1964 College Football Recap

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Final AP Top 10

Final UPI, 11–20

Bowl Games with Top 20 Teams

Major Conference Champions

Heisman Trophy Voting

Other Major Award Winners

Consensus All-America Team

At the end of the regular season Alabama and Arkansas were each undefeated and untied after 10 games. AP and UPI picked the Crimson Tide as the national champion, but the bowl games would prove both wire services wrong.

On New Year's Day, Arkansas rallied in the fourth quarter to beat No.6 Nebraska 10–7 in the Cotton Bowl. That night, in the first Orange Bowl played under the lights, 5th-ranked Texas jumped out to a 21–7 halftime lead over Alabama and hung on to win 21–17.

Notre Dame's bid for its first perfect season since 1949 also evaporated in the final game. With a 9–0 record, four straight weeks at No.1 and new coach Ara Parseghian on the cover of Time, the Irish needed only to beat Southern Cal at the L.A.Coliseum to make their first national championship in 15 years official. Ahead 17–0 at halftime, ND collapsed in the second half and lost on a USC touchdown in the last 95 seconds, 20–17.

Only a point separated both Big Ten champion Michigan and Southwest Conference runner-up Texas from perfect seasons. The Wolverines lost 21–20 to Purdue, but qualified for the Rose Bowl and beat Oregon State by 27. The Longhorns dropped a 14–13 decision to Arkansas, but upset Alabama in the Orange Bowl.

Notre Dame quarterback John Huarte, who didn't play enough to earn a letter his junior year, won the school's sixth Heisman Trophy by just 74 points over Tulsa QB Jerry Rhome.


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