1964 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 1964 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1964 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 11th season under head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled a 4–5 overall record 3–3 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in sixth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1][2]

1964 Michigan State Spartans football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
1964 record	4–5 (3–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Duffy Daugherty (11th season)
MVP	Dick Gordon
Captain	Charles Migyanka
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium (Capacity: 76,000)

1964 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Michigan $	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Ohio State	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Purdue	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Illinois	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Michigan State	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Iowa	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Indiana	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Two Spartans were selected as first-team players on the 1964 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Halfback Dick Gordon received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI), and tackle Jerry Rush received first-team honors from the AP.[3][4] Rush was also selected as a second-team All-American by the AP.[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	at North Carolina*		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	L 15–21
October 3	No. 2 USC*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 17–7
October 10	No. 7 Michigan	No. 9	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	L 10–17
October 17	at Indiana		Seventeenth Street Football Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Brass Spittoon)	L 20–27
October 24	Northwestern		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 24–6
October 31	at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 22–6
November 7	No. 10 Purdue		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 21–7	75,433	[6]
November 14	at No. 1 Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (Megaphone Trophy)	L 7–34
November 21	at Illinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–16
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 3: Michigan at Michigan State

1 2 3 4 Total • Michigan (2–0) 0 3 0 14 17 Mich. St. (1–1) 7 0 0 3 10 Date: October 3, 1964 Location: Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI Game attendance: 78,234

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.[7] 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."[7]

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."[7]

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.[7]

References

1. "2016 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. pp. 146, 155. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
2. "1964 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
3. "All Big Ten Picks Tough; Talent Tops". The Spokesman-Review (AP story). November 26, 1964. p. 20.
4. "Butkus, Yearby, Timberlake Head Coaches' Big Ten Stars". The Daily Register (Harrisburg, Illinois). November 27, 1964. p. 11.
5. "Butkus Again All-American". Eugene Register-Guard. December 4, 1964. p. B1.
6. "Speedy Gordon Sparks State's Victory". The Lansing State Journal. November 8, 1964. p. E1 – via Newspapers.com.
7. R. W. Apple, Jr. (October 11, 1964). "Sygar Spearhead on 2 Late Scores: Defensive Back Gets Tally on Pass, Throws for One in Last 7 Minutes". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2012.