1962 college football season
Encyclopedia
During the 20th Century, the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA did recognize a national champion based upon the final results of "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The extent of that recognition came in the form of acknowledgment in the annual NCAA Football Guide of the "unofficial" national champions. The AP poll in 1962 consisted of the votes of 52 sportswriters, each of whom would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of 10 points for first place, 9 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined. Although the rankings were based on the collective opinion of the representative sportswriters, the teams that remained "unbeaten and untied" were generally ranked higher than those that had not. A defeat, even against a strong opponent, tended to cause a team to drop in the rankings, and a team with two or more defeats was unlikely to remain in the Top 10. The top teams played on New Year's Day in the four major postseason bowl games: the Rose Bowl (near Los Angeles at Pasadena), the Sugar Bowl (New Orleans), the Orange Bowl (Miami) and the Cotton Bowl (Dallas).

September

In the preseason poll released on September 17, 1962, Ohio State was the #1 choice for 45 of the 50 voters, and its Big 10 rival, Michigan State was 4th overall. Texas placed second, and SEC rivals Alabama and Louisiana State (LSU) were third and fifth respectively . As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games. Ohio State, Michigan State and the other Big Ten schools would not kick off until September 29. On September 22, #2 Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

 beat Oregon at home, 25-13. #3 Alabama and #5 LSU
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...

 both recorded shutouts, defeating Georgia (at Birmingham 35-0) and Texas A & M (21-0) respectively. In the poll that followed, Alabama rose to #1, while Ohio State and Texas fell to 2nd and 3rd. Penn State, which had beaten Navy at home 41-7, rose from 9th to 4th, while LSU remained at #5. Also on the 22nd, the first games of the newly formed Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...

 took place as Arizona beat BYU, 27-21, and New Mexico beat Wyoming 25-21. All six of the charter members (including Arizona State and Utah) had withdrawn by 1999 .

The following Friday, #1 Alabama beat Tulane in New Orleans, 44-6. On September 29, #2 Ohio State beat North Carolina at home, 41-7. #3 Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

 registered a shutout on the road against Texas Tech, 34-0 while #4 Penn State hosted Air Force, winning 20-6. In Baton Rouge, #5 LSU
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...

 played Rice to a 6-6 tie, enough to knock it from the Top Ten. In the poll that followed, Ohio State was again #1, followed by 2.Alabama 3.Texas 4.Penn State Newcomer Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...

, which had blanked Florida in Gainesville, 17-0, rose from 8th place to 5th.

October

On October 6, #1 Ohio State was upset by the UCLA Bruins in Los Angeles, 9-7. #2 Alabama beat Vanderbilt in Birmingham, 17-7. #3 Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

 hosted Tulane (fresh from a 44-6 loss to Alabama) and won 35-8. #4 Penn State beat Rice at Houston, 18-7. #5 Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...

 lost to LSU in Atlanta, 10-7, and dropped back out of the poll. The Crimson Tide regained first place, while 3-0 USC and Mississippi rose from 6th and 7th places to 4th and 5th. The next poll was 1.Alabama 2.Texas 3.Penn State 4.USC and 5.Mississippi

October 13 #1 Alabama beat Houston
Houston Cougars football
The Houston Cougars football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents the University of Houston. The team is commonly referred to as "Houston" or "UH" . The UH football program is currently a member of the Conference USA intercollegiate athletic conference, and is coached by...

 14-3 at home. #2 Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

 survived its Dallas encounter with Oklahoma, 9-6.
#3 Penn State lost to Army at West Point by the same 9-6 margin. #4 USC and #5 Mississippi were both idle. Though Alabama got more first place votes than Texas in the poll (24 vs. 21) the Longhorns had more points overall, and were the new #1. SEC rivals Alabama, LSU and Mississippi were 2nd, 4th and 5th in the poll, while USC was third. LSU's record had improved to 3-0-1 after a 17-3 win against the visiting Miami Hurricanes. The results were 1.Texas 2.Alabama 3.USC 4.LSU and 5.Mississippi

On October 20, all five of the top teams remained unbeaten. #1 Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

 beat Arkansas 7-3 at home. #2 Alabama defeated Tennessee at Knoxville, 27-7. The #3 USC Trojans hosted California and won 32-3. #4 LSU
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...

 beat Kentucky at Lexington 7-0 and #5 Mississippi shut out Tulane in New Orleans, 21-0. Nevertheless, LSU and Mississippi dropped to 6th and 7th in the next poll, while Big Ten rivals Northwestern and Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...

 reached the Top 5. Northwestern had beaten Ohio State 18-14 at Columbus, while Wisconsin thrashed Iowa 42-14. The rankings were 1.Texas 2.Alabama 3.Northwestern 4.USC 5.Wisconsin

In the first weekend after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, week 7's games were played on October 27. #1 Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

 was tied by the Rice Owls at Houston, 14-14. #2 Alabama beat Tulsa 35-6 and, #3 Northwestern defeated Notre Dame 35-6 at home. #4 USC won 28-16 over Illinois at Champaign, and #5 Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...

 lost to Ohio State at Columbus, 14-7. The #6 LSU Tigers
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...

 shut out Florida 23-0 at home. The Northwestern Wildcats were voted into first place, followed by 2.Alabama 3.USC 4.LSU and 5.Texas.

November

November 3 #1 Northwestern narrowly defeated Indiana, 26-21, at Bloomington. #2 Alabama and #3 USC shut out Mississippi State (20-0) and Washington (14-0), respectively. #4 LSU
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...

 lost at home to #7 Ole Miss
Ole Miss Rebels football
The football history of the University of Mississippi , includes the formation of the first football team in the state and is 26th on the list of college football's all-time winning programs...

, and #5 Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

 got past SMU at home, 6-0. The poll was 1.Northwestern 2.USC 3.Alabama 4.Mississippi and 5.Texas.

November 10 #1 Northwestern was beaten at Madison by #8 Wisconsin, 37-6. #3 Alabama beat Miami 36-3 and #2 USC won at Stanford, 39-14. #4 Ole Miss
Ole Miss Rebels football
The football history of the University of Mississippi , includes the formation of the first football team in the state and is 26th on the list of college football's all-time winning programs...

 defeated UT-Chattanooga 52-7, and #5 Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

 won at Baylor, 27-12. With the return of Wisconsin to the Top 5, and Northwestern dropping out, the poll was 1.Alabama 2.USC 3.Mississippi 4.Wisconsin and 5.Texas.

November 17 #1 Alabama travelled to Atlanta and lost to Georgia Tech, 7-6. #2 USC defeated Navy, 13-6, at home.
#3 Mississippi
Ole Miss Rebels football
The football history of the University of Mississippi , includes the formation of the first football team in the state and is 26th on the list of college football's all-time winning programs...

 beat Tennessee at Knoxville, 19-6
#4 Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...

 won at Illinois, 35-6, and #5 Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

 beat Texas Christian, 14-0. The last two unbeaten and untied teams, USC and Mississippi, were first and second in the next poll, followed by 3.Wisconsin 4.Texas and 5.Minnesota, which had beaten Purdue 7-6 .

On Thanksgiving Day (the 22nd), #4 Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

 hosted Texas A & M and won 13-3 to clinch the Southwestern conference title and the Cotton Bowl bid, half a game ahead of Arkanasa. On November 24 #1 USC beat UCLA, 14-3, extending its record to 9-0-0 and finishing a game ahead of Washington for the AAWU title and the Rose Bowl bid. #2 Mississippi
Ole Miss Rebels football
The football history of the University of Mississippi , includes the formation of the first football team in the state and is 26th on the list of college football's all-time winning programs...

 was idle. USC's bowl opponent was determined in the season-ending game between #3 Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...

 and #5 Minnesota, both 5-1-0 in Big Ten conference play. They met at Madison and the Badgers won on their home field, 14-9, to take the Big Ten title and the trip to the Rose Bowl. In the penultimate poll, USC retained the #1 spot, and Wisconsin was 2nd with an 8-1-0 record. Despite being unbeaten and untied, Mississippi placed third in the voting, followed by #4 Texas and #5 Alabama. The stage was set for a meeting of #1 and #2 at the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.

December 1, #1 USC closed a perfect season by beating Notre Dame 25-0 in Los Angeles for a 10-0-0 finish. #3 Mississippi
Ole Miss Rebels football
The football history of the University of Mississippi , includes the formation of the first football team in the state and is 26th on the list of college football's all-time winning programs...

 beat Mississippi State 13-6 at home to close with a 9-0-0 record, the SEC championship, and a trip to the Sugar Bowl, while #5 Alabama beat Auburn 38-0 in the season-ender at Birmingham to close their season at 10-1-0 and second place. The Tide accepted a bid to face Big 8 champion Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. The final AP poll, which determined the unofficial national championship, was released on December 3. USC finished first, followed by Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Texas and Alabama. The NCAA Football Guide recognized the University of Southern California as the 1962 champion as number one in both the AP poll and the UPI poll.

Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:

Bowl games

Bowl Winner Loser
Rose Bowl
1963 Rose Bowl
The 1963 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1963 at the end of the 1962 college football season. It was the 49th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans defeated the Wisconsin Badgers, 42–37...

#1 USC Trojans 42 #2 Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...

37
Sugar Bowl
1963 Sugar Bowl
The 1963 edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the 3rd ranked Ole Miss Rebels, and the 6th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. Behind a solid win, Ole Miss locked up its second national championship in three years.-Game summary:...

#3 Mississippi Rebels 17 #6 Arkansas Razorbacks 13
Cotton Bowl #7 LSU Tigers
LSU Tigers football
The LSU Tigers football team, also known as the Fighting Tigers or Bayou Bengals, represents Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States in NCAA Division I FBS college football. Current head coach Les Miles has led the team since 2005. Since 1999 when Nick Saban took over as...

13 #4 Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...

0
Orange Bowl
1963 Orange Bowl
The 1963 Orange Bowl, part of the 1962 bowl game season, took place on January 1, 1963, at the Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami, Florida. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference , and the , representing the Big Eight Conference . With President John F...

#5 Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama Crimson Tide football
|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...

17 #8 Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

0


Other bowls:
Bowl Location Winner Loser
Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...

El Paso West Texas State 15 Ohio 14
Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...

Jacksonville Florida 17 Penn State 7
Tangerine Bowl
Tangerine Bowl
Multiple events were named Tangerine Bowl:*The Tangerine Bowl is the original name of the college football bowl game that is currently called the Capital One Bowl. It was known as the Tangerine Bowl from 1947 to 1982....

Orlando Houston 49 Miami (Ohio) 21
Bluebonnet Bowl
Bluebonnet Bowl
The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium from 1959 through 1967, and again in 1985 and 1986. The game was...

Houston Missouri 14 Georgia Tech 10
Liberty Bowl
1963 Liberty Bowl
The 1963 Liberty Bowl was a college football bowl game played at Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between the and the before a crowd of 8,309 fans in brutally cold weather. Coach Paul E...

Philadelphia Oregon State 6 Villanova 0
Gotham Bowl
Gotham Bowl
The Gotham Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game that was played in New York City, United States, in 1961 and 1962. The game was initially created as a fund raising attempt for the March of Dimes....

New York Nebraska 36 Miami 34

Other champions

Prior to the splitting of the NCAA football programs into Divisions I-A and I-AA, the UPI and AP ranked smaller programs in a separate "small college football poll". In 1961, the wire services differed as to the choice for the best team.

UPI's Board of 35 coaches awarded the championship trophy to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (9-1-0, with their sole loss being to Memphis State), followed by unbeaten Florida A & M (9-0), Central Oklahoma (9-0), Lenoir-Rhyne (10-0) and Wittenberg (9-0).

The Associated Press poll of 8 sportswriters awarded the championship to the Florida A & M Rattlers, followed by Wittenberg, Central Oklahoma, Southern Miss, and Lenoir Rhyne . Florida A & M went on to play Jackson College (now Jackson State) in the Orange Blossom Classic
Orange Blossom Classic
The Orange Blossom Classic was an annual postseason college football game held between 1933 and 1978. Each year, it featured Florida A&M and another historically black school in an unofficial de facto championship game., The New York Times, February 3, 2007, retrieved February 7, 2009. It was seen...

, but lost 22-6.

In the NAIA championship game, Oklahoma's Central State College
University of Central Oklahoma
The University of Central Oklahoma, often referred to as UCO, is a coeducational public university located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The university is the third largest in Oklahoma, with almost 18,000 students and approximately 434 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty...

 Bronchos beat North Carolina's Lenoir-Rhyne College
Lenoir-Rhyne College
Lenoir–Rhyne University is a co-educational, private liberal arts university founded in 1891 and located in Hickory, North Carolina, USA. The university is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ....

 Bears, 28-13 in the Camellia Bowl
Camellia Bowl
- 1948, Lafayette, Louisiana :The Camellia Bowl was a post-season major college football bowl game played at McNaspy Stadium in Lafayette, Louisiana, on December 30, 1948 between Hardin-Simmons University and the University of Wichita ....

.
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