1969 Texas Longhorns football team

1969 Texas Longhorns football
Consensus national champion
SWC champion
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record11–0 (7–0 SWC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorEmory Bellard
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorMike Campbell
Base defense4–4
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1968
1970 →
1969 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Texas $ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0
No. 7 Arkansas 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Texas Tech 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
TCU 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
SMU 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Rice 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Texas A&M 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Baylor 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1969 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. The Longhorns won all eleven games to win their second consensus national championship;[1] the first was six seasons earlier in 1963.

The 1969 team is the last all-white team to be named consensus national champions with the onset of racial integration.[2] Julius Whittier, the first African-American player in Texas football history, was enrolled at UT as a freshman but was not eligible to play; NCAA rules of the time barred freshmen from playing varsity football and basketball.[3]

Ranked fourth to start the year, the #2 Longhorns defeated rival Oklahoma by ten points on October 11,[4] and gained the top spot in the polls in late November. On December 6, #1 Texas traveled to Fayetteville to meet second-ranked Arkansas;[5][6] down by fourteen points in the fourth quarter, UT rallied to win 15–14 in the season's "Game of the Century," attended by President Richard Nixon.[6][7][8] With a wishbone option offense, the Longhorns won all ten games in the regular season, and returned to the Cotton Bowl Classic in Fair Park in Dallas.

On New Year's Day 1970, the Longhorns met ninth-ranked Notre Dame, in its first bowl game in 45 years and second overall; their only previous postseason appearance was a win in the 1925 Rose Bowl. Trailing for most of the game, Texas scored with 68 seconds remaining and won 21–17.[1][9] On their final drive, the Longhorns faced fourth down twice.[1][9] It was their twentieth consecutive victory, second straight Cotton Bowl Classic title, and third win that season in the stadium.

  1. ^ a b c Jenkins, Dan (January 12, 1970). "Texas hangs on to its No. 1". Sports Illustrated. p. 26.
  2. ^ Drape, Joe (December 23, 2005). "Changing the Face of Texas Football". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "First African-American to play UT football, LBJ School Alum Julius Whittier visits Longhorn Team; Shares personal story about becoming an LBJ School Student". utexas.edu. Austin, Texas. December 1, 2010. Archived from the original on March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  4. ^ "Texas comes alive to hold 27-17 win". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. October 12, 1969. p. 16.
  5. ^ Darling, Ed (December 5, 1969). "The Eyes of Texas? They're all on Arkansas now". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. p. 6.
  6. ^ a b Jenkins, Dan (December 15, 1969). "Texas by an eyelash". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.
  7. ^ "Gutty quarterback leads Texas to win". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. Associated Press. December 7, 1969. p. 13.
  8. ^ "Longhorns decision Arkansas 15-14 with long bomb on fourth down". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 7, 1969. p. 1, sports.
  9. ^ a b "Texans edge Irish on big fourth downs". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 2, 1970. p. 30.