“You’ve got to remember, we were a bunch of losers.” That’s how 1964 Michigan team captain Jim Conley labeled his team before summer training camp. But somehow this group of losers, who won just 5 games in 1962 and 1963 combined, captured Michigan’s first Big Ten title since 1950 then pummeled Oregon State 34-7 in the Rose Bowl. Bump Elliott’s team transformed into a powerhouse that put away four top-10 squads, including powerful rivals Michigan State and Ohio State on the road. They crushed teams led by a returning Heisman-winning quarterback in Roger Staubach (Navy), and a squad (Illinois) that featured Dick Butkus, arguably the greatest linebacker in football history.
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How Captain Conley Got His Charm Back
In the winter of 1965, just a few weeks after Michigan had capped its wonderful 1964 season with a 34-7 trouncing of Oregon State in the Rose Bowl, team captain Jim Conley entered the office of then-athletic director Fritz Crisler. Conley wanted Fritz to reconsider a decision that would affect his teammates and how they all would remember their historic year.