The 1966 Cotton Bowl Classic was a post-season

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

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 ...

of the

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term ...

season with national championship implications"Bowl Games with Top 20 Teams.
1965 Bowl Results.
Infoplease.com. Retrieved on February 25, 2008. between 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 included schools from Oklahoma ...

champion

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (o ...

"Major Conference Champions.
1965 SWC Champions.
Infoplease.com. Retrieved on February 25, 2008. and the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

. With a scoreless second half at the Cotton Bowl in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, LSU defeated Arkansas 14–7 in front of 76,200 spectators on Saturday, January 1, 1966."2009 AT&T Cotton Bowl-Past Classics.
History.
The official site of the 2009 Cotton Bowl Classic. Retrieved on February 25, 2009"LSU 14, Arkansas 7.
Summary.
Retrieved on February 25, 2009. The top three teams in the polls were all defeated on this New Year's Day.

Setting

Arkansas and LSU's rivalry had been discontinued since

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

, and Arkansas had not beaten the Bayou Bengals since

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

. This was the second

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 in ...

meeting, after the Hogs and Tigers met nineteen years earlier, in January

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

. The game, sometimes referred to as the Ice Bowl, ended as scoreless tie in the rain and subfreezing cold. Arkansas and LSU had a common opponent in 1965 in

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

, whom both defeated. The Tigers won 42–14 in Baton Rouge in late September, and Arkansas shut out the Owls 31–0 in Houston in early November.

Arkansas

Bobby Burnett tied three others in scoring, with 16 TD's, the fourth-highest total in the nation. Ronny South was second in kick scoring, with 42

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

s and 6

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

s. As an offensive unit, the Hogs had the best scoring offense (32.4 ppg), the eighth-best rushing offense (226.1 ypg), seventh best total offense (360.2 ypg) nationally. The defense was fourth-best against the run (74.9 yards allowed per game).

Glen Ray Hines Glen Ray Hines (October 26, 1943 – February 1, 2019) was an All-Pro (AFL) and NCAA All-American football player. Early life Hines was born on October 26, 1943, in El Dorado, Arkansas. He showed athletic prowess at a young age and was a two-sp ...

was a consensus

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n."Consensus All-America Team.
Article.
Infoplease.com. Retrieved on February 25, 2009. Arkansas, defending

national champions National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...

, entered the game on a 22-game winning streak. The 1965 Hogs defeated the #1

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

and #9

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raider ...

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington unt ...

. Despite this, the Razorbacks were ranked #1 for only one week, during which they defeated North Texas 55–20. #2

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

beat #6 Purdue on the same weekend, giving the Spartans the #1 spot in 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 br ...

LSU

LSU entered the game with a 7–3 record, with conference losses at

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

and Ole Miss, and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

at home.

Game summary

The Arkansas Razorbacks put their 22-game win streak on the line in the 1966 Cotton Bowl Classic against their

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

, the Tigers of LSU. Arkansas had the number one scoring offense coming into the game, averaging 32.4 points per contest. Arkansas took the ball to the end zone on the opening drive, capped by a 19-yard toss from Jon Brittenum to

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

Bobby Crockett.

Running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

Joe LaBruzzo then ran in from three yards out for the Bengal Tigers to tie the game at 7. Razorback QB Brittenum then left the game after suffering a shoulder injury and the Hogs

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

d the ball three plays later. LaBruzzo again scored, this time from one yard away, giving the Tigers a 14–7 halftime lead. Neither team scored in the second half, and Arkansas ended the game on the LSU 24-yard line. Razorback Bobby Crockett set a bowl record with 10 catches for 129 yards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1966 Cotton Bowl Classic (01)

Cotton Bowl Classic Arkansas Razorbacks football bowl games LSU Tigers football bowl games Cotton Bowl Classic (January)