The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Great Games and Moments: 1960s
GREAT MOMENT
#3 Texas 27, SMU 0
Saturday, November 4, 1961
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
Halfback James Saxton ran wild in Texas' 27-0 win. The senior scatback rushed for 173 yards on 16 carries to help improve the Longhorns' record to 7-0. "I don't believe there are three backs in the United States who could have made that run,"SMU coach Bill Meek said of Saxton's 80-yard, third-quarter scamper that jump-started UT. The game was a watershed for Texas in the Royal Era, as upsets of Michigan State and Mississippi that day propelled the Longhorns to a No. 1 national ranking. It made the '61 squad the first under Royal to assume the top spot in the country.
GREAT GAME
#3 Texas 12, #5 Mississippi 7
Monday, January 1, 1962
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
No. 3 Texas and No. 5 Mississippi hooked up in Texas' first bowl game victory under Darrell Royal. The Longhorns, despite their national ranking, went into the game as three-point underdogs. Many felt Mississippi's 17-pound weight advantage per lineman was too much for Texas to handle. However, it was the UT defense that held on to a 12-0 halftime lead and stymied the vaunted Ole Miss passing game. Quarterback Mike Cotten and halfback James Saxton led the offense, while Defensive MVP Bob Moses, Don Talbert and Johnny Treadwell led the defensive charge to Royal's first bowl triumph.
GREAT GAME
#1 Texas 7, #7 Arkansas 3
Saturday, October 20, 1962
Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas)
No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Arkansas, both undefeated at 4-0, teed it up in Austin in the first of what was to be a memorable string of games between the Longhorns and Razorbacks in the 1960s. Arkansas jumped out to a 3-0 lead and carried that advantage into the third quarter. It was then that the Hogs mounted a drive that took them to the Texas 5-yard line. With Arkansas first-and-goal, UT linebacker Johnny Treadwell told his teammates, "All right, we've got them right where we want them. They have run out of room. They can't throw a long pass. They've got to come right at us."Two plays later, Arkansas fullback Danny Brabham rammed into the line from the three and was met by Treadwell and Pat Culpepper. Culpepper's helmet popped the football loose from Brabham and Texas recovered in the end zone for a touchback. The Longhorns turned the ball back over but again stopped the Hogs, this time on fourth-and-one at the Texas 12-yard line. It was after a 2-yard loss by quarterback Duke Carlisle that Texas began a 20-play, 90-yard drive that culminated in a game-winning 3-yard touchdown run by Tommy Ford with 36 seconds remaining. Prior to Texas' "Big Drive,"the Longhorns had just one first down in the second half.
GREAT MOMENT
#1 Texas 7, #7 Arkansas 3
Saturday, October 20, 1962
Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas)
"The tackle,"a vicious hit by linebackers Johnny Treadwell (#60) and Pat Culpepper (#31) that stopped Arkansas' Danny Brabham cold on the Texas 3-yard line, was the biggest play in No. 1 UT's 7-3 win. On the third-quarter play, Culpepper's helmet met the ball squarely and forced a fumble that Texas recovered in the end zone for a touchback. The fired-up Longhorns turned the momentum gained from that play into a 20-play, 90-yard, game-winning touchdown drive to defeat No. 7 Arkansas, 7-3.
GREAT MOMENT
#1 Texas 7, Baylor 0
Saturday, November 9, 1963
Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas)
In the biggest play of Texas' National Championship season, Duke Carlisle made a sensational leaping interception of what looked like a sure last-minute, game-tying Baylor touchdown pass. With 29 seconds remaining in the game and Baylor at the Texas 19-yard-line, Bears quarterback Don Trull dropped back looking for his favorite receiver, Lawrence Elkins. Elkins, running a post pattern, eluded UT's Joe Dixon and looked to be wide open as he approached the goal line. It was then that Carlisle, who had covered nearly 15 yards since the ball left Trull's hand, closed on Elkins to make the miraculous interception. "Thank you, Duke. You saved my life,"said Dixon to Carlisle after the game. Texas went on to finish the season 11-0 and win its first National Championship in school history.
GREAT GAME
#2 Texas 28, #1 Oklahoma 7
Saturday, October 12, 1963
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Texas met in what at the time was called the "Game of the Century."The Texas ground game, with Tommy Ford carrying the ball, led the Longhorns to a 14-0 halftime lead. UT picked up where it left off in the second half and cruised to a 28-7 win. A large crowd of fans greeted the Longhorns in Austin following the win. Darrell Royal was named UPI "Coach of the Week"and Scott Appleton earned AP "Lineman of the Week"honors for his 18-tackle performance against the Sooners. Royal also had high praise for his sophomore guard/linebacker Tommy Nobis. "I knew Tommy was a good one, but I had no idea a sophomore could come up and play as well as he has." With the win, Texas obtained the No. 1 ranking and never relinquished it in on the way to its first National Championship.
GREAT GAME
#1 Texas 28, #2 Navy 6
Wednesday, January 1, 1964
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
"Tune in your television to the Cotton Bowl and you'll laugh yourself silly ... Texas is the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on the football public,"Eastern sports writer Myron Cope said. Never mind that Texas was ranked No. 1 by AP and UPI and had already been awarded the MacArthur Trophy by the National Football Foundation. The Longhorns still had something to prove. No. 2 Navy, darling of the east led by Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach, had scrambled its way to the Cotton Bowl where they were just two-point underdogs to the Longhorns. Led by Duke Carlisle's aerial assault, Texas rolled to a convincing 28-6 win to put an exclamation point on its first National Championship season.
GREAT GAME
#5 Texas 21, #1 Alabama 17
Friday, January 1, 1965
Orange Bowl (Miami, Fla.)
For the second time in two years, the Longhorns faced one of the all-time quarterback greats in a bowl game. This time it was Joe Namath and top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, who were undefeated. No. 5 Texas was anxious to take its shot at the team set to succeed them as National Champions in the first major bowl played at night. Texas jumped out to a 21-7 halftime lead and hung on for a 21-17 win. The courageous Namath, playing on one good leg, managed to complete 18-of-37 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns, but the Texas ground game, outgaining Alabama 212-49, proved to be the difference. Ernie Koy led UT's rushers with 133 yards on 24 carries. Arkansas, who defeated Texas 14-13 earlier in the season, benefited most from the UT upset as the Football Writer's Association of America and Helms Foundation - two groups who waited until after the season - named the Razorbacks National Champions.
GREAT GAME
Texas 26, Oklahoma 20
Saturday, October 12, 1968
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
Texas' "Wishbone" offense came of age in this 26-20 defeat of the Sooners. With the Longhorns trailing 20-19 at their own 15-yard-line and 2:37 left in the game, quarterback James Street stepped under center anxious to start UT's sputtering offense. Four big pass completions put the Longhorns at the OU 21 with 55 seconds left to play. It was then that UT took to the ground. Fullback Steve Worster carried for 14 yards and on the next play rumbled seven yards for the winning score with 39 seconds remaining. The drive was the turning point for the wishbone.
GREAT MOMENT
Texas 26, Oklahoma 20
Saturday, October 12, 1968
Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
It was only a 7-yard run, but it meant the world to Texas and its new "Wishbone" offense. Steve Worster's touchdown run to cap a 85-yard drive established UT's wishbone offense as not just the one-dimensional "run only"threat. The drive, which began with four pass completions by James Street, was a masterful mesh of pass and run that instilled confidence in the Longhorns players. That confidence translated into 28 more wins in a row, including the 1969 National Championship.
GREAT GAME
#1 Texas 15, #2 Arkansas 14
Saturday, December 6, 1969
Razorback Stadium (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Texas was undefeated in 18 games while Arkansas had won 15 in a row. The Longhorns was ranked No.1 by AP and Arkansas was at No. 2. UT was leading the nation in rushing and Arkansas was atop the national list for scoring defense. President Richard Nixon was on hand to proclaim the winner National Champion. Something had to give. Arkansas scored first and took a 7-0 lead to the locker room at halftime. Arkansas' Bill Montgomery passed to Chuck Dicus for a 29-yard touchdown in the third quarter to up the Razorbacks lead to 14-0. Late in the third period, Texas QB James Street led the Longhorns on an 80-yard drive capped by a 42-yard touchdown gallop by the senior quarterback. After converting the two-point conversion, UT trailed 14-8. Arkansas drove right back to the Texas 7-yard line and was poised to score when UT defensive back Danny Lester picked off a Montgomery pass in the end zone. Texas fumbled on its next possession but got the ball back 62 yards from the Arkansas goal line with 7:58 to play. Three plays netted seven yards, and on fourth-and-three from the 43, Street called a time out. Royal called for the "53 veer pass,"and seconds later, tight end Randy Peschel was on the receiving end of a 44-yard strike from Street. Two plays later, Jim Bertlesen slammed over from two yards out as the stunned Arkansas crowd looked on. Happy Feller added the extra point and Tom Campbell's interception of a Montgomery pass at the Texas 21-yard-line with 1:22 left sealed the victory.
GREAT MOMENT
#1 Texas 15, #2 Arkansas 14
Saturday, December 6, 1969
Razorback Stadium (Fayetteville, Ark.)
It was fourth-and-three with Texas down 14-8 when head coach Darrell Royal called for the "53 veer pass."It was a play that had been called only a few times all season with tight end Randy Peschel in the game and it hadn't met with much success. "Although this pass is supposed to be long, if you can't get open, cut outside or do something to get enough for a first down,"Street said to Peschel in the huddle. "But if you can get behind him [the halfback], run like hell."Peschel ran by Arkansas defensive back Jerry Moore and the ball arrived in the UT tight end's hands 44 yards later. The play deflated the Razorbacks and gave the Longhorns the momentum to pull out the victory.