College Football 1967
#1 in the preseason Associated Press (AP) poll in 1967 was Notre Dame, the defending champion after the "Tie One for the Gipper" game in 1966. (Watch video.) Bear Bryant's Alabama, which was the undefeated/untied defending champion in 1966, was a close #2. Neither team would live up to expectations. Instead, the #7 team in the opening poll claimed the crown.
The conference alignments that season were as follows. * marks the team that won the 1967 conference championship.
| Atlantic
Coast |
Big
Eight |
Big
Ten |
| Clemson* Duke Maryland North Carolina North Carolina State South Carolina Virginia Wake Forest |
Colorado Iowa State Kansas Kansas State Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma* Oklahoma State |
Illinois Indiana* Iowa Michigan Minnesota* Michigan State Northwestern Ohio State Purdue* Wisconsin |
| Mid-American |
Southeastern |
Southwest |
| Bowling
Green Kent State Marshall Miami (Ohio) Ohio Toledo* Western Michigan |
Alabama Auburn Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana State Mississippi Mississippi State Tennessee* Vanderbilt |
Arkansas Baylor Rice Southern Methodist Texas Texas A&M* Texas Christian Texas Tech |
| Ath.
Assn. of Western Univ. |
Western
Athletic |
Southern |
| California Oregon Oregon State Southern California* Stanford UCLA Washington Washington State |
Arizona Arizona State Brigham Young New Mexico Utah Wyoming* |
Citadel Davidson East Carolina Furman Richmond Virginia Military West Virginia* William & Mary |
|
Independents:
Air Force, Army,
Boston College, Colorado
State, Florida
State,
Georgia Tech,
Houston,
Louisville,
Miami (FL),
Navy,
New
Mexico State,
Notre Dame,
Penn State,
Pittsburgh,
Rutgers,
Syracuse,
Texas-El Paso, Tulane,
Utah State,
Virginia Tech
|
||
The limited substitution rules of the 1950s were long gone. Almost no one played both ways.
The season started on Friday, September 15. Southern California unveiled their new RB, JC transfer O. J. Simpson, in a 49-0 trouncing of Washington State. Cross-town rival UCLA also started strong, defeating Tennessee 20-16 in the Coliseum the next day behind the arm and feet of QB Gary Beban. The loss would be the Vols last until the Orange Bowl.
Alabama dropped in the polls quickly. Florida State tied the Tide 37-37 in week two, and Tennessee won the Third Saturday in October showdown 24-13. Shockingly, both games were in the "Heart of Dixie." The October game determined the SEC championship as the Vols later beat Ole Miss 20-7 in Memphis, their first victory over the Rebels since 1958.
Going in the opposite direction from Alabama was Oklahoma. After down years following Bud Wilkinson's retirement, the Sooners of new coach Chuck Fairbanks rode an outstanding defense to a 9-1 record and Big Eight championship, the only loss coming to Texas in the annual Red River Shootout in Dallas.
The surprise in the Big Ten was the Indiana Hoosiers of John Pont. Winning nine games for the first time since 1945, IU lost at Minnesota the second-to-last week, 33-7, but defeated Purdue in the finale 19-14 to create a three-way tie for the title. Indiana received the Rose Bowl berth because it had not played in Pasadena yet. Since the Big Ten did not allow teams to go to other bowl games, the Golden Gophers and Boilermakers stayed home for the holidays.
Texas A&M was the surprise winner in the Southwest Conference. Gene Stallings, one of the "Junction Boys" of Bear Bryant's first Aggie team, saw his squad lose its first four games by a combined 19 points, then win the final six, all conference games.
The most attention focused on the West Coast where the annual clash between USC and UCLA would determine the other Rose Bowl participant. Both teams stumbled along the way. UCLA was tied by Oregon State at home. John McKay's Trojans knocked off Notre Dame in South Bend 24-7 in October and were ranked #1 until they lost at Oregon State 3-0 in the second-to-last game. That left Wyoming as the only undefeated, untied team. So coming into the finale, UCLA was ranked #1 with SC fourth. Wyoming was 6th.
The game did not disappoint the 90,772 in the L.A. Coliseum. (Watch video.) Beban threw two TD passes, the second of which gave the Bruins a 20-14 lead early in the fourth quarter after the PAT was tipped. On the next possession, O.J. broke loose on a 64-yard TD run which led to a 21-20 Trojan lead. (Watch video.) The Troy D then sacked Beban four times in the final ten minutes to clinch victory. Despite the loss, Beban won the Heisman that year, but Simpson's run was a major factor in his victory the next year.
So the final Associated Press poll looked like this. (It would not be until the next year, 1968, that the AP conducted a poll after the bowl games.)
| Rank |
Team |
Record |
Points |
UPI
Pos. |
| 1 |
Southern
California |
9-1 |
474 |
1 |
| 2 |
Tennessee |
8-1 |
436 |
2 |
| 3 |
Oklahoma |
8-1 |
311 |
3 |
| 4 |
Indiana |
9-1 |
245 |
6 |
| 5 |
Notre
Dame |
8-2 |
243 |
4 |
The Rose and Orange Bowls clearly had the best matchups: #1 USC vs. #4 Indiana in Pasadena and #2 Tennessee vs. #3 Oklahoma in Miami. (Would have made great semifinal games leading to a title contest, wouldn't it?) The bowl results were as follows.
|
Bowl |
Result |
| Liberty Bowl, Memphis TN | North Carolina State 14 Georgia 7 |
| Bluebonnet Bowl, Houston TX | Colorado 31 Miami 21 |
| Sun Bowl, El Paso TX | Texas-El Paso 14 Mississippi 7 |
| Gator Bowl, Jacksonville FL | Florida State 17 Penn State 17 |
| Sugar Bowl, New Orleans LA | LSU 20 Wyoming 13 |
| Cotton Bowl, Dallas TX | Texas A&M 20 Alabama 16 |
| Rose Bowl, Pasadena CA | Southern California 14 Indiana 3 |
| Orange Bowl, Miami FL | Oklahoma 26 Tennessee 24 |
With its victory (Simpson gaining 177 on 30 carries), SC clinched its #1 position in the public mind. Oklahoma could claim #2 after defeating UT in the fourth Orange Bowl played on New Year's night. The 1967 Cotton Bowl is remembered for what happened after the game, which saw Gene Stallings become the first of Bear Bryant's former players or assistants to defeat him. Bear greeted his pupil at midfield with a bearhug, lifting him high off the ground and helping the Aggies carry him off the field.
Reference:
Fifty Years of College Football, Bob Boyles and Paul Guido
Reference: ESPN
College Football Encyclopedia