1965 Michigan Wolverines football | |
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![]() Michigan quarterback Wally Gabler (No. 29) and halfback Carl Ward (No. 19) | |
Conference | Big Ten Conference |
Record | 4–6 (2–5 Big Ten) |
Head coach |
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MVP | Bill Yearby |
Captain | Tom Cecchini |
Home stadium | Michigan Stadium |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 2 Michigan State $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ohio State | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Purdue | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northwestern | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Iowa | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1965 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1965 Big Ten Conference football season. In its seventh year under head coach Bump Elliott, Michigan compiled a 4–6 record (2–5 against conference opponents), finished in seventh place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 185 to 161.[1]
Ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP poll, the Wolverines were plagued by injuries throughout the season and lost close games to No. 7 Purdue (17–15, decided by two missed extra points), Minnesota (14–13, decided by a missed two-point conversion), and Ohio State (9–7, decided on a last-minute field goal after Michigan out-gained the Buckeyes).
Linebacker Tom Cecchini was the team captain, and defensive tackle Bill Yearby received the team's most valuable player award.[2] Yearby was also a consensus first-team All-American. Four Michigan players received first-team All-Big Ten honors: Yearby, running back Carl Ward, offensive tackle Tom Mack, and defensive back Rich Volk.
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Wally Gabler with 825 passing yards and 42 points scored, Carl Ward with 639 rushing yards, and right end Jack Clancy with 762 receiving yards.[3]