1964 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

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1964 Arkansas Razorbacks football
FWAA national champion
Southwest Conference champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 10–7 vs. Nebraska
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
1964 record11–0 (7–0 SWC)
Head coach
  • Frank Broyles (7th season)
Home stadiumRazorback Stadium
War Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1963
1965 →
1964 Southwest Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Arkansas $ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0
No. 5 Texas 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Baylor 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Texas Tech 3 – 3 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
Rice 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
TCU 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Texas A&M 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
SMU 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1964 Arkansas Razorbacks football team was an American football team that represented the University of Arkansas in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. In their seventh year under head coach Frank Broyles, the Razorbacks compiled an undefeated 11–0 record (7–0 against SWC opponents), won the SWC championship, closed the regular season with five consecutive shutouts, outscored all opponents by a combined total of 231 to 64, and defeated Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl.[1][2]

The Razorbacks finished the season as the only major team with an undefeated and untied record after No. 1 Alabama lost to Texas in the Orange Bowl. However, the AP and UPI Coaches Polls became final before the bowl games were played, leaving one-loss Alabama as the AP and UPI national champion. The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) conducted its final polling after the bowl games and selected Arkansas as the national champion. Arkansas was also selected as national champion by six other selectors, including the Billingsley Report and the Helms Athletic Foundation.[3]

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19Oklahoma State*
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
W 14–1040,000[4]
September 26Tulsa*
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR
W 31–2225,000[5]
October 3at TCU
W 29–620,982[6]
October 10BaylorNo. 9
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
W 17–641,000[7]
October 17at No. 1 TexasNo. 9
W 14–1365,700[8]
October 24Wichita State*No. 4
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
W 17–038,000[9]
October 31at Texas A&MNo. 4
  • Kyle Field
  • College Station, TX (rivalry)
W 17–024,000[10]
November 7RiceNo. 4
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR
W 21–033,000[11]
November 14SMUNo. 3
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR
W 44–033,000[12]
November 21at Texas TechNo. 3
W 17–045,000[13]
January 1vs. No. 6 Nebraska*No. 2
  • Cotton Bowl
  • Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)
W 10–775,504[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Statistical leaders and award winners[]

The team's statistical leaders included Fred Marshall with 787 passing yards, Jack Brasuell with 551 rushing yards, Jim Lindsey with 385 receiving yards, and Bobby Burnett with 54 points scored (9 touchdowns).[15]

Arkansas linebacker Ronnie Caveness was selected by the Associated Press (AP), Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America, Time magazine, and the Sporting News as a first-team player on the 1964 College Football All-America Team. Caveness was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Eight Arkansas players were selected by the AP or United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1964 All-Southwest Conference football team: Caveness (AP-1, UPI-1); quarterback Fred Marshall (AP-1, UPI-1); offensive end Jerry Lamb (AP-1, UPI-1), offensive tackle Glen Ray Hines (AP-1, UPI-1), defensive halfback Ken Hatfield (AP-1), defensive guard Jim Johnson (AP-1), and defensive tackles Lloyd Phillips (AP-1) and Jim Williams (AP-1).[16][17]

1965 Cotton Bowl Classic[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Razorbacks 3 0 0 7 10
Cornhuskers 0 7 0 0 7

Arkansas was invited to play in the 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic on January 1, 1965, against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Arkansas' number-one rated defense was giving up only 5.7 points per game, while No. 7 Nebraska's scoring offense was averaging 24.9 points per contest.

Playing before a capacity crowd of 75,504 in Dallas, Arkansas opened the scoring with a field goal by Tom McKnelly in the first quarter. Nebraska took the lead in the second quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Harry Wilson. Neither team scored in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, fifth-year quarterback Fred Marshall, whose fumbles had stalled Arkansas in the first half, led the Razorbacks on a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. The drive featured a scramble by Marshall for a first down after it appeared he would be sacked and two passes from Marshall to Jim Lindsey, the second taking the ball to the Nebraska five-yard line. Two plays later, junior tailback Bobby Burnett ran one yard for the game-winning touchdown with less than five minutes remaining in the game.[14]

Source: Razorback Bowl History – 1965 Cotton Bowl

Split national championship and controversy[]

See also: College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS

With its victory in the Cotton Bowl and Alabama's loss to Texas (a team Arkansas had defeated in Austin) in the Orange Bowl, Arkansas finished the 1964 season as the only major team with an undefeated and untied record. On January 6, 1965, a five-man committee of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) selected Arkansas as the winner of Look magazine's Grantland Rice Trophy as the top college football team in the country. Arkansas received four of five first-place votes, with Texas receiving the fifth vote. Alabama did not receive a single vote for first, second, or third place. The five members of the FWAA committee were Si Burick, Dayton Daily News; Fred Russell, Nashville Banner; Blackie Sherrod, Dallas Times Herald; Steve Weller, Buffalo Evening News; and Paul Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times.[18] Arkansas is also recognized as the 1964 national champion by Billingsley Report, College Football Researchers Association, Helms Athletic Foundation, National Championship Foundation, Poling System, Sagarin, and Sagarin (ELO-Chess).[3][19]

However, the final AP and UPI Coaches polls were released before bowl games were played, and Alabama therefore remained as the national champion in the AP and UPI Coaches' Polls.[20] Because of the controversy, the AP Poll experimented with a voting model that took the final vote to select their champion after the bowl games in the 1965 season. In 1966, the AP Poll went back to taking the final vote at the conclusion of the regular season before finally adopting the post-bowl season model in 1968. The UPI Coaches' Poll adopted the post-bowl season model in 1974 after the controversies surrounding the 1964, 1965, 1970, and 1973 national championships, seasons in which the winner of the Coaches' Poll went on to lose their bowl game.

Roster[]

  • Fred Marshall, QB
  • Billy Gray, QB
  • Ronny South, QB
  • Charles Pisano QB
  • Jack Brasuell, RB
  • Jim Lindsey, RB
  • Bobby Nix, RB
  • Bobby Burnett, RB
  • Ronnie Watkins, RB
  • Eddie Woodlee, RB
  • Jerry Lamb, WR
  • Bobby Crockett, WR
  • Richard Trail, WR
  • Mike Bender, OL
  • Glen Ray Hines, OL
  • Jerry Jones, OL
  • Randy Stewart, OL
  • Jerry Welch, OL
  • Dick Hatfield, OL
  • Richard Cunningham, OL
  • Tom McKnelly, K
  • Jim Finch, DL
  • Jimmy Johnson, DL
  • Loyd Phillips, DL
  • Bobby Roper, DL
  • Jim Williams, DL
  • Ronnie Caveness, LB
  • Ronnie Mac Smith, LB
  • Ken Hatfield, DB
  • Charles Daniel, DB
  • Harry Jones, DB

References[]

  1. ^ "Arkansas Yearly Results (1960-1964)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  2. ^ "1964 Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  3. ^ a b 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2017. pp. 113–114. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  4. ^ "Arkansas Hangs On For Win". Austin American-Statesman. September 20, 1964. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Comeback Nets Arkansas Win". Austin American-Statesman. September 27, 1964. p. D2 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Hogs Chew TCU Again". Austin American-Statesman. October 4, 1964. pp. C1, C5 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Jim Montgomery (October 11, 1964). "Porkers Kill Baylor, 17-6". Austin American-Statesman. pp. B1, B2.
  8. ^ "Texas Gamble Fails; Arkansas 14-13 Victor". Austin American-Statesman. October 18, 1964. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Porkers Halt Wichita, 17 to 0". Austin American-Statesman. October 25, 1964. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Razorbacks Blank Ags, 17-0". Abilene Reporter-News. November 1, 1946. p. 3D – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Porkers Whitewash Rice For 9th Win". The Odessa American. November 8, 1964. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Arkansas Punches To Easy 44-0 Win". Lake Charles American Press. November 15, 1964. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Arkansas Blanks TT, Closes Out Unbeaten". The Pampa Daily News. November 22, 1964. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b Curt Mosher (January 2, 1965). "Somebody Up There Likes Arkansas, 10-7". The Lincoln Journal. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "1964 Arkansas Razorbacks Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "1964 AP All SWC". Del Rio News Herald. 29 November 1964. p. 6.
  17. ^ "1964 UPI All SWC". Valley Morning Star. December 1964. p. 8.
  18. ^ "WOOOOO, Pig! Razorbacks Win Grantland Trophy". The Longview Daily News. January 7, 1965. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Kirlin, Bob. "Helms Athletic Foundation/Bill Schroeder National Champions of College Football 1883–1982". Retrieved December 31, 2007.
  20. ^ Kirlin, Bob. "Coaches' polls (UPI 1950–1990, CNN/USA Today 1991–present)". Archived from the original on January 5, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2007.
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