The 1976 Big Ten Conference football season was the 81st season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The 1976 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, finished the season with a 10–2 record, tied for the Big Ten championship, led the country in both scoring offense (38.7 points per game in regular season) and scoring defense (7.2 points allowed per game in regular system), lost to USC in the 1977 Rose Bowl, and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP and UPI Polls. Running back Rob Lytle rushed for 1,469 yards, finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, and won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player. Lytle and offensive guard Ma