1964 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1964 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1964 college football season . In its sixth year under head coach Bump Elliott , Michigan compiled a 9 – 1 record , won the Big Ten Conference championship for the first time since 1950 , and defeated Oregon State in the 1965 Rose Bowl by a score of 34 – 7 . The 1964 Wolverines defeated four teams ranked in the Top 10 in the AP Poll by a combined score of 82 to 17 and finished the regular season ranked No . 4 in both the AP and Coaches ' poll s . Although no post - bowl polls were taken in the 1964 season , Oregon State coach Tommy Prothro opined after watching game film from the Rose Bowl that the 1964 Wolverines were " the greatest football team he has ever seen . " On offense , Michigan scored 235 points , an average of 23 . 5 points per game , and averaged 349 yards of total offense per game . The offense was led by quarterback Bob Timberlake who was selected as a first - team All - American . Timberlake was a triple threat who rushed for 631 yards , passed for 884 yards , and also handled field goals and extra points . The 1964 team had a strong running game with Mel Anthony and Carl Ward in the backfield . Totaling 2 , 473 rushing yards for the season , the Wolverines had four games ( Air Force , Minnesota , Northwestern , and Oregon State ) in which they rushed for over 300 yards . On defense , Michigan had three shutouts ( a feat not accomplished by a Michigan team since 1948 ) and gave up only 83 points , an average of 8 . 3 points per game . Team leaders on defense included All - American defensive tackle Bill Yearby , All - Big Ten linebacker Tom Cecchini , and team captain and All - Big Ten player Jim Conley . The 1964 team also included at least 16 players who went on to play professional football , including offensive guard Tom Mack ( 13 years in the NFL , 11 Pro Bowl appearances ) , defensive back Rick Volk ( 12 years in the NFL , three Pro Bowl appearances ) , linebacker Frank Nunley ( 10 years in the NFL ) , linebacker Bill Laskey ( 10 years in the AFL / NFL ) , and defensive back John Rowser ( 10 years in the NFL ) . The Wolverines narrowly missed an undefeated season , with their only loss coming against a Purdue team led by Bob Griese by a score of 21 – 20 . Michigan had a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter , but Timberlake carried the ball for an attempted two - point conversion and was stopped short of the goal line . Schedule . Season summary . Pre - season . In the 1962 and 1963 seasons , Michigan compiled a record of 5 – 11 – 2 and finished in tenth and seventh place in the Big Ten Conference . The Wolverines had not won a Big Ten Conference championship since 1950 . Expectations were higher in 1964 with Michigan returning most of its starters from the 1963 season , including starting quarterback ( Bob Timberlake ) , leading rusher ( Mel Anthony ) , leading receiver ( John Henderson ) , and leading kick returner ( Jack Clancy ) . When some reporters wrote that Michigan should win the Big Ten championship or finish in the top five nationally in 1964 , head coach Bump Elliott sought to manage expectations . Elliott stated : " Some people think we ' ll be a real good football team but I ' ll say that ' s not realistic at this time . . . . I ' m not saying there isn ' t reason for us to be highly optimistic . We have 20 of our top 33 players back , and we ' ll have a veteran in every spot , two deep in some . But there are a million things to be proven before anyone can point to us as a team that can go all the way . I ' d say we ' ll have a sound , reasonable team , and rating it a dark horse or less is being realistic at this time . " Week 1 : Air Force . Michigan opened the 1964 season with a 24 – 7 victory over Air Force . The game drew a crowd of 66 , 888 to Michigan Stadium for the annual Band Day . On the game ' s third play , Michigan forced a fumble by Air Force and recovered the ball at the Air Force 32 - yard line . Following the turnover , quarterback Bob Timberlake scored on a one - yard touchdown run . Timberlake also led Michigan on two 80 - yard touchdown drives . Mel Anthony scored a touchdown on a four - yard run in the second quarter , and Timberlake kicked a 26 - yard field goal at the end of the first half . Michigan was aided by four Air Force fumbles in the first half , three of which were recovered by Michigan . The only scoring in the second half came on a 10 - yard touchdown run by Jim Detwiler . Week 2 : Navy . In the second game of the season , Michigan defeated Navy 21 – 0 . Navy came into the game ranked No . 5 in the country . The game was marked by 11 turnovers , six by Navy and five by Michigan . Navy quarterbacks threw three interceptions , including two thrown by 1963 Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach . Staubach completed 16 of 30 passes for 166 yards . Staubach was eventually forced from the game , limping after being knocked to the turf by Michigan defensive tackle Bill Yearby . The game broke a 20 - game streak during which the Midshipmen had not been shut out under Staubach . " The New York Times " wrote that the Wolverines " brought Roger Staubach , the heroic middie quarterback , back into focus as an ordinary mortal . " Michigan wingback Carl Ward rushed for 74 yards on 18 carries and scored two of Michigan ' s three touchdowns . Fullback Dave Fisher scored Michigan ' s final touchdown in the third quarter . Michigan quarterback Bob Timberlake completed 7 of 11 passes for 106 yards but threw two interceptions . Michigan linebacker Tom Cecchini had two fumble recoveries and an interception in the game . Week 3 : at Michigan State . In the third game of the season , Michigan went on the road to open its Big Ten Conference schedule against Michigan State . Coming into the game , Michigan had lost six straight games to the Spartans and had not defeated them since 1955 . The game matched two teams ranked in the Top 10 in the AP Poll and attracted " the largest crowd ever assembled at Spartan Stadium " up to that time . Writing in " The New York Times " , R . W . Apple , Jr . , wrote that the intrastate rivalry " means to the people of Michigan what the struggle between the Capulets and Montagues did to the citizens of 15th - century Verona . " Michigan State scored its only touchdown in the first quarter after recovering a fumble recovery off an errant pitch from Timberlake to Anthony . Another highlight for Michigan State came when sophomore receiver Gene Washington impressed observers with " a spectacular leaping grab for 43 yards . " Trailed 10 to 3 halfway through the fourth quarter , Michigan scored 14 points in the final seven minutes on a comeback led by sophomore halfback Rick Sygar . With seven minutes remaining , Sygar caught a five - yard touchdown pass from Timberlake . On the final drive , he took a pitch from Timberlake at the Michigan State 31 - yard line and threw a touchdown pass to John Henderson . Having missed a two - point conversion attempt on the first Michigan touchdown , Timberlake threw to Steve Smith for the two - point conversion on the final score . Michigan defeated the Spartans 17 – 10 . Mel Anthony rushed for 70 yards on 21 carries , and John Henderson had 82 receiving yards on three catches . Week 4 : Purdue . The Wolverines suffered their only loss in week 4 against the Purdue Boilermakers . In a game played at Michigan Stadium , Purdue won a close game by a score of 21 – 20 . Michigan took the opening kickoff and drove 71 yards for a touchdown and a 7 – 0 lead . Quarterback Bob Timberlake ran four yards for the opening touchdown and threw a 17 - yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith in the second quarter . Timberlake had one of his best games , rushing for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries and passing for 145 yards and a touchdown . However , the Purdue offense , led by Bob Griese and aided by three Michigan turnovers , scored touchdowns in each of the first three quarters . Griese completed a 66 - yard touchdown pass to Jim Morel in the first quarter . Purdue ' s second touchdown followed a Timberlake fumble after being hit with his arm fully cocked to pass the ball . Purdue recovered at the Michigan 26 - yard line and drove for a touchdown to tie the game at 14 – 14 . In the third quarter , Griese threw a three - yard touchdown pass to Randy Minnlear to give the Boilermakers a 21 – 14 lead . In its opening drive of the fourth quarter , Michigan drove deep into Purdue territory , but Jim Detwiler fumbled at the three - yard line and Purdue recovered the ball in its own endzone . On the next drive , Bob Timberlake ran 54 yards for a touchdown , and Michigan had the option to kick an extra point to tie the game or go for the lead with a two - point conversion . Coach Elliott called for the two - point conversion ; Timberlake carried the ball on an end run but was stopped short of the goal line . Michigan ' s defense forced punts on the next two Purdue drives , but Michigan was unable to score on its final drives . The Wolverines fumbled on one drive and failed to convert a fourth down on the final drive . The Wolverines lost despite outgaining the Boilermakers 435 yards to 268 . Week 5 : Minnesota . In the fifth game of the season , Michigan defeated Minnesota 19 – 12 in Ann Arbor . Prior to 1964 , Michigan had lost four consecutive games in the annual contest for the Little Brown Jug . Michigan led the game 19 – 0 in the fourth quarter and held off a comeback attempt by the Golden Gophers . Minnesota scored two fourth quarter touchdowns , but missed twice on two - point conversion attempts . The Golden Gophers closed the score to 19 – 12 on a 91 - yard interception return by Kraig Lofquist . They subsequently drove to the Michigan three - yard line , but the Michigan defense held on fourth down . Michigan gained 311 rushing yards in the game , including 102 yards by Carl Ward , 98 yards by Mel Anthony and 79 yards by Bob Timberlake . Michigan ' s scoring came on touchdown runs by Anthony and Timberlake , a field goal and two extra points by Timberlake , and a safety . Week 6 : Northwestern . Michigan had its most dominating performance to date in week 6 with a 35 – 0 win over Northwestern in Ann Arbor . The Wolverines continued with a dominating ground attack , rushing for 336 yards in the game . Eleven players gained positive rushing yardage for Michigan , including Bob Timberlake ( 81 yards ) , Carl Ward ( 57 yards ) , Jim Detwiler ( 50 yards ) , Mel Anthony ( 50 yards ) , Dave Fisher ( 44 yards ) , and Bruce Allison ( 25 yards ) . Timberlake ran for two touchdowns and completed 9 of 15 passes for 84 yards , giving him 165 yards of total offense . Rick Volk also threw a 33 - yard touchdown pass to John Henderson in the second quarter . Michigan ' s defense held the Wildcats to only 44 rushing yards to give the Wolverines their second shutout of the year . Week 7 : Illinois . Michigan hosted Illinois in the seventh game of the 1964 campaign . The Wolverines defeated the Illini by a score of 21 – 6 . After failing to convert a first down in the first quarter , Michigan scored two touchdowns in the second quarter on a run by Carl Ward and a 24 - yard pass from Bob Timberlake to Jim Detwiler . Michigan ' s first touchdown followed an interception by Frank Nunley at the Illinois 36 - yard line , and the second touchdown followed a fumble recovery by Gerald Mader . In the third quarter , Timberlake ran the ball for a touchdown from the one - yard line to conclude a 91 - yard drive . The game marked the fifth consecutive victory for Michigan coach Bump Elliott against his brother , Illinois coach Pete Elliott . The Elliott brothers played together in the backfield of Michigan ' s undefeated 1947 " Mad Magicians " team . Week 8 : at Iowa . In the eighth game of the season , Michigan defeated Iowa on the road 34 – 20 . Michigan took advantage of seven turnovers by Iowa , all inside the Iowa 30 - yard line . Mel Anthony rushed for 121 yards and scored three touchdowns on 20 carries . Bob Timberlake contributed 216 yards of total offense with 80 rushing yards and 134 passing yards . Timberlake had a 14 - yard touchdown run and also threw a touchdown pass to John Henderson . Despite throwing three interceptions , Iowa quarterback Gary Snook completed 13 passes and broke the Big Ten Conference record for the most pass completions in a season . With six catches in the game , Iowa ' s Karl Noonan also broke the conference record for most pass receptions in a season . Week 9 : at Ohio State . Michigan concluded its regular season with a 10 – 0 victory over Ohio State in Columbus . The game was played with winds blowing at 23 miles an hour and temperatures in the low 20s . Michigan scored its first touchdown on a 17 - yard touchdown pass from Bob Timberlake to Jim Detwiler with 44 seconds remaining in the first half . The touchdown followed a 50 - yard punt by Stan Kempe . Ohio State ' s Bo Rein lost the punt in the sun , fumbled , and the ball was recovered by John Henderson . The only other points in the game came on a 27 - yard field goal by Timberlake . With the victory , Michigan won the Big Ten Conference championship for the first time in 14 years . Rose Bowl : Oregon State . As the Big Ten Conference champion , Michigan played in the 1965 Rose Bowl , defeating the Oregon State Beavers , 34 – 7 . The game marked Michigan ' s fourth appearance in the Rose Bowl . In its three prior appearances ( 1902 , 1948 , and 1951 ) , Michigan was 3 – 0 and had outscored opponents 112 – 6 . Michigan was selected as an 11 - point favorite over Oregon State . After a scoreless first quarter Oregon State took a 7 – 0 lead with a five - yard touchdown pass from Paul Brothers to Doug McDougal . Later in the second quarter , Michigan scored its first touchdown of the game on an 84 - yard run by Mel Anthony . Anthony ' s run broke the Rose Bowl record for the longest run from scrimmage . Dick Sygar missed the extra point , and Oregon State led 7 – 6 . On Michigan ' s next drive , Carl Ward ran 43 yards for a touchdown . Michigan missed an attempted two - point conversion on an incomplete pass from Timberlake to Ben Farabee , and Michigan led 12 – 7 at halftime . In the second half , Michigan ' s defense shut out the Beavers 22 to 0 . Mel Anthony , who scored three touchdowns in the game , was named the Player Of The Game . Michigan totaled 332 rushing yards with 10 players gaining positive rushing yards . Michigan ' s leading rushers were Mel Anthony ( 123 yards ) , Carl Ward ( 88 yards ) , Bob Timberlake ( 57 yards ) and Dave Fisher ( 30 yards ) . The Michigan defense held Oregon State to 64 rushing yards in the game . After studying game film from the Rose Bowl , Oregon State coach Tommy Prothro said he was convinced that the 1964 Michigan team was " the greatest football team he has ever seen . " Prothro added , " The pictures are really interesting . There were times when our players blasted Michigan players at full speed and only wound up flat on their backs with the other people on top of them . I ' ve never seen such hitting . " Players . Players advancing to NFL and CFL . Michigan ' s 1964 team featured at least 16 players who went on to play professional football , including : Jim Detwiler was a first - round pick in the 1967 NFL Draft , but he underwent knee surgery and never played in the NFL . Linebacker Tom Cecchini went on to become the defensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings under Bud Grant .