1965 Cotton Bowl Classic

August 2025 August 2023 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic 1965.png 200px Cotton Bowl Classic 29th Cotton Bowl Classic 1964 Nebraska Cornhuskers Arkansas Razorbacks 9–1 Big Eight Bob Devaney 10–0 SWC Frank Broyles 6 6 2 2 0 7 0 0 3 0 0 7 January 1 Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas Ronnie Caveness (Arkansas LB) Fred Marshall (Arkansas QB) Arkansashttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xs1eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3DIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6110%2C64742 Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, LSU favored in bowl contests Lewiston Morning Tribune Associated Press January 1, 1965 8 75,504 CBS 1966 (Jan) The 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic was the twenty-ninth edition of the college football bowl game, played on January 1, 1965 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The game matched Southwest champion Arkansas against Big Eight champion Nebraska. In a tightly contested defensive battle, second-ranked Arkansas rallied to defeat No. 6 Nebraska 10–7 to win its first Cotton Bowl, and was later named national champion by multiple selectors. Teams Nebraska 1964 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team Under third-year head coach Bob Devaney, Nebraska won its first nine games and ascended to fourth in the AP poll, the highest ranking in school history. NU won the Big Eight outright for the second consecutive year, but a 17–7 loss at rival Oklahoma on November 21 snapped a sixteen-game win streak and eliminated the Cornhuskers from national championship contention.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Tf1VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5031%2C4159447 Midwest: Oklahoma, 17–7 The Register-Guard Eugene, Oregon Associated Press November 22, 1964 5B Arkansas 1964 Arkansas Razorbacks football team No. 2 Arkansas entered the Cotton Bowl 10–0, including a victory over top-ranked Texas in Austin, to earn the Southwest Conference title. All-American two-way lineman Ronnie Caveness led the Razorbacks' top-ranked scoring defense that allowed just 5.7 points per game. Head coach Frank Broyles made liberal use of the NCAA's new unlimited-substitution rule, which was adopted at the beginning of the 1964 season but was still a rarity among elite teams.https://vault.si.com/vault/1965/01/11/arkansas-takes-over-at-the-top https://web.archive.org/web/20210305162433/https://vault.si.com/vault/1965/01/11/arkansas-takes-over-at-the-top dead March 5, 2021 Arkansas takes over at the top Dan Jenkins Sports Illustrated January 11, 1965 August 20, 2025 Arkansas had lost three consecutive major bowl games, but entered its 1965 meeting with Nebraska as a slight favorite. Game thumb|400x400px|The stadium, as shown in the game's media guide A standing-room only crowd watched as Arkansas opened the scoring on a Tom McKnelly field goal minutes into the game. Nebraska responded midway through the second quarter, using a pair of Fred Marshall fumbles and a long pass to Harry Wilson to score the first points against Arkansas in six games.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=esEbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=M08EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7273%2C41709 Arkansas rises, 10-7, to win Cotton Bowl Pittsburgh Press United Press International January 2, 1965 7 The Cornhuskers took a 7–3 lead into halftime, Arkansas's first deficit since October 3. Nebraska's aggressive defensive gameplan frustrated Arkansas for much of the afternoon, and the Razorbacks made a switch at quarterback after a scoreless third quarter. NU advanced into Arkansas territory early in the fourth quarter, but was turned back without extending the lead.https://dataomaha.com/huskers/history/game/1965-1-1-arkansas Late Arkansas Pass Nip Cotton Bowl Huskers, 10-7 Wally Provost Omaha World-Herald January 2, 1965 August 20, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20200921035852if_/https://dataomaha.com/huskers/history/game/1965-1-1-arkansas September 21, 2020 dead With time winding down, Marshall completed five passes while engineering an eighty-yard Arkansas drive, capped by a three-yard touchdown by running back Bobby Burnett with 4:41 remaining. Nebraska was unable to mount a threat and Arkansas held on to win 10–7, the program's first victory in a major bowl and its twelfth consecutive win. Marshall and Cavenass, who finished with fifteen tackles, were named the game's most valuable players.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GQBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-eIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6720%2C118937 Arkansas grabs first Cotton Bowl triumph The Register-Guard Eugene, Oregon Associated Press January 2, 1965 3B Scoring summary Qtr Team Time Detailhttps://www.huskermax.com/game/1964-arkansas-football/ Razorbacks win defensive battle with late drive HuskerMax August 19, 2025 NU ARK 1 ARK 9:47 Tom McKnelly 31-yd field goal 0 3 2 NU 7:45 Harry Wilson 1-yd run (Duncan Drum kick) 7 3 4 ARK 4:41 Bobby Burnett 3-yd run (McKnelly kick) 7 10 Team statistics Statistic Nebraska Arkansas First downs 11 11 Rushes–yards 44–100 34–45 Comp.–att. Completions–pass attempts–yards 6–16–68 11–19–131 Total offense 168 176 Turnovers 2 3 Punts–average 6–33.3 6–40.1 Penalty yards 25 50 Aftermath Broyles rushed his team through postgame festivities so they could watch the Orange Bowl between top-ranked Alabama and Texas. The Longhorns' 21–17 upset left Arkansas as the only unbeaten major-conference team in the country, though the Crimson Tide was still named national champion by the AP and UPI, which released their final polls prior to bowl season.http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~dwilson/rsfc/history/CoachPolls.txt Coaches' polls (UPI 1950-1990, CNN/USA Today 1991-present) Bob Kirlin December 31, 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20080105074149/http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~dwilson/rsfc/history/CoachPolls.txt January 5, 2008 dead Arkansas was named champion by the FWAA and the Helms Athletic Foundation, the school's only national title claim. Partially due to the results of the Cotton and Orange Bowls in 1964, the AP waited until after bowl season to select a champion in 1965.https://tournamentofroses.com/cfb150-stories-post-bowl-national-champion-voting/ CFB150 Stories: Post Bowl National Champion Voting Rose Bowl Game October 9, 2019 August 20, 2025 Arkansas co-captain Jerry Jones later purchased the Dallas Cowboys and facilitated the construction of Cowboys Stadium in suburban Arlington, where the Cotton Bowl Classic has been played since 2010.https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/jerry-jones-named-to-cotton-bowl-hall-of-fame/ Jerry Jones Named to Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame Michael Minshew Arkansas Athletics January 9, 2020 August 20, 2025 The 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic is the only time Arkansas and Nebraska have met. References Cotton Bowl Classic Category:Cotton Bowl Classic Category:Arkansas Razorbacks football bowl games Category:Nebraska Cornhuskers football bowl games Cotton Bowl Category:January 1965 sports events in the United States