They rose to as high as second in the rankings by winning their next eight games by a combined score of 358–40, including three straight shutouts over non-conference opponents (Virginia, UCLA, Navy) by an aggregate of 134–0.
[12] The Indians had won the previous year's Rose Bowl behind the heroics of Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett, who was the first pick of the 1971 NFL draft.
Plunkett's backup Don Bunce, running back Jackie Brown, and the "Thunderchickens" defense, led Indians to an 8–3 record in 1971 and a return appearance in the Rose Bowl.
[17] However, they were caught looking ahead to the Rose Bowl decider vs. rival California, and were upset by San Jose State 13–12, a non-conference game in which kicker Rod Garcia missed all five kicks; four field goal attempts and an extra point try.
Coach Ralston called for a fake punt, with Jim Kehl receiving the snap and handing the ball forward to Jackie Brown, through his legs;[26] he ran 33 yards for a first down, and followed up a minute later with a 24-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
He advanced to the seven but cut to the center and retreated; he was knocked back into the end zone by Ed Shuttlesworth for a controversial Michigan safety, as replays seemed to show that Ferguson's forward progress was to the 3-yard line.
Following the free kick from the twenty, Michigan started from their own 45; they kept the ball on the ground but the Indians held for a three-and-out, and Stanford called a timeout prior to the punt.
The Indians ran two more running plays followed by timeouts to get to the 14-yard-line with sixteen seconds left, and Garcia successfully kicked a 31-yard field goal to give Stanford its first lead and a 13–12 upset.
[12][21] This was the final Rose Bowl contested under the Big Ten's "no-repeat" policy, which prohibited conference teams from appearing in the game in back-to-back seasons.
Ralston departed Palo Alto shortly after the Rose Bowl to accept the head coaching position of the National Football League's Denver Broncos, continuing a trend of college coaches moving to the NFL which began the previous year with Dan Devine (Missouri to the Green Bay Packers) and Tommy Prothro (UCLA Bruins to the Los Angeles Rams), and continued with Chuck Fairbanks (Oklahoma to the New England Patriots), Don Coryell (San Diego State to the St. Louis Cardinals), Rick Forzano (Navy to the Detroit Lions), Lou Holtz (North Carolina State to the New York Jets), John McKay (USC to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Dick Vermeil (UCLA to the Philadelphia Eagles).
The Broncos did not make the playoffs during any of Ralston's five seasons (1972–1976), but he acquired many of the players who formed the nucleus of Denver's legendary "Orange Crush" defense which led the franchise to Super Bowl XII under rookie coach Red Miller in 1977.
Michigan fell to sixth in the AP poll, trailing three schools from the Big Eight Conference (Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado), Alabama, and Penn State.