The 1963 Texas Longhorns football team represented the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in 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 un ...

. 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 Thomas Henry Nobis Jr. (September 20, 1943 – December 13, 2017) was an American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at the University of Te ...

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

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

led by

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

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 player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for ...

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 The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

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

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.

Awards and honors

Scott Appleton Gordon Scott Appleton (February 20, 1942 – March 2, 1992) was an American football defensive tackle in the American Football League (AFL) for the Houston Oilers, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. He played college football at the Universi ...

, Tackle,

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Ame ...

*Scott Appleton, Consensus All-American

Notes

References

{{Southwest Conference football champions

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

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 ...