1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team

1960 Ole Miss Rebels football
FWAA national champion[1]
SEC champion
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 14–6 vs. Rice
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 2
Record10–0–1 (5–0–1 SEC)
Head coach
Home stadiumHemingway Stadium
Crump Stadium
Seasons
← 1959
1961 →
1960 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Ole Miss $ 5 0 1 10 0 1
No. 18 Florida 5 1 0 9 2 0
No. 9 Alabama 5 1 1 8 1 2
No. 13 Auburn 5 2 0 8 2 0
Tennessee 3 2 2 6 2 2
Georgia 4 3 0 6 4 0
Georgia Tech 4 4 0 5 5 0
LSU 2 3 1 5 4 1
Kentucky 2 4 1 5 4 1
Tulane 1 4 1 3 6 1
Mississippi State 0 5 1 2 6 1
Vanderbilt 0 7 0 3 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1960 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the University of Mississippi during the 1960 college football season. In their fourteenth season under head coach Johnny Vaught, the Rebels compiled a 10–0–1 record and won their fourth Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship. Their only blemish was a 6–6 tie against LSU. Mississippi was the only major-conference team in the nation that finished the season undefeated on the field (Missouri subsequently was credited with an undefeated season when its lone loss to Kansas was erased by forfeit).

The final Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) polls placed the Rebels second and third, respectively, behind the Minnesota Golden Gophers who were voted national champions before the bowl games. The major "wire-service" polls changed this policy following the 1965 season. The final AP poll of November 29 was one of the closest ever: Minnesota with 17½ first-place votes, Mississippi 16, and Iowa 12½. Students made “AP” and “UPI” dummies, hung them from the Union Building, and burned them while chanting, “We’re No. 1, to hell with AP and UPI.”[2] The No. 1 Gophers, however, subsequently lost the Rose Bowl to No. 6 Washington. Meanwhile, No. 2 Ole Miss defeated Rice, 14–6, in the Sugar Bowl. Quarterback Jake Gibbs was voted the game's MVP by scoring two rushing touchdowns.

After the New Year's Day bowl games, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) voted Mississippi as national champions and awarded them the Grantland Rice Trophy.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ NCAA. "National Poll Champions" (PDF). 2020 NCAA Division I Football records. NCAA.org. p. 117. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  2. ^ "1961 - How They Got There".
  3. ^ Travers, Steven (October 16, 2009). Pigskin Warriors: 140 Years of College Football's Greatest Traditions, Games, and Stars. Taylor Trade Publications. ISBN 978-1-58979-458-0.
  4. ^ "FWAA > Awards > Grantland Rice Trophy > Winners". www.sportswriters.net. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  5. ^ Boyles, Bob; Guido, Paul (August 4, 2008). The USA TODAY College Football Encyclopedia 2008-2009: A Comprehensive Modern Reference to America's Most Colorful Sport, 1953-Present. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. ISBN 978-1-60239-331-8.