page_title: 1963 Michigan Wolverines football team
section_title: at Illinois
hierarchical_section_title: 1963 Michigan Wolverines football team / Season summary / at Illinois
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of brothers Pete Elliott and Bump Elliott greeting one another before the 1960 Michigan-Illinois football game This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1963 and although there may or may not have been a copyright notice, the copyright was not renewed. Unless its author has been dead for the required period, it is copyrighted in the countries or areas that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works, such as Canada (50 pma), Mainland China (50 pma, not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 pma), Mexico (100 pma), Switzerland (70 pma), and other countries with individual treaties. See Commons:Hirtle chart for further explanation. Deutsch&#160;| English&#160;| español&#160;| français&#160;| italiano&#160;| 日本語&#160;| 한국어&#160;| македонски&#160;| português&#160;| português do Brasil&#160;| русский&#160;| українська&#160;| 中文（台灣）‎&#160;| +/− This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1977 without a copyright notice. See Commons:Hirtle chart for further explanation. Note that it may still be copyrighted in jurisdictions that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works (depending on the date of the author's death), such as Canada (50 p.m.a.), Mainland China (50 p.m.a., not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 p.m.a.), Mexico (100 p.m.a.), Switzerland (70 p.m.a.), and other countries with individual treaties. Беларуская&#160;| Čeština&#160;| Deutsch&#160;| English&#160;| Español&#160;| Français&#160;| Italiano&#160;| 日本語&#160;| Македонски&#160;| Nederlands&#160;| Português&#160;| Русский&#160;| Slovenščina&#160;| ไทย&#160;| +/−
context_page_description: The 1963 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1963 Big Ten Conference football season. In its fifth year under head coach Bump Elliott, Michigan compiled a 3–4–2 record, tied for fifth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 131 to 127. The highlight of the season was an upset victory over No. 2 Illinois led by Dick Butkus; the game was the only loss suffered by the 1963 Illinois team.
  Left guard Joe O'Donnell was the team captain and was selected by the Associated Press as a first-team guard on the 1963 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Left tackle Tom Keating received the team's most valuable player award and was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten player by the United Press International.
  The team's statistical leaders included Bob Timberlake with 593 passing yards, Mel Anthony with 394 rushing yards and 30 points scored, and John Henderson with 330 receiving yards.
context_section_description: On November 9, Michigan upset undefeated Illinois by a 14 to 8 score before a crowd of 55,810 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. Illinois, led by All-American center/linebacker Dick Butkus and fullback Jim Grabowski, was ranked No. 2 in the AP poll prior to the game. The Wolverines, on the other hand, were unranked and arrived at the game with a 1–2–1 conference record. The game was the sixth straight victory for Bump Elliott against his brother, Pete Elliott, head coach of Illinois since 1960.  The Elliott brothers played together in the backfield of Michigan's undefeated 1947 "Mad Magicians" team.
  Late in the first quarter and early in the second, Bob Timberlake and Dick Rindfuss led a 56-yard touchdown drive capped by a three-yard run by Rindfuss.
  Later in the second half, an Illinois drive was halted when freshman defensive back John Rowser (who later played 10 seasons in the NFL) interrupted a pass at the Michigan 10-yard line and returned it to the 20. On the last play of the first half, Rowser also broke up a pass from Mike Taliaferro to Ron Fearn at the Michigan five-yard line.
  In the third quarter, a 65-yard line-drive punt by Michigan captain Joe O'Donnell rolled dead at the Illinois eight-yard line. From there, Illinois drove 92 yards in 16 plays, including a 20-yard run by Grabowski. The Illini scored their only touchdown on a one-yard run by backup fullback Al Wheatland. Rather than kick the extra point, Illinois went for two points. Taliaferro rolled out to the left side, faked a pass, and ran for the two-point conversion.  Illinois led, 8–7.
  With six minutes remaining in the game, Illinois back Jim Warren fumbled on a pitch from quarterback Mike Taliaferro. Rowser recovered the loose ball on the Illinois 11-yard line. Michigan scored the winning touchdown five plays later on a one-yard plunge by fullback Mel Anthony.
  Late in the game, Rowser halted yet another Illinois drive by recovering another fumble—his third turnover of the game. The game was largely a defensive battle, as Illinois out-gained Michigan in total yards by a margin of 295 to 154. Timberlake completed only seven of 22 passes and gave up two interceptions. Rindfuss was Michigan's leading rusher with a total of only 35 yards on 13 carries.
caption: Bump and Pete Elliott
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