Jan. 1, 1965 - Coach Bump Elliott credited Mel Anthony’s 84-yard touchdown run with giving Michigan the impetus it needed to overtake and defeat Oregon State, 34-7, in today’s Rose Bowl game. (Pictured below, Michigan quarterback Bob Timberlake dodges an Oregon State tackler.)
“It wasn’t until Anthony’s run that we got the start to get moving,” the sandy-haired Wolverine coach explained to a crowded dressing room.
“It wasn’t a new play, but he got two real good blocks from Carl Ward and John Henderson,” Elliott said.
And Elliott said Michigan needed that impetus because Oregon State had gained the early momentum when a clipping penalty on a punt gave them life, and sophomore quarterback Paul Brothers guided the Beavers to their only score.
“In the second half, when we blocked Len Frketich’s punt, that gave us the spark we needed to get rolling again. We played pretty good football today, as good as in any game this year.”
Anthony expressed his delight at being voted Player of the Game, and said the 84-yard run was the longest he had made in college. He previously had broken loose for 64 yards against Iowa this year.
“Nobody laid a hand on me on that run today after Bob Timberlake pitched the ball out to me,” Anthony said.
Timberlake bluntly declared that Oregon State was not as good as most of the Big Ten teams Michigan met this season and that he felt some of the Beavers’ defensive stars, especially Jack O’Billovich, had been given too great a buildup.
Coach Tommy Prothro of Oregon State agreed that the turning point of the game came “when we had a 7-0 lead and Michigan was back on its 16, and we let Anthony go all the way.
“If we had held them, we might have left the field at halftime with a lead. Psychologically, it was a big thing.”
Prothro voiced disappointment in his linebackers but said it may have been the result of good blocking by Michigan.
“You never know if you were bad or your opponents may have been good,” he remarked. “I just know we were bad relatively.”
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