "Tippy" Lockard (right halfback), and Westfall (fullback).