The 1963 NCAA University Division football season was played by American football teams representing 120 colleges and universities recognized the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as major programs. The remaining 299 colleges and universities that were NCAA members and fielded football teams competed in the 1963 NCAA College Division football season.
The 1963 Texas Longhorns football team compiled a perfect 11–0 record, won the Southwest Conference championship, and defeated No. 2 Navy in the Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns were the consensus national champion as chosen by 16 selectors, including the Associated Press poll, United Press International poll, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and the National Championship Foundation. Quarterback Duke Carlisle was the team's most valuable player, and tailback Tommy Ford led the team in rushing and was a first-team All-American. Defensive tackle Scott Appleton won the Outland Trophy, and head coach Darrell Royal won the Coach of the Year Award from both the FWAA and the American Football Coaches Association.
Navy quarterback Roger Staubach won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award as the best player in college football. Baylor quarterback Don Trull led the University Division with 2,157 passing yards and won the Sammy Baugh Trophy. Other University Division leaders included Memphis State fullback Dave Casinelli (1,016 rushing yards), Kansas halfback Gale Sayers (1,072 yards from scrimmage), Baylor end Lawrence Elkins (873 receiving yards), and Maryland's Darryl Hill (90 points scored). Hill was the first African-American football player in any of the southern athletic conferences composed of formerly segregated white institutions.
Conference and program changes The Big Sky Conference began its first season of play in 1963 in the College Division with four founding members, all independents, from Idaho, Montana, and Utah.
School 1962 Conference 1963 Conference Louisville Cardinals Independent Missouri Valley Idaho State Bengals Independent Big Sky Montana Grizzlies Independent Big Sky Montana State Bobcats Independent Big Sky Weber State Wildcats Independent Big Sky The Idaho Vandals were also charter members of the Big Sky, but remained independent in football until 1965 and retained University Division status.
September In the preseason poll released on September 16, the defending champion USC Trojans were first, followed by Southeastern Conference (SEC) rivals, the Ole Miss Rebels and the Alabama Crimson Tide at second and third. The Oklahoma Sooners were fourth and the Texas Longhorns were next.
On a Friday night game in New Orleans, No. 5 Texas beat hapless Tulane 21–0 with the help of its "shoeless kicker", Tony Crosby and halfback Phil Harris."Harris Gets Two TDs in Texas Win," The Express and News (San Antonio), September 21, 1963, p1-B The next day, September 21, No. 1 USC shut out Colorado on a muddy field at Boulder, 14–0, with the Trojans' Pete Beathard running for two scores."USC Escapes Eager Buffs," San Antonio Light September 22, 1963, p3-C No. 2 Ole Miss was held to a scoreless tie at Memphis State, and the result was enough to take the Rebels out of the poll. No. 3 Alabama won at Georgia, 32–7, and after falling behind 14-0 at home, No. 4 Oklahoma rallied to beat Clemson 31–14."Sooners Rally To Beat Clemson," San Antonio Light September 22, 1963, p4-C In the poll that followed, the results were No. 1 USC, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Oklahoma, and No. 4 Texas, with Navy moving from ninth to fifth on the strength of a 51–7 win at West Virginia.
On September 28, No. 1 USC was beaten at home at the Los Angeles Coliseum by No. 3 Oklahoma, 17–12, in a game played in heat."OU Nicks Trojans on Early Drives," The Ada Evening News (Ada, OK), September 29, 1963 Tulane, which had been shut out by Texas the week before, went scoreless again in a 28–0 loss to No. 2 Alabama. No. 4 Texas defeated Texas Tech at home, 49–7. No. 5 Navy shut out William & Mary at Annapolis, 28–0. In the poll, Oklahoma took over first place, Alabama stayed at second, and Texas moved up to third. Big Ten rivals Northwestern (winning 34–21 over Indiana) and Wisconsin (which beat Notre Dame 14–9 at South Bend) tied at No. 4, while Navy moved down to sixth.
October Both No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 4 Wisconsin were idle on October 5. No. 3 Texas beat Oklahoma State at home, 34–7. No. 2 Alabama beat Vanderbilt in Nashville, 21–6. No. 4 Northwestern lost at Illinois, 10–9, due to a missed extra point and a bad punt that went only five yards and set up the Illini's touchdown. Jim Plankenhorn connected on a point after and a field goal."Illinois Upsets Wildcats, 10–9", Wisconsin State Journal, October 6, 1963, p2–1 When the poll was released the Sooners were No. 1 and the Longhorns No. 2 as the two teams prepared to meet in Dallas. Alabama fell to No. 3, Navy rose from 6th place to 4th with a 26–13 win at Michigan, and Wisconsin dropped to No. 5.
Three of the top four teams played at the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas the next weekend. In a Friday night game, No. 4 Navy lost to SMU 32–28. After Navy had gone ahead 28–26 in the final three minutes, a pass interference call set up the Mustangs' touchdown. Roger Staubach drove his team to the 7-yard line with :01 to play, but his pass attempt was batted down in the end zone by Tommy Caughren."SMU Stuns Navy," San Antonio Express and News, October 12, 1963, p1-D Hours later on October 12, at the same venue, No. 1 Oklahoma played against No. 2 Texas before a crowd of 75,504. Texas won the game 28–7 to take over the top ranking."Hard Hitting Steers Bomb Sooners," San Antonio Light, October 13, 1963, pC-1 Third-ranked Alabama lost on its home field to unranked Florida, 10–6. Joe Namath scored for the Tide with 2:05 left, but tries for the 2-point conversion and an onside kick both failed."Gators Stun 'Bama 10-6", Panama City Herald, October 6, 1963, p2-1 No. 5 Wisconsin hosted Purdue, winning 38–20. No. 8 Ohio State, which had shut out its first two opponents, tied Illinois 20–20. No. 6 Pittsburgh and No. 10 Mississippi were both idle, but moved into the top five after the string of losses by higher-ranked teams. The next poll was No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Pittsburgh, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Mississippi.
In Week Five (October 19, the top three teams managed narrow wins. Halfback Tommy Ford ran for two scores to help No. 1 Texas beat Arkansas at Little Rock, 17–13."Longhorns Slap Down Razorbacks," Oakland Tribune, October 20, 1963, p51 No. 2 Wisconsin won 10–7 at Iowa, as Paul Krause of the Hawkeyes went for a win instead of a tie with 99 seconds left, and was stopped a foot short of a first down after a fake field goal attempt,"Iowa Edged By Badgers" Oakland Tribune, October 20, 1963, p51 and the No. 3 Pitt Panthers came from behind to beat West Virginia, 13–10."Pitt Edges Mountaineers," Oakland Tribune, October 20, 1963, p51 Previously unbeaten No. 4 Ohio State was crushed by USC at before 63,883 fans in Los Angeles, 32–3."USC Power Buries Ohio State," Oakland Tribune, October 20, 1963, p51 No. 5 Ole Miss became the third Top Five team to shut out Tulane, 21–0, a team that went scoreless in six games in 1963 and finished at 1–8–1. Ohio State's Big Ten rival, No. 7 Illinois, beat Minnesota 16–6 and replaced the Buckeyes in the next poll: No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Pittsburgh, No. 4 Illinois, and No. 5 Mississippi.
Week Six began with a Friday night 18–12 come-from-behind win by No. 4 Illinois over UCLA at Los Angeles."Illinois Defeats Bruins, 18-12" Reno Evening Gazette, October 26, 1963, p10 The next day, October 26, No. 1 Texas beat Rice at home, 10–6, as Tommy Nobis blocked an extra point, and shoeless Tony Crosby made a field goal."Crosby Kicks Bring Win" Express and News (San Antonio) Oct. 27, 1963, p1-C No. 2 Wisconsin lost 13–10 to Ohio State at home, when Matt Snell drove over for a score with 2:13 left."Wisconsin Nipped By Buckeyes, 13-10" Express and News (San Antonio) Oct. 27, 1963, p2-C Roger Staubach's passing and a defense that made four interceptions drove No. 10 Navy to a 24–12 upset of No. 3 Pittsburgh at Annapolis."Navy Sinks Pitt By 24-12 Margin," Express and News (San Antonio) Oct. 27, 1963, p2-C No. 5 Mississippi beat Vanderbilt 27–7. Texas remained at No. 1 in the next poll, followed by No. 2 Illinois, No. 3 Mississippi, No. 4 Navy, and No. 5 Auburn, which moved from eighth to fifth despite being idle that week.
November On November 2, all of the top five teams won. No. 1 Texas stayed unbeaten by defeating SMU at Dallas, 17–12, as Crosby made his 21st consecutive point after."Crosby's Toe Boots Texas to 17–12 Win," Wisconsin State Journal, Nov. 3, 1963, p3/3 No. 2 Illinois rolled over Purdue at home, 41–21 as Jim Grabowski scored three touchdowns"Illinois Rips Purdue, 41–21," Wisconsin State Journal, Nov. 3, 1963, p2/3 and No. 3 Ole Miss overwhelmed LSU 37–3 at Baton Rouge. No. 4 Navy handed Notre Dame its second straight loss on Staubach's passing, 35–14 in South Bend"Staubach Steers Navy to 35–14 Rout of Irish," Wisconsin State Journal, Nov. 3, 1963, p3/3 and No. 5 Auburn won at home over Florida, 19–0. The poll remained unchanged.
November 9, No. 1 Texas won its eighth straight, 7–0, by shutting down Baylor's passing game. Longhorns QB Duke Carlisle, playing on defense, intercepted Don Trull's end zone pass with 22 seconds to play, then ran out the clock."Steers Stay Unbeaten 7-0," Kingsport Times-News, Nov. 10, 1963, p1-C Previously unbeaten No. 2 Illinois had an 8–7 lead with minutes left in a game at home against Michigan, when a fumble gave the Wolverines the ball 11 yards from the goal line, setting up Mel Anthony's winning score for a 14–8 upset."Michigan Derails Illini On Late Touchdown," Kingsport Times-News, Nov. 10, 1963, p4-C No. 3 Mississippi shut out visiting Tampa, 41-0, No. 4 Navy mauled Maryland 42–7 at home, and No. 5 Auburn fell 13–10 to Mississippi State at Jackson. No. 6 Oklahoma defeated Iowa State 24–14, while No. 9 Michigan State shut out Purdue 23–0. Texas, the only major team to remain unbeaten and untied, kept the No. 1 spot, followed by No. 2 Navy, No. 3 Mississippi, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 5 Oklahoma.
November 16, No. 1 Texas went to 9–0 with a 17–0 home win over TCU. No. 2 Navy won 38–25 at Duke and No. 3 Mississippi shut out Tennessee, 20–0, at a game in Memphis. No. 4 Michigan State was trailing Notre Dame 7–6 at home in the fourth quarter, but Sherm Lewis ran 85 yards from scrimmage to win the game, 12–7. Both of the Spartans' two-point attempts failed."Spartans Tip Irish on Lewis Scamper," Wisconsin State Journal, Nov. 17, 1963, p2/3 No. 5 Oklahoma won at Missouri 13–3, but dropped to sixth and was replaced by Pittsburgh (which had trounced Army, 28–0) at the fifth spot. Texas, Navy, Ole Miss, and Michigan State stayed at the top four spots.
Most of the games that had been scheduled for November 23, 1963 were canceled or postponed after the assassination of President Kennedy the day before."Illini-Spartan Battle Still On," Wisconsin State Journal, Nov. 23, 1963, p1/3 North Carolina State had played a Friday night game against Wake Forest, winning 42–0, and the Big Ten games were set to continue until Michigan Governor George Romney received a Saturday morning cancellation from Big Ten commissioner Bill Reed."Big Ten Showdown Tilt Set Despite Romney's Protest" The Pitt-Penn State game was postponed. The annual Oklahoma-Nebraska game, which would determine the Big Eight championship and an Orange Bowl berth, was played as scheduled in Lincoln. No. 10 Nebraska won 29–20 over No. 6 Oklahoma, finishing 7–0 in Big 8 play ahead of the 6–1 Sooners. The same day, No. 9 Auburn beat Florida State 21–15. In the Battle for the Rag, LSU defeated Tulane 20–0 in the most recent daytime game at Tiger Stadium not to be televised. Tennessee beat Kentucky 19-0. The top five in the AP poll remained the same.