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1963 Michigan State

6–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Duffy Daugherty, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1963, game by game: won vs. North Carolina 31–0; lost at No. 8 USC 10–13; tied at Michigan 7–7; won vs. Indiana 20–3; won at No. 9 Northwestern 15–7; won vs. No. 8 Wisconsin 30–13; won at Purdue 23–0; won vs. Notre Dame 12–7; lost vs. No. 8 Illinois 0–13+31−13Won 31–0 vs. North Carolina+31North CarolinaLost 10–13 at No. 8 USC-3No. 8 USCTied 7–7 at Michigan0MichiganWon 20–3 vs. Indiana+17IndianaWon 15–7 at No. 9 Northwestern+8No. 9 NorthwesternWon 30–13 vs. No. 8 Wisconsin+17No. 8 WisconsinWon 23–0 at Purdue+23PurdueWon 12–7 vs. Notre Dame+5Notre DameLost 0–13 vs. No. 8 Illinois-13No. 8 Illinois
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 28vsNorth CarolinaW 31–⁠073%
Oct 4at8USCL 10–⁠1339%
Oct 12atMichiganT 7–⁠762%
Oct 19vsIndianaW 20–⁠379%
Oct 26at9NorthwesternW 15–⁠736%
Nov 2vs8WisconsinW 30–⁠1355%
Nov 9atPurdueW 23–⁠057%
Nov 16vsNotre DameW 12–⁠783%
Nov 28vs8IllinoisL 0–⁠1376%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Illinois 13–⁠0; No. 9 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 9
  2. Wk 9: 4
  3. Wk 10: 4
  4. Wk 11: 4
  5. Wk 12: 10
  6. Final: 9

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1963.

Heisman voteSherman Lewis, third

Consensus All-AmericanSherman Lewis, B

Record
6–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 4
Points
148–⁠63
Coach
Duffy Daugherty
Elo
1645 +59 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
20.9 No. 3 of 120 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Sherman Lewis and Dan Underwood
Most valuable player
Sherman Lewis

Drafted in 1964

The 1964 draft
Rd 2Matt Snorton EDetroit Lions
Rd 5Ed Lothamer OTBaltimore Colts
Rd 6Herman Johnson RBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 3Matt Snorton TEDenver Broncos (AFL)
Rd 4Ed Lothamer DTKansas City Chiefs (AFL)

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Roger LopesFBUPI-2
  • Earl LatimerOGAP-2; UPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1963 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1963 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Illinois5–⁠1–⁠18–⁠1–⁠13
Michigan State4–⁠1–⁠16–⁠2–⁠19
Ohio State4–⁠1–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1
Purdue4–⁠35–⁠4
Wisconsin3–⁠45–⁠4
Northwestern3–⁠45–⁠4
Michigan2–⁠3–⁠23–⁠4–⁠2
Iowa2–⁠3–⁠13–⁠3–⁠2
Minnesota2–⁠53–⁠6
Indiana1–⁠53–⁠6

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.