1965: Michigan, 34 vs. Oregon State, 7

Following Michigan’s 34-7 dismantling of Oregon State in the 1965 Rose Bowl Game, Joe Hendrickson of the Pasadena Star-News wrote:

“If there was a lesson for the West this beautiful but chilly afternoon it was that we sometimes get too hopeful of our chances against the powerful Big Ten. One of these days it will be discovered in this land of freeways and sun that the Easy Eight is just that most of the time in hand-to-hand Rose Bowl warfare with the Big Ten.”

The Wolverines’ option-heavy offense ran for 332 total yards over Oregon State in front of an attendance of 100,423, and Player of the Game Mel Anthony had three touchdowns, including a Rose Bowl Game-record 84-yarder for Michigan’s first of the day.

“I understand Mel Anthony was voted player of the game, and he certainly did a great job,” said Michigan coach Bump Elliott of Anthony, who totaled 123 yards on 13 carries. “But I probably could name 22 others who could have gotten the award.”

Early in the second quarter, Oregon State gave their fans a glimmer of hope in Pasadena. On a drive that was set up by a Michigan clipping penalty on an Oregon State punt, quarterback Paul Brothers connected with five different receivers on six straight completions to go 67 yards for the score. Doug McDougal caught the 5-yarder for the touchdown, and the extra point made it 7-0, Oregon State.

However, two drives later, after receiving the ball on its 16-yard line, on Michigan’s first play from scrimmage, quarterback Bob Timberlake rolled right and pitched to Anthony, who cut back to the middle after rounding the corner, and aided by Wolverine blockers, was gone.

On Michigan’s next drive, Carl Ward took a pitch from Timberlake, also on the right. Ward turned the corner around his overpowering Michigan blockers, cut back to the middle and, like Anthony, took it all the way to the end zone, a 43-yard score. After a failed two-point conversion that would have offset a missed extra point on the first touchdown, Michigan led 12-7.

Early in the third quarter, Oregon State had been held inside its 20-yard line by the Michigan defense. Forced to punt, the Oregon State special teams left punter Len Frketich exposed to a swarm of Wolverine defenders, who blocked the punt and earned their offense first-and-10 from the Oregon State 15-yard line. Michigan punched it in for the score and the 20-7 lead.

“That (blocked punt) was the second-half spark we needed,” Elliott said, “and in a game like this, sometimes once it breaks a little, it can snowball.”

And it did. Michigan went on a 14-0 run to win the 1965 Rose Bowl Game.

And if the 34-7 drubbing weren’t enough, Michigan fans added insult to injury when they released a pig named Cleopatra onto the field. Cleopatra was eventually tackled by a fan, leading Hendrickson to write: “If the fan was from Oregon State, he made the best Oregon State tackle of the day.”

Attendance
100,420

Weather
73 degrees

Scoring
Second Quarter
OSU – McDougal, 5-yard pass from Brothers (Clark kick good)
Mich – Anthony, 84-yard run (Timberlake kick failed)
Mich – Ward, 43-yard run (Timberlake pass to Farabee for a 2-point conversion failed)

Third Quarter
Mich – Anthony, 1-yard run (Timberlake run for 2-point conversion)
Mich – Anthony, 7-yard run (Timberlake kick good)

Fourth Quarter
Mich – Timberlake, 24-yard run (Sygar kick good)

Coaches
Michigan: Chalmers “Bump” Elliott
Oregon State: James “Tommy” Prothro

Fun Fact
In 1965, Mel Anthony scored three touchdowns for the Wolverines, his first a record 84-yard dash.

Individual Stats
Rushing
Mich: Anthony 13-123; Ward 10-88; Timberlake 12-57; Fisher 5-30
OSU: Shaw 4-28; Watkins 8-24; Washington 3-15

Passing
Mich: Timberlake 1-10-77; Evashevski 1-1-6
OSU: Brothers 9-17-89; Queen 10-16-90

Receiving
Mich: Henderson 4-34; Detwiler 1-30; Farabee 1-8
OSU: Watkins 3-43; Grim 3-42; Moreland 4-29; Miller 3-21; Frketich 2-23

Punting
Mich: Kemp 5-168
OSU: Frketich 9-392