Nov. 21, 1964 - One big break in the closing moments of the first half, which had a frostbitten crowd of 84,685 roaring, provided the spark that carried Michigan today to a 10‐0 victory over Ohio State and its first Big Ten football title since 1950. As a result, Michigan will go to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Bob Rein, a Buckeye halfback, fumbled a Wolverine punt with only 55 seconds left in the half. In two plays, Michigan struck for the game’s only touchdown.
Bob Timberlake, Michigan’s quarterback, an all‐America candidate, engineered the thrust that led to the Buckeyes’ disheartening defeat.
Starting from State’s 20, he swept wide to the left for three yards. Then, with the home team's secondary primed for a pass, he pitched right down the middle to Jim Detwiler. The Wolverine back snared the ball on the 2 and dived into the end zone.
Except for one threat early in the fourth period, when they reached Michigan’s 21 on first down, the Buckeyes failed to come close to atoning for their one big mistake. In contrast, the Wolverines struck for a field goal shortly after the start of the last period to clinch matters.
Again it was Timberlake who put his team in the scoring column. The versatile signal-caller from downstate Franklin booted a 27‐yarder.
An 18‐mile crosswind proved a big factor in the game. The chilling blasts — the thermometer hovered at 20 above — made passing dangerous. Kicks took weird bounces.
But in the final analysis, it was Michigan’s ability to take advantage of that one break and Ohio State’s failure with two such opportunities that swung the outcome in the Wolverines’ favor.
Early in the second period, Timberlake fumbled on his own 28 after a fierce tackle by Bill Ridder. Tom Kiehfuss of Ohio State recovered on the 29.
“It was the greatest thrill I’ve ever had,” said Michigan coach Bump Elliott.
“The wind was the big factor — you couldn’t throw into it, and it affected the whole game.
“Under the conditions, it was our best game of the year, and it certainly was the toughest defensive game. Stan Kemp did a great job punting for us.”
Across the way, Ohio State coach Woody Hayes intoned: “It is not a very happy day. They outplayed us, but our defense was superb.”
Like Elliott, Hayes called the wind the chief factor and said he knew in the pregame warmup that the Buckeyes would have trouble hanging on to the ball — they fumbled six times and lost it twice.
“But they took advantage of their breaks, and we couldn’t make the most of ours,” Hayes said.
“We wanted to win because a lot of our friends were here,” said Michigan quarterback Timberlake afterward, “but we just wanted to win, period — not because some of us are from Ohio and going to school at Michigan.”
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