The 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 28th

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of the

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bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

, played at the Cotton Bowl in

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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 ...

, on Wednesday, January 1. Part of the 1963–64 bowl game season, the game was a de facto

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 ...

game; the top-ranked and undefeated

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, champions of the

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, defeated the #2

Navy Midshipmen The Navy Midshipmen are the athletic teams that represent the United States Naval Academy. The academy sponsors 33 varsity sports teams and 12 club sport teams.major polls (AP, UPI) were published prior to the bowl games, so Texas would retain those national championships, regardless of the outcome.

Teams

The game was played less than six weeks after the

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, a

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veteran and avid football fan, in the same city. It was the second #1 versus #2 bowl game, after the previous season's Rose Bowl.

Texas

Texas had won all ten games in the regular season, took the

title, and was first in the polls. This was their third consecutive Cotton Bowl.

Navy

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Navy was second in the polls, and featured junior quarterback

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 ...

, the 1963

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. Their only setback was a four-point loss at SMU (in the Cotton Bowl) in mid-October. Texas won at SMU, 17-12, three weeks late

Game summary

The Cotton Bowl kicked off at 1 pm Central Time Zone, CST, as did the

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and Orange Bowls. The temperature was and skies were sunny. Two touchdown catches by Phil Harris from

Duke Carlisle Emmet Augustus "Duke" Carlisle III is a former American football player who started as a quarterback and defensive back for the Texas Longhorns in the early 1960s. He was the starting quarterback on Texas' first National Championship team in 1963 ...

and a Carlisle touchdown run gave the Longhorns a 21–0 lead at halftime. Another touchdown run by fullback Harold Philipp increased the lead to 28–0 after three quarters. The Midshipmen finally scored on a two-yard touchdown run by Staubach (who went 22 for 34 for 228 yards), which ended the scoring at 28–6. While the two teams had near even passing yards and near even first downs (18-16), Navy had 29 rushes go for -14 yards while Texas' 43 rushes for 168 yards led to two touchdowns as the Longhorns clinched an undisputed national championship, their first ever. Several Cotton Bowl records were set. :

Statistics

: :

Aftermath

The next major bowl for Texas was the following year in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

, the first played at night, and another win. The next Cotton Bowl for the Longhorns was five years later in January 1969, the first of six consecutive appearances. Navy had previously played in each of the four major bowls once; this remains their most recent major bowl and their next bowl appearance was in

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References

{{Texas Longhorns bowl game navbox

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

Cotton Bowl Classic Navy Midshipmen football bowl games Texas Longhorns football bowl games January 1964 sports events in the United States Cotton Bowl