The 1963 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Duffy Daugherty, compiled a 6–2–1 record, finished in second place in the conference, led the conference in scoring defense (7.0 points allowed per game), and was ranked No. 10 in the final AP Poll. Halfback Sherman Lewis was a consensus first-team All-American and finished third in the voting of the 1963 Heisman Trophy.
The Big Ten's statistical leaders included Tom Myers of Northwestern with 1,398 passing yards, Tom Nowatzke of Indiana with 756 rushing yards, and Paul Krause of Iowa with 442 receiving yards. Carl Eller of Minnesota was the first Big Ten player selected in the 1964 NFL draft with the sixth overall pick.
Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1963 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1963 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold[2]
Preseason
There were no changes in the conference's head football coaches between the 1962 and 1963 seasons.
At the end of the 1963 season, Big Ten players secured three of the consensus first-team picks for the 1963 College Football All-America Team.[4] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
The Heisman Trophy was awarded to Roger Staubach of Navy. Two Big Ten players finished among the top 10 in the voting for the trophy. They were: Michigan State running back Sherman Lewis (third); and Illinois center/linebacker Dick Butkus (sixth).[5]
1964 NFL Draft
The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1964 NFL draft:[6]