The 1963 Texas Longhorns football team was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team that represented the University of Texas (now known as the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

) as a member of the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

(SWC) during the

1963 NCAA University Division football season The 1963 NCAA University Division football season was played by American football teams representing 120 colleges and universities recognized the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as major programs. The remaining 299 colleges and u ...

. In their seventh year under head coach

Darrell Royal Darrell K Royal (July 6, 1924 – November 7, 2012) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State University from 1954 to 1955, the University of Washington ...

, the Longhorns compiled an overall record of 11–0, with a mark of 7–0 in conference play, and finished as SWC champion. Texas concluded their season with a victory over

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

in the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...

. The Longhorns won their first

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. Tommy Nobis was the only sophomore starter, and was an important participant on the Longhorns' 1963 team, which defeated #2

led by

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

winner

Roger Staubach Roger Thomas Staubach (, -; , -; born February 5, 1942), nicknamed "Roger the Dodger", "Captain America", and "Captain Comeback", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 se ...

in the 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic, 28–6.

Schedule

After defeating Baylor in their eighth game, the Longhorns became the only major team with no losses and no ties in college football. After defeating their first nine opponents, the Longhorns clinched the Southwestern Conference title and a spot in the Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns ended up finishing the regular season with a 10–0 record and defeated #2

in the 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic, 28–6. Texas was the consensus national champion before the game with #2

, regardless of the outcome because the AP Poll and UPI Poll did not release polls after bowl games until years later. However, the win ensured that there would be no dispute as had happened in other years when #1 teams lost their bowl games.

Game summaries

At Tulane

Vs. Texas Tech

Vs. Oklahoma State

Vs. Oklahoma

At Arkansas

Vs. Rice

At SMU

Vs. Baylor

Vs. TCU

At Texas A&M

Vs. Navy (Cotton Bowl)

Rankings

Roster

* Buddy Alldredge, WT * Scott Appleton, WT * George Bass, WG * Frank Bedrick, C * Jim Besselman, WG * Mike Boxwell, TB * Clarence Bray, C * James Brooks, ST * Kenneth Brooks, SE * George Brucks, SE * Charles Buckalew, TB * Duke Carlisle, QB * Bob Casseday, WE * Tony Crosby, E-PK * Tom Currie, WG * Jake David, QB * Les Derrick, TB-QB * Joe Dixon, WB * Timmy Doer, FB * Charles Echols, WT * Fred Edwards, FB * Staley Faulkner, WT * Ken Ferguson, ST * Tommy Ford, TB * Joe Galiga, C * Kim Gaynor, WB * Barney Giles, SG * Howard Goad, T * Hix Green, TB * Kenneth Halm, WG * Phil Harris, WB * Lee Hensley, WT * Ben House, WE * Jack Howe, C * Jim Hudson, WB * Dwain James, ST * Rodney Kelley, C * Anthony King, WB * Mike King, WB * Ernie Koy, Jr., FB * Marvin Kristynik, QB * Clayton Lacy, ST *

Pete Lammons Peter Spencer Lammons Jr. (October 20, 1943 – April 29, 2021) was an American professional American football, football player who was a tight end for the American Football League (AFL)'s New York Jets and the NFL's Green Bay Packers. He won ...

, WE * Ronny Landry, E * Dan Mauldin, WE * David McWilliams, C * Tommy Nobis, SG * Knox Nunnally, WE * Harold Philipp, FB * Bo Price, SG * Gordon Roberts, ST * Sandy Sands, SE * George Sauer, Jr., SE * Tom Stockton, FB * Charles Talbert, SE * Diron Talbert, ST * Olen Underwood, SG * Tommy Wade, QB * Pat Williamson, WB

Awards and honors

* Scott Appleton, tackle:

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that g ...

, consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

1963 Longhorns in the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season. Ernie Koy, Jr. and Olen Underwood would be selected in the 1964 NFL Draft, while Tommy Nobis would be selected in the 1965 NFL Draft.

Notes

References

{{Southwest Conference football champions

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Texas Longhorns football seasons College football national champions Southwest Conference football champion seasons Cotton Bowl Classic champion seasons College football undefeated seasons

Texas Longhorns football The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate team representing the University of Texas at Austin (variously Texas or UT) in the sport of American football. The Texas Longhorns, Longhorns compete in the NCAA Division I Football B ...