Bell had 166 all-purpose yards against the Buckeyes, his last regular season game for Michigan. In his only bowl game appearance, Bell played in a 14–6 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in Orange Bowl after the 1975 season. He gained 53 yards rushing and 90 all-purpose yards. Bell was Michigan's starting running back in the same years in which Archie Griffin won consecutive Heisman Trophies for Ohio State. In head-to-head meetings in 1974 and 1975, Bell played as well or better than Griffin. In 1974, each carried the ball 25 times, and Bell ended up with 108 yards compared with 111 yards for Griffin although Ohio State won the game 12–10. In 1975, Bell outgained Griffin 124 yards to 46 yards. Bell averaged 132.9 yards per game in 1975 to lead Griffin and the Big Ten Conference in conference game rushing. Even so, Griffin won the Heisman Trophy, and Bell finished eighth in the 1975 Heisman Trophy voting. During the 1975 season, Bell was asked how he felt about all the publicity being received by Griffin. He replied: "All of the publicity in the world doesn't help you win. I don't feel slighted because Archie is in our conference. I feel I'm just as good as he is." Bell later recalled: "Those two games against Ohio State were my biggest, and I consider the second game a personal victory. I outrushed Archie, but he had a great public relations guy in Woody Hayes. . . . He wasn't the best player in the conference so how can he be the best player in the country?" Lee Larkins, who played for Purdue and was one of the top defensive backs in the Big Ten, said in 1976 that Bell was the best running back he ever played against. As a senior, Larkins played against Gordon Bell, Archie Griffin, and Ricky Bell of USC. Larkins said: "Gordon Bell was the best of the three. He was a super tough runner and a tough guy to make a solid tackle on. Gordon has a lot more speed and more moves than Archie does, and I thought he was a better all around player." During Bell's years at Michigan, he played for the Wolverines' legendary coach, Bo Schembechler. Near the end of Bell's freshman year, Bell told Schembechler he was taking an incomplete in a course. Schembechler talked to Bell's father, Trenton Bell, about the incomplete.