During his senior year in 1979, Carlson passed for 2188 yards and 11 touchdowns, which was good enough to earn him Team MVP honors on a squad that finished 4-6-1 under first-year head coach Joe Salem.
[1] During his tenure with the Gophers, Carlson competed with Wendell Avery for the starting quarterback position, both having varying success at different times during this period.
The Gophers - who were 4–2 at the time with wins over Washington and UCLA – still were considered major underdogs against the Wolverines and Bo Schembechler.
"[2] Sure enough Carlson, a sophomore who hadn’t played a minute all season up to that point, was under center as the Gopher’s starting quarterback.
The Gophers, with a tremendous defensive effort and the solid kicking of Paul Rogind, ended up shocking Michigan 16-0 to earn their first Little Brown Jug since 1967 and handing the Wolverines their first shutout in 112 games.