by David Steinle
Special to LSUsports.net
In Charles McClendon‘s first year as LSU coach in 1962, the former Bear Bryant disciple and All-America defensive end at Kentucky led the Fighting Tigers to a 9-1-1 record and a 13-0 victory over Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
It turned out to be the Longhorns’ only loss in either 1962 or 1963, as coach Darrell Royal’s team went from 9-1-1 in ’62 to 11-0 the next year and a national championship after Texas destroyed Roger Staubach and Navy in the Cotton Bowl following the ’63 season, 28-6.
In 1964, Arkansas replaced Texas as king of the Southwest Conference, and coach Frank Broyles’ Razorbacks completed an 11-0 season with a 10-7 victory over Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl.
The Hogs, whose coaching staff also featured future college head coaches Jim MacKenzie (Oklahoma), Bill Pace (Vanderbilt), Johnny Majors (Iowa State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee) and Barry Switzer (Oklahoma, Dallas Cowboys), continued that impressive march unblemished through 1965 by going 10-0 and finishing second in the national wire service polls behind Big Ten champion Michigan State.
The 1965 Razorbacks were seriously challenged only once, and that was by top-ranked Texas in Fayetteville. The Longhorns, led by All-America linebacker Tommy Nobis, the only man to be the first overall pick of both the NFL and AFL, fell behind the Hogs 20-0 in the first half, but rallied for a 24-20 lead early in the fourth quarter. But as was the case the previous year, the Razorbacks had the final word, taking a 27-24 victory to leave Arkansas clear title to the SWC title.
With its 42-24 triumph over Texas Tech to close the regular season, Arkansas became one of four teams to finish with an unblemished regular season mark, joining Michigan State, Nebraska and Alabama.
Now, the Razorbacks awaited an opponent for the Cotton Bowl Classic of Jan. 1, 1966 in Dallas. Most Arkansas fans wanted a contest against one of the top two teams from the Big Eight Conference, either a rematch with champion Nebraska or a contest with the Tigers to the north, Missouri, a perennial powerhouse under coach Dan Devine.
Instead, thanks to the tireless politicking of LSU athletic director Jim Corbett, along with a smashing 62-0 victory over Tulane five days before Thanksgiving that closed out the Green Wave’s tenure in the Southeastern Conference, the Cotton Bowl brass elected to give the bid opposite the mighty Razorbacks to a unheralded 7-3 LSU team.
Many Razorback fans snickered openly about the quality, or lack thereof, of LSU. Yes, many Razorback fans welcomed another chance to play the one-time rival Bayou Bengals, but most were ready to head to Dallas for a big New Year’s party for the second straight year.
For Coach Mac and the Tigers, it had not been the easiest year. The season began on a tragic note when Hurricane Betsy slammed into Louisiana’s coast just eight days prior to the Tigers’ season opener with Texas A&M. Although well inland from the landfall at Grand Isle, Betsy raked the LSU campus with 90-mile-per-hour winds, snapping branch after branch off of the stately oaks. The storm also left an overturned chlorine barge on the Mississippi River, just a half-mile away from the Tigers’ practice facility and threatening parts of the city.
LSU started the season well enough with home victories over Texas A&M and Rice, but a 14-7 loss at Florida to Steve Spurrier’s Gators knocked the Tigers out of the top 10. The Tigers recovered to post consecutive wins over Miami, Kentucky and South Carolina, but back-to-back losses to Ole Miss in Jackson (23-0) and Alabama at home (31-7) left LSU at 5-3 and needing two wins to salvage any hopes of a postseason.
The Tigers got the first of those victories with a 37-20 triumph over Mississippi State, and then with their season on the line, the Bayou Bengals administered their third 62-0 whipping to the Willow Street gang in eight years, a win big enough to draw the invitation to Dallas to take on the mighty Razorbacks.
It had only been three years since the Tigers blanked Texas in Big D, but so much had changed since the purple and gold last invaded Dallas.
The wheels for that cataclysmic change began to spin on Nov. 22, 1963, when president John F. Kennedy was assassinated in a motorcade through the heart of Dallas. The shocking incident, and subsequent televised murder of assailant Lee Harvey Oswald, made an imprint that still had not healed by the end of 1965. For those who were around to witness that dark day, the memory is haunting even four decades later.
Color television had been introduced by the beginning of 1966, and within five years, the vast majority of Americans would be watching their sporting events, prime-time shows and all other programming just as they saw it in person.
While the familiar faces still dotted the college football landscape-Royal at Texas, Broyles at Arkansas, McClendon at LSU, John Vaught at Ole Miss, Bear Bryant at Alabama and Woody Hayes at Ohio State to name a few-the gridiron had undergone its own radical transformation in a short span.
Gone was Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson and his many innovations to the college game. Ara Parseghian had resurrected a sleeping giant at Notre Dame and had the Fighting Irish poised to recapture past glories (the bowl ban from the 1920s was still in effect at the time, not to be lifted until the end of the decade, much to the chagrin of LSU fans). Tulane was leaving the Southeastern Conference after losing more than 61 percent of its conference games.
Elsewhere in the SEC, Georgia was on its way back to elite status under the leadership of young Vince Dooley, and scientists at the University of Florida concocted a new sports beverage called Gatorade, although future Heisman Trophy winner Steve Spurrier refused to drink it at first.
Those changes were subtle; two other changes to the college game between 1962 and 1965 were more radical. The first came on the field in 1964, when the NCAA rules committee allowed free and complete substitution for the first time in the 95-year history of the college game. This change ushered in the era of the specialist and rendering the need for LSU’s legendary three-platoon team of the White, the Go and the Chinese Bandits unnecessary.
The other big change concerned the polls. Prior to the 1965 season, the Associated Press announced that for the first time in the 30 years it had named a college football national champion, its final poll of sportswriters and broadcasters would be taken after the bowl games of January 1, rather than before the bowls in early December. The decision stemmed from a poor track record involving teams winning the AP crown, as in 1960 and again in 1964, the team winning the title ended up losing its bowl game.
The United Press International board of coaches, however, opted not to re-vote after the bowl games, and would continue this policy until 1974, leading to three split decisions between 1965 and 1973.
Therefore, an undefeated Arkansas team that was denied the wire-service titles in 1964 (the Razorbacks were named national champions by the Football Writers Association of America) now had the chance to at least garner a split title from the AP if it could beat LSU and UCLA could knock off Michigan State in the Rose Bowl.
MSU entered Pasadena (which was not yet the Bruins’ home) as the UPI champion and a solid favorite in the Rose Bowl, thanks to a legendary defense that featured future NFL stars George Webster and Bubba Smith.
If the Spartans and the Razorbacks both faltered, the national championship would come down to a winner-take-all showdown later than night in the Orange Bowl between third-ranked Nebraska and fourth-ranked Alabama, which defended its SEC crown. It was the Crimson Tide who won the 1964 crown before losing to Texas in the Orange Bowl, due in large part to Bryant’s suspension of Joe Namath prior to what would have been his final game at the Capstone.
As the action unfolded that day, little could a 14-year old in Fairmont, West Virginia, named Nick Saban ever envision beyond his wildest dreams that one day he would eventually be the head coach of two of the competing teams he would be watching on the tube.
The Arkansas team that LSU would try to stop in Dallas was unlike most the Tigers saw at the time in the SEC. The Razorbacks had a potent ground game, like most powerhouses of the mid-1960s possessed, but Arkansas was even more deadly through the air, led by the passing combination of quarterback Jon Brittenum to wide receiver Bobby Crockett. Brittenum had become the first Arkansas quarterback to throw for more than 1,000 yards since 1954 that year, and Crockett earned first team All-America honors by catching 30 passes for 487 yards.
The Hogs’ defense, though overshadowed by their potent offense, was no slouch, either. Led by All-America tackle Loyd Phillips, who led the Razorbacks with 100 tackles, and linebacker Joe Black, Arkansas had three shutouts to its credit.
As 1965 turned to 1966, the Tigers got a break with the weather, which was a complete opposite of the conditions that greeted LSU and Arkansas the last time they met in the Cotton Bowl, when freezing rain and snow held the teams to a scoreless tie in 1947. The sky was gray and rain was in the forecast, but the kickoff temperature of 66 degrees was much closer to Baton Rouge than Fayetteville, and McClendon had to feel good about his troops’ chances.
Arkansas appeared ready to turn the game into a rout early, as Jim Lindsey rushed for 14 around left end, then hauled in a Brittenum pass for 12 more to the LSU 47. But the Tiger front wall held and forced a punt.
The Tigers began to move on their first drive, but a costly holding penalty on a first-and-10 from the Arkansas 42 took the starch out of the drive, although Buster Brown’s 42-yard punt swung the field position edge to LSU, leaving Arkansas at its own 13.
The poor field position had little effect on the Razorbacks. Jones carried twice for 25 yards to the Arkansas 41, and from there, the Hogs expertly mixed passes and runs to reach the LSU 19, where Brittenum rolled left and speared Crockett, who beat Jerry Joseph for the touchdown, giving the Razorbacks a 7-0 lead with 3:35 to go in the opening period.
Arkansas’ Ronnie South missed a 51-yard field goal early in the second quarter, giving LSU the ball at its own 20, and the Tigers got their offense in gear. An 18-yard pass from Nelson Stokley to Don Schwab gave the Tigers a first down near midfield, and then the Tigers’ other quarterback, Pat Screen, kept for 11 up the middle before finding Billy Masters for 14 more to the Razorback 35.
Jimmy Dousay ate up 11 more yards on three carries before LSU turned to its ace in the hole, “Lightning” Joe Labruzzo. The Lockport native went up the middle for 5, and after Masters took an end around for 3, Labruzzo carried the final four plays of the 16-play, 80-yard march, culminating in his 4-yard touchdown run. Moreau added the extra point, and with 4:15 to play before halftime, the record crowd of 76,200, save for the contingent in purple and gold at the south end of the stadium, sat in stunned silence.
Those Razorback fans had more horror right around the corner. On the third play of Arkansas’ next drive, backup quarterback South fumbled a handoff, and the Tigers’ Bill Bass recovered at the Hogs’ 34.
Screen wasted little time in attacking for the go-ahead score, hitting Moreau on the right sideline for 12 before turning again to Labruzzo, who ripped off an 11-yard gain at left tackle to set up a first-and-goal from the 5.
Three plays later, Labruzzo cracked the Razorback wall for his second touchdown in four minutes, giving LSU an incredible 14-7 lead with 18 seconds left before intermission.
Led by 54 yards from Labruzzo and a combined 71 passing yards from Stokley and Screen, LSU outgained Arkansas 180-154 in the first half, but the Tigers knew Arkansas would come with everything and then some in the second half to try and keep its 22-game win streak and national title hopes alive.
LSU went three-and-out to start the second half, but as the Razorbacks took over, a driving rainstorm came over the Metroplex, hampering the Hogs’ potent passing attack and turning the Cotton Bowl grass into soup.
Arkansas had a golden opportunity to tie the game after an exchange of punts left the Razorbacks at the LSU 49. The Hogs marched to the LSU 15 on the strength of a 19-yard hookup from Brittenum to Crockett, but Tiger defensive tackle Ernest Maggiore threw Lindsey for a 6-yard loss, and when Brittenum fell dropping back to pass, the Hogs were forced into a 46-yard field goal attempt by South that failed.
As the final 15 minutes began, LSU put together its only sustained march of the second half, moving from its own 46 to the Arkansas 8, as Screen hit Masters for 14 into Razorback territory before seven running plays and a penalty set up a first-and-goal.
LSU, nursing a seven-point lead with time winding down, refused to go to the air, leaving the Tigers with a fourth-and-goal from the 2. Rather than try to go for the touchdown and an insurmountable lead, McClendon opted to bring in the steady Moreau for a 19-yard field goal try. But the muddy field forced the left-footed Moreau to hook his kick wide right, giving Arkansas the ball back at its 20.
A 16-yard pass from Brittenum to Crockett and an 18-yard burst by Bobby Burnett had the Hogs at the LSU 36 with just under seven minutes left, but the drive abruptly was halted when Joseph, earlier burned for the Arkansas touchdown, picked off Brittenum at the LSU 20 to halt the march with 6:17 left.
LSU could not move, and with 2:35 remaining, Arkansas would have one last chance from its own 11. Using the resolve that had produced 22 straight victories, the Hogs steadily marched down the field to a possible national championship, as Brittenum found Crockett twice for 13 yards, then hit him for 20 more to the LSU 48 with 1:05 remaining.
With a second-and-2 at the LSU 28, LSU’s All-America defensive tackle, George Rice, made the biggest play of his career when he sacked Brittenum for a 7-yard loss back to the 35. Brittenum found Crockett for 11 yards on the next play, but time had expired, and Cinderella was still dancing: LSU 14, Arkansas 7.
Labruzzo was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, rushing for 69 yards on 21 carries and scoring both LSU touchdowns, as seven Tiger ballcarriers helped the purple and gold rack up 168 yards on the ground. Screen and Stokely combined for 100 yards passing, but more importantly, no interceptions.
When the Tigers woke up the next morning to board their charter at Love Field for the return to Baton Rouge, they found out the major role they played in the championship drama. Indeed, UCLA upset Michigan State in the Rose Bowl, 14-12, while Alabama romped past Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 39-28, to win the AP national championship. The Bayou Bengals finished eighth in the final AP balloting, which consisted of only 10 teams at the time, marking LSU’s sixth top-10 finish in the past eight years.
The AP, strangely enough, went back to declaring its national champion prior to the bowl games in both 1966 and 1967, but by 1968, the post-bowl poll became permanent, and the poll was back to its original 20 teams.
For McClendon, the Cotton Bowl stands out as maybe the greatest win of the 137 he led LSU to in his 18 years as head coach, and is still the most improbable of LSU’s 16 bowl victories. The Tigers would not beat a higher-ranked opponent until 1997 when the purple and gold upended top-ranked Florida in Death Valley.
Nearly 27 years after that classic game in Dallas, the Tigers and Razorbacks would meet again, only this time as foes in the Southeastern Conference, as Arkansas ended its long-standing affiliation in the SWC to join the SEC in 1992. Today, LSU and Arkansas close every regular season and play for a 24-karat gold trophy known as “The Boot”.
While LSU and Arkansas will add several chapters to the storied series in the coming years, it’s doubtful that any game the Tigers and Razorbacks play will ever match the intensity of that New Year’s Day in Dallas, when an undersized, underrated team ended their opponents’ national championship dreams.