One measure of a football program's status is the number of All-American players it has produced. The numbers can be a bit tricky, however, as many individuals and organizations have named All-American teams over the years and each school compiles its own "official" list of first team All-American selections that it recognizes. William Cunningham (tackle) was Michigan's first All-American in 1898. UM had nine All-Americans before Ohio State received its first award when Boyd Cherry was named at the end position in 1914. Since then OSU has built a significant lead in the total number of All-American awards, based on its many multiple winners, as well as in the number of individual All-Americans.

Since Walter Camp picked Cunningham for his team in 1898, Michigan has had at least one All-American in all but 37 years. Ohio State boasts a better percentage over a shorter time-span with All-Americans in all but 16 seasons since 1914. OSU's best year was 1974 with seven selections, while Michigan garnered five All-Americans in 1981.

LeCharles Bentley, Center, 2001 Mike Doss, Safety, 2001

All-Americans by Position OSU Position UM (32)* 41 End 32 (25)* (30) 36 Tackle 41 (32) (27) 31 Guard 20 (17) (15) 15 Center 16 (15) (15) 24 Halfback 18 (16) (6) 7 Fullback 4 (4) (7) 7 Quarterback 8# (7) (13) 21 Linebacker 10 (10) (23) 29 Defensive Back 21 (15) (3) 5 Punter (2) 3 Kicker 3 (3) (1) 1 Punt Returner 171 220 Total All-Americans 189 (129)

Marquise Walker, Receiver, 2001 Larry Foote, Linebacker, 2001

* this column indicates the number of different individuals named all-American
# 2010 quarterback Denard Robinson was named by Football Writers Association simply as a "back".