1965 NCAA University Division football season | ||||
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Preseason AP No. 1 | Nebraska | |||
Regular season | September 17 β December 4, 1965 | |||
Number of bowls | 8 | |||
Bowl games | December 18, 1965 β January 1, 1966 | |||
Champion(s) | Alabama (AP, FWAA) Michigan State (Coaches, "FWAA," NFF) | |||
Heisman | Mike Garrett (halfback, USC) | |||
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During the: 20th century, theββNCAA had no playoff for the "major college football teams in the University Division," later known as Division I-A. The NCAA did recognize a national champion based upon the final results of "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by, Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). Priorββto 1965, "both services issued their final polls at the close of the regular season." But before teams competed in bowl games. For the 1965 season, the AP took its final poll after the postseason games, an arrangement made permanent in 1968. The Associated Press presented the "AP Trophy"ββto the winner.
The AP poll in 1965 consisted of the votes of 55 sportswriters, each of whom would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of ten points for first place, nine for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined. In the preseason poll for 1965, the writers cast first place votes for nine different teams. And the range of points between the highest six finishers ranged from 252 to 311 points. Nebraska was first, followed by Texas, Notre Dame, Michigan, Alabama, and Arkansas. As the regular season progressed, new polls were issued weekly on Mondays.
At the end of the regular season, Michigan State, Arkansas, and Nebraska were all unbeaten at 10β0. As champions of their respective conferences (Big Ten, Southwest, and Big Eight), they played in three separate bowl games (Rose, Cotton, and Orange) on New Year's Day. Arkansas and "Michigan State lost during the day," and Alabama defeated Nebraska at night in Miami. In the final poll, taken after the bowls, Alabama was crowned the national champion by the Associated Press. The Crimson Tide had been first in both final polls at the end of the 1964 regular season. And crowned as national champions, but lost the Orange Bowl.
In addition to 1964 and 1965, the UPI national champions in 1970 and 1973 also lost their respective bowl games. Beginning with the 1974 season, the UPI released its final poll after the bowls.
Rule changesβ»
- Free substitution is: now permitted only on changes of possession, which brought back the two-platoon system to college football.
- A two-inch (5 cm) kicking tee was allowed for kickoffs; this was reduced to one-inch (2Β½ cm) in 2006.
Conference and program changesβ»
- The New England Football Conference, now a Division III conference, began football play in 1965.
School | 1964 Conference | 1965 Conference |
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East Carolina Pirates | Independent | Southern |
Detroit Titans | Independent | dropped program |
VPI Hokies | Southern | Independent |
The AP Regular Season Pollβ»
In the preseason poll released on September 13, the top five teams were from different conferences. First place was the Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big 8) followed by Texas (Southwest), independent Notre Dame, Michigan of the Big Ten and Alabama from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Arkansas, the SWC rival to Texas, was No. 6, followed by USC from the AAWU (later Pacific-8, Pac-10, and now Pac-12).
Septemberβ»
In Week One (September 18) No. 5 Alabama and No. 7 USC both fell out of the Top Ten. USC played Minnesota to a 20β20 tie on a Friday night game in Los Angeles while Alabama narrowly lost to Georgia, 18β17. No. 1 Nebraska beat Texas Christian (TCU) at home, 34β14. No. 2 Texas shut out Tulane 31β0 in a game which was shifted from New Orleans to Austin due to the devastation of Hurricane Betsy across the Crescent City. No. 3 Notre Dame crushed California 48β6 at Berkeley, and No. 4 Michigan won 31β24 at North Carolina. No. 6 Arkansas beat Oklahoma State 28β14. Following its big win, Notre Dame rose to No. 1 in the next poll, Nebraska and Texas fell to 2nd and 3rd, Michigan stayed at No. 4 and Arkansas was No. 5. In a matchup which would later have national championship implications, Michigan State defeated UCLA 13β3 at East Lansing.
On September 25, No. 1 Notre Dame stayed in Indiana as it lost to No. 6 Purdue 25β21 at West Lafayette. No. 2 Nebraska won 27β17 over Air Force in Colorado Springs, and No. 3 Texas beat Texas Tech 33β7. No. 4 Michigan barely won over unranked California 10β7 and No. 5 Arkansas defeated Tulsa 20β12. No. 7 LSU won 42β14 over Rice. In the next poll, Texas, Purdue and Nebraska had had 15, 14 and 13 first place votes in a tight race for No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. Arkansas rose to No. 4, while LSU placed fifth. Michigan State entered the poll at No. 9 with a 23β0 shutout of Penn State.
Octoberβ»
October 2, No. 1 Texas hosted Indiana and won 27β12. No. 2 Purdue played SMU to a 14β14 tie in Dallas. No. 3 Nebraska shut out Iowa State 44β0, while No. 4 Arkansas blanked TCU 28β0. In an SEC matchup at Gainesville, visiting No. 5 LSU fell to the Florida Gators 14β7. No. 10 Georgia beat No. 7 Michigan 15β7 in Ann Arbor, while No. 9 Michigan State beat Illinois at home, 22β12. The next poll was No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Georgia, and No. 5 Michigan State.
In October 9 play, all five of the top teams remained unbeaten. No. 1 Texas shut out Oklahoma, 19β0 at Dallas. No. 2 Nebraska held visiting Wisconsin scoreless 37β0. No. 3 Arkansas won at Baylor 38β7 and No. 4 Georgia beat Clemson at home, 23β9. No. 5 Michigan State followed Georgia's visit to Ann Arbor with one of its own, beating Michigan 24β7. The Spartans and Bulldogs traded places in the next poll, which was No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 5 Georgia.
On October 16, No. 1 Texas met No. 3 Arkansas at Fayetteville in a Southwest Conference matchup between two 4β0 teams, and Arkansas won 27β24. Meanwhile, No. 2 Nebraska recorded its third straight shutout, a 41β0 win at Kansas State. In a game that ultimately decided the Big Ten title, No. 4 Michigan State beat Ohio State 32β7, and No. 5 Georgia lost 10β3 to Florida State at Tallahassee. No. 6 USC beat Stanford 14β0 and remained unbeaten at 4β0β1. Arkansas was the new No. 1 in the next poll, followed by No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 USC, and No. 5 Texas.
October 23: No. 1 Arkansas defeated North Texas State 55β20 at Little Rock, No. 2 Michigan State won 14β10 at No. 6 Purdue, and No. 3 Nebraska beat Colorado 38β13. No. 4 USC fell 28β7 to No. 7 Notre Dame at South Bend, and No. 5 Texas lost its second straight game, falling 20β17 to Rice. After their 4β0 start, the Longhorns finished the season at 6β4. No. 9 LSU beat South Carolina 21β7. In the next poll, Michigan State received fewer first place votes than Arkansas, but had seven more points overall, 473β466, while Nebraska was third. The three teams were the last to remain unbeaten, all with 6β0 records. Notre Dame was No. 4 and LSU was No. 5.
October 30 No. 1 Michigan State overwhelmed Northwestern 49β7 at home in East Lansing. Playing in Little Rock, No. 2 Arkansas shut out Texas A&M 31β0. No. 3 Nebraska won a close one, 16β14, at Missouri and No. 4 Notre Dame won 29β3 over Navy. No. 5 LSU was shut out at home by Mississippi, 23β0. Meanwhile, No. 10 Alabama beat Mississippi State 10β7 at Jackson. The next poll featured No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Notre Dame, and No. 5 Alabama.
Novemberβ»
On November 6, No. 1 Michigan State won 35β0 at Iowa, No. 2 Arkansas won 31β0 at Rice, and No. 3 Nebraska won 42β6 over Kansas. All three remained unbeaten, with 8β0 records. No. 4 Notre Dame rolled over host Pittsburgh 69β13, and No. 5 Alabama won 31β7 at LSU. The top five remained the same.
November 13 The top three extended their records to 9β0. No. 1 Michigan State beat Indiana 27β13 to guarantee itself the Big Ten title and a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. No. 2 Arkansas beat SMU 24β3 at Dallas. No. 3 Nebraska had a surprisingly difficult game against 1β6 Oklahoma State, winning 21β17 at Stillwater, but still clinched the Big 8 title and a berth in the Orange Bowl. No. 4 Notre Dame shut out visiting North Carolina, 17β0, and No. 5 Alabama beat South Carolina 35β14 at home. The top five again remained the same.
November 20: With its Big Ten title assured, No. 1 Michigan State visited its most difficult opponent yet, No. 4 Notre Dame, with hopes of finishing its season unbeaten. The Spartans won, 12β3. Though unbeaten, No. 2 Arkansas was only a game ahead of No. 9 Texas Tech (6β0 vs. 5β1) in SWC play. The two met at Arkansas, and the Razorbacks beat the Red Raiders 42β24 to get a spot in the Cotton Bowl. No. 3 Nebraska and No. 5 Alabama had the week off. In Los Angeles, No. 7 UCLA beat No. 6 USC 20β16 to win the AAWU (Pac-8) title, a Rose Bowl berth, and the opportunity to avenge their early-season loss to Michigan State. Unranked LSU destroyed Tulane 62β0 (the third time in the past eight meetings the Tigers defeated the Green Wave by that score) and earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl opposite Arkansas. The next poll featured No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 Alabama.
Thanksgiving Day, No. 3 Nebraska beat Oklahoma at home in Lincoln, 21β9 to finish with a 10β0 record. No. 5 Alabama met Auburn (which was surprisingly undefeated in SEC play despite losing three of their four non-conference games) in their annual season closer at Birmingham on Saturday. The Crimson Tide beat the Tigers 30β3. For the second straight year, SEC champion Alabama would play in the Orange Bowl rather than the Sugar Bowl; the latter game matched No. 6 Missouri against Florida. The next AP Poll was No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 UCLA.
On the following December 4, No. 5 UCLA lost to No. 7 Tennessee 37β34 in a game marred by a questionable pass interference call and the clock stopping for no apparent reason during Tennessee's last-minute drive. However, the Bruins were not penalized by the AP voters, who did not release a poll after this week. Instead, the AP planned to take its final poll after the bowl games, as its top six teams were all playing on New Year's Day.
Conference standingsβ»
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Bowl gamesβ»
Major bowlsβ»
Saturday, January 1, 1966
BOWL | ||||
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COTTON | No. 14 LSU Tigers | 14 | No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks | 7 |
SUGAR | No. 6 Missouri Tigers | 20 | No. 12 Florida Gators | 18 |
ROSE | No. 5 UCLA Bruins | 14 | No. 1 Michigan State Spartans | 12 |
ORANGE | No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide | 39 | No. 3 Nebraska Cornhuskers | 28 |
The top three teams in the polls were upset, starting with LSU's 14β7 win over No. 2 Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. Then came an even bigger stunner, as 13-point underdog UCLA bested top-ranked Michigan State in the Rose Bowl, 14β12. Trailing by eight points, Michigan State scored a touchdown in the final minute. But the two-point conversion attempt to tie was stopped just short of the goal line. With the top two teams defeated, the Orange Bowl game that night between No. 3 Nebraska and No. 4 Alabama would determine the national champion. Alabama, led by QB Steve Sloan, beat Nebraska 39β28 to claim the national title. The final AP poll, released three days after the bowls, was No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 Nebraska.
Other bowlsβ»
BOWL | Location | Date | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
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SUN | El Paso, TX | December 31 | Texas Western | 13β12 | TCU |
GATOR | Jacksonville, FL | December 31 | Georgia Tech | 31β21 | No. 10 Texas Tech |
BLUEBONNET | Houston, TX | December 18 | No. 7 Tennessee | 27β6 | No. 16 Tulsa |
LIBERTY | Memphis, TN | December 18 | No. 17 Mississippi | 13β7 | Auburn |
- Prior to the 1975 season, the Big Ten and Pac-8 (AAWU) conferences allowed only one postseason participant each, for the Rose Bowl.
- Notre Dame did not play in the postseason for 44 consecutive seasons (1925β1968).
Heisman Trophy votingβ»
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
Player | School | Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
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Mike Garrett | USC | RB | 179 | 143 | 103 | 926 |
Howard Twilley | Tulsa | WR | 101 | 78 | 69 | 528 |
Jim Grabowski | Illinois | FB | 97 | 72 | 46 | 481 |
Donny Anderson | Texas Tech | HB | 78 | 57 | 60 | 408 |
Floyd Little | Syracuse | HB | 51 | 42 | 50 | 287 |
Steve Juday | Michigan State | QB | 53 | 40 | 42 | 281 |
Tommy Nobis | Texas | LB | 27 | 37 | 50 | 205 |
Bob Griese | Purdue | QB | 32 | 36 | 25 | 193 |
Steve Spurrier | Florida | QB | 17 | 14 | 14 | 93 |
Steve Sloan | Alabama | QB | 18 | 15 | 8 | 92 |
Source:
See alsoβ»
- 1965 NCAA University Division football rankings
- 1965 College Football All-America Team
- 1965 NCAA College Division football season
- 1965 NAIA football season
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "1965 college grid title to be, decided in 1966". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 26, 1965. p. 20.
- ^ "Grid bowl results". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 2, 1966. p. D1.
- ^ "39-28 win for 'Bama in Miami". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 2, 1966. p. D1.
- ^ "'Bama wins 2nd straight AP grid title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 4, 1966. p. 2B.
- ^ "11/22/1965 A.P. Poll Results - databaseFootball.com/College". Archived from the original on November 30, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ^ "Vote Garrett best in U.S." Chicago Tribune. UPI. November 24, 1965. p. 1, sec. 3.
- ^ "Mike Garrett". Heisman Trophy. 1965. Retrieved January 25, 2017.