1969 Texas vs. Arkansas football game

Texas vs. Arkansas, 1969
The "Game of the Century"
(1969 version)
National Championship Game[1]
Texas Longhorns Arkansas Razorbacks
(9–0) (9–0)
15 14
Head coach: 
Darrell Royal		 Head coach: 
Frank Broyles
APCoaches
11
APCoaches
22
1234 Total
Texas 00015 15
Arkansas 7070 14
DateDecember 6, 1969
Season1969
StadiumRazorback Stadium
LocationFayetteville, Arkansas
RefereeCarl Landiss
Attendance47,500[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersChris Schenkel and
Bud Wilkinson
Nielsen ratings52.1
College Football Championship Game
 < 1969 (Jan) 1971 (Dec) > 

The 1969 Texas vs. Arkansas football game, sometimes referred to as the "Game of the Century", was a college football game played on December 6 in which No. 1 Texas visited No. 2 Arkansas at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.[3] The Longhorns came back from a 14–0 deficit after three quarters to win 15–14.[4][5][6][7]

President Richard Nixon attended the game and established it as a national championship game by announcing he would award the winning team a presidential plaque declaring them "the number-one college football team in college football's one-hundredth year."[1]

With a Nielsen rating of 52.1 (a 74 share), this was and remains as of 2023, the highest TV rating in American football history, college or professional.

  1. ^ a b Weinreb, Michael (June 18, 2013). "Tricky Dick's Trick Play". Grantland. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 18, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Darling, Ed (December 5, 1969). "The Eyes of Texas? They're all on Arkansas now". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. p. 6.
  4. ^ "Gutty quarterback leads Texas to win". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. Associated Press. December 7, 1969. p. 13.
  5. ^ "Longhorns decision Arkansas 15–14 with long bomb on fourth down". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 7, 1969. p. 1, sports.
  6. ^ Jenkins, Dan (December 15, 1969). "Texas by an eyelash". Sports Illustrated. p. 20.
  7. ^ Schenkel, Chris (November 19, 2003). "ESPN Classic – Game of the Century left lifetime of memories". ESPN Classic. Retrieved July 26, 2010.