Looking Back is a Special Feature by Jeff Cummins Highlighting Key Rivalry Games
Bump Elliott had the misfortune of inheriting a Michigan team that was struggling. After decades of championship play, the Wolverines were now suffering through a period in which both Ohio State and Michigan State had risen to power. Elliott raised the team’s level of play in 1964, but then the bottom fell out.
The fifth and final installment of this year’s series looking back at the football rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State takes us back to 1968. Change was in the air throughout the United States. Protesters rallied throughout the country. Americans watched reports on the war in Vietnam on the nightly news. Even old reliables such as the automobile industry were undergoing changes, as foreign automakers made their presence felt in the marketplace. It almost seemed as it the downturn in Michigan’s football success reflected the feeling of angst in the nation.
But on one, glorious fall afternoon, the Michigan Wolverines gave outgoing coach Bump Elliott a day to remember. A day that recalled times when Michigan was one of the elite powers of college football. For three hours on a Saturday in October, 1968, the Wolverines recalled the memories of previous years, and sent Elliott out with a final victory over rival Michigan State.
In the fourth quarter, Michigan State grabbed the lead when Charles Wedemeyer connected with Frank Foreman on a two-point conversion. The Spartan defense was converging on Michigan quarterback Dennis Brown when Brown found tight end Jim Mandich along the Michigan sideline for the turning point of the game. Mandich made the catch and outraced everyone to the south end zone for a 53-yard touchdown that put Michigan in control to stay, as the Wolverines topped Michigan State, 28-14.
Elliott capped off the season by recruiting a star-studded class of recruits that included offensive lineman Reggie McKenzie and running back Billy Taylor, both of whom led a Michigan resurgence under Bo Schembechler.
Thanks to YouTube poster College Football Historian and YouTube for the highlight film of this game, which has no sound. As always, neither I nor anyone involved with umgoblue.com profits in any way from this blog post, which is intended strictly for the enjoyment of readers.