1962 Ole Miss Rebels football team

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1962 Ole Miss Rebels football
National Champion (Billingsley, Litkenhous, Sagarin)[1]
Sugar Bowl champion
SEC champion
Sugar Bowl, W 17–13 vs. Arkansas
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
1962 record10–0 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach
  • Johnny Vaught (16th season)
Home stadiumHemingway Stadium
(Capacity: 34,500)
Crump Stadium
(Capacity: 25,000)
Mississippi Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 46,000)
Seasons
← 1961
1963 →
1962 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Ole Miss $ 6 0 0 10 0 0
No. 5 Alabama 6 1 0 10 1 0
No. 7 LSU 5 1 0 9 1 1
Georgia Tech 5 2 0 7 3 1
Florida 4 2 0 7 4 0
Auburn 4 3 0 6 3 1
Georgia 2 3 1 3 4 3
Kentucky 2 3 1 3 5 2
Mississippi State 2 5 0 3 6 0
Tennessee 2 6 0 4 6 0
Vanderbilt 1 6 0 1 9 0
Tulane 0 7 0 0 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1962 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the University of Mississippi during the 1962 NCAA University Division football season. The Rebels' finished the season undefeated, as Southeastern Conference (SEC) champions and with a victory over Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. Ole Miss was retroactively awarded the national championship by the Billingsley Report, Litkenhous and, later, Sagarin Ratings. To date, it is the only undefeated and untied season in Ole Miss' football history.

The Rebels' undefeated season was set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement taking place on their own campus as James Meredith, aided by the United States government, was attempting to be the first black student to enroll at the university. In 2012, ESPN aired a documentary on the team, Ghosts of Ole Miss, as part of its 30 for 30 series.[2]

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResultSource
September 22Memphis State*No. 6
  • Hemingway Stadium
  • Oxford, Mississippi
W 21–7
September 29KentuckyNo. 7
  • Mississippi Memorial Stadium
  • Jackson, Mississippi
W 14–0
October 6Houston*No. 7
  • Mississippi Memorial Stadium
  • Jackson, Mississippi
W 40–7
October 20TulaneNo. 5
  • Mississippi Memorial Stadium
  • Jackson, Mississippi
W 21–0[3]
October 27vs. VanderbiltNo. 7
  • Crump Stadium
  • Memphis, Tennessee (rivalry)
W 35–0
November 3at No. 4 LSUNo. 6
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, Louisiana (rivalry)
W 15–7
November 10Chattanooga*No. 4
  • Hemingway Stadium
  • Oxford, Mississippi
W 52–7[4]
November 17at TennesseeNo. 3
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, Tennessee
W 19–6
December 1Mississippi StateNo. 3
  • Hemingway Stadium
  • Oxford, Mississippi (Egg Bowl)
W 13–6
January 1, 1963vs. No. 6 Arkansas*No. 3
W 17–13
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

*Schedule Source:[5]

Roster[]

  • FB Perry Lee Dunn, Jr.

Jim Weatherly was a backup quarterback on this team before abandoning football to become a singer-songwriter.[6] Ironically in light of the Meredith controversy during this season, his best-known composition was the soul classic "Midnight Train to Georgia", most famously recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips.

Awards[]

  • SEC Coach of the Year: Johnny Vaught[7]

In September 2012, Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork announced that the team would be receiving new national championship rings to honor their accomplishments from the 1962 season.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ NCAA. "National Poll Champions" (PDF). 2020 NCAA Division I Football records. NCAA.org. p. 117. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  2. ^ Cherner, Reid (August 5, 2012). "ESPN announces 30 for 30 schedule". USA Today. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  3. ^ "Ole Miss shuts out Tulane in rain-swept stadium 21–0". The Clarion-Ledger. October 21, 1962. Retrieved September 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Ole Miss Rebs in effortless win". The Clarion-Ledger. November 11, 1962. Retrieved September 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ DeLassus, David. "Mississippi Yearly Results: 1960–1964". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  6. ^ Pepper, Bobby (February 3, 2021). "Jim Weatherly, Pontotoc native and Hall of Fame songwriter, dies". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Tupelo, Mississippi. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  7. ^ College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
  8. ^ Normand, Travis (September 14, 2012). "1962 Ole Miss Football Team gets National Title Rings". Retrieved March 23, 2013.
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