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Little Brown Jug — Looking Back – 1969

Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins

The third installment in the series looking back at the rivalry for the Little Brown Jug takes us to 1969. Change was everywhere in the late 1960s, particularly in college towns such as Ann Arbor. That change did not extend to football. Michigan still expected to win the Little Brown Jug, no matter what.

Minnesota kicked three field goals in the first half to take a 9-7 lead at halftime, and things weren’t going as new Michigan coach Bo Schembechler had planned.

Enter Michigan running back Billy Taylor. Taylor scored on runs of three yards and one yard in the third quarter, capping drives of 14 plays and nine plays, respectively, as Michigan grabbed the lead. Don Moorhead and Lance Scheffler added rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to give Michigan a 35-9 win. Taylor led Michigan in rushing yardage with 151 yards on 31 carries, while Moorhead added 77 yards and Garvie Craw added 50 yards. Schembechler’s insistence on running the ball was the factor that turned the game in Michigan’s favor in the second half. The Wolverines’ offensive line wore down Minnesota, allowing the Wolverines to take charge.

Michigan entered the game with a record of three wins and two losses. The second half of the game against Minnesota was the turning point in Michigan’s season. It could also be argued that it was a turning point for the future of the Michigan football program, as the Wolverines went on to enjoy two decades of success with Schembechler at the helm. No wonder Bo loved to run the ball!

Many thanks to YouTube and YouTube poster College Football Historian for the highlight film of this game. As always, we own nothing and this blog post is provided strictly for the enjoyment of readers.

About Jeff Cummins

Jeff Cummins has written about football since 1998, including nine years with The Record of Hackensack, N.J. He frequently contributes feature stories to Touchdown Illustrated, an insert in the national college football game program, published by University Sports Publications, and he has also written the official pregame stories for the game programs of the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Gator Bowl, and the BCS National Championship game. He has written the preview story for the official program for the NHL Winter Classic at MIchigan Stadium, and numerous college basketball feature stories for College Hoops Illustrated, another game program insert published by University Sports Publications. In addition, he has written stories about theater, music, physical therapy, and newsletter marketing. He’s an avid Michigan football fan and long-time New York Jets season ticket holder, and he can be reached at jeffcummins@optonline.net.

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