Texas vs Alabama: An Historical Perspective
by srr50 on Jan 1, 2010 9:32 PM CST
in Texas Longhorns and Other Football
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PrintFor Longhorn fans the history is short but sweet: Texas holds an all time record of 7-0-1 against Alabama.
It's been 28 years since the Horns and the Crimson Tide played, and of course they will renew their infrequent rivalry in the BCS Championship game next Thursday.
These two preeminent college football programs have played only three times in the last 45 years, but if those games are any indication, Thursday's contest will be a fierce, physical one that won't be decided until the very end.
Texas recorded wins over 'Bama in the 1965 Orange Bowl, 1973 Cotton Bowl and the 1982 Cotton Bowl by the narrow margins of 4, 4, and 2 points. They were played on the national stage, they generated controversy at times, but they also created a bond between opposing players that would continue well past their football-playing careers. Over the next few days we will take a look at these three games, to help give historical perspective to what shapes up to be another addition to a classic rivalry.
1965 ORANGE BOWL -- COLLEGE FOOTBALL COMES TO PRIMETIME
NBC-TV had asked the Orange Bowl to move to their kickoff to 7:00 pm for the Jan. 1 game, and kicked in an extra $600,000 to make it worthwhile. The Orange Bowl Committee then put together a match made in TV Heaven. From 1961-64 Texas was 39-3-1 with a National Championship, while Alabama was 40-4 with two National Titles.
Texas, the defending National Champion, was a failed 2-point conversion away from keeping its title. The Horns had dropped a heart-breaking 14-13 decision to unbeaten Arkansas in Austin in October, but when Texas defeated Texas A&M 26-7 on Thanksgiving, the Horns accepted the invitation to the Orange Bowl.
Alabama finished its season on Thanksgiving as well, defeating Auburn 21-14. When USC upset #1 Notre Dame, the Crimson Tide were declared National Champions. Texas was 4th in the final AP poll before the bowl games.
From 1961-64 finished in the Top 5 all four years.
Alabama entered the game with a question mark at quarterback. Joe Namath, the most glamorous player in college football, had suffered a knee injury in the middle of the season. Steve Sloan took over as the starting QB, but Namath played extensively, and was expected to start against Texas.
But in a practice a few days before the contest, Namath handed off, suddenly clutched his knee and fell down. He had re-injured his right knee.
Alabama was a 6 point favorite in the game. When Namath re-injured his knee the line dropped to 3. "He moves like a human now," Bryant said. "He did move like a cat."
According to a recent article in the Tuscaloosa News, Royal gave specific instructions to his defense. Texas def. end Dan Mauldin said, “I remember Coach Royal telling us before the game that we would do our usual and go after everybody as hard as we could but we were not to go low to hit Namath in the knees.”
Namath was cleared to play after warmups, but Bryant decided to start Sloan. Midway through a scoreless 1st quarter, Texas took over at its own 20 yard-line. Texas halfback Ernie Koy popped through a hole on a power sweep to the right, got a key downfield block from receiver George Sauer, and went 79 yards for the first score of the game.
Prior to this Ernie Koy Orange Bowl-record 79 yard score, the Horns longest run from the line of scrimmage that year was for 21 yards.
A few minutes later, Texas made another long-range strike, this time when substitute QB Jim Hudson found Sauer on a 69-yard play action pass for the 2nd touchdown of the night.
That was enough for Bryant, who inserted Namath into the lineup. Namath took the Tide on an 87-yard scoring drive, 83 of it through the air to make it 14-7 Texas.
Again, another Alabama miscue led to a Texas score. Late in the 2nd quarter, Texas lined up for a David Conway field goal. ‘Bama blocked it, but the Crimson Tide defender fumbled it right back trying to advance it. Koy punched it in with just 23 seconds left to make it Texas 21-7 at the half.
The 2nd half was a matter of survival for Texas. The Horns never snapped the ball on the Alabama side of the field, and had only 4 first downs for the entire half.
Texas preferred a soft cover 2 defense, keeping receivers in front of the defensive backs, and then punishing them after the catch. But Namath’s release was so quick it negated any kind of rush, and he riddled the Texas defense with mid-range completions.
Texas coaches and players admitted after the game that they hadn't seen a QB with the quickness and velocity of Namath before.
Namath completed 18 of 37 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. The final threat from the Tide came midway through the 4th quarter. Alabama had a first and goal from the Texas 6-yard line. Three Steve Bowman carries had the ball inside the 1. Namath tried a QB sneak on 4th down where he was met by a host of Longhorns, led by Frank Bedrick, Tom Currie and Tommy Nobis. Namath was ruled down, and Texas took over.
Alabama offensive lineman Gaylon McCullough complained bitterly that Namath had scored because, "he was lying right on top of me and I was in the end zone."
Years later I got a chance to interview Nobis and asked about the famous 4th down play. We stopped him short," said Nobis. We heard a whistle, and knew the play was dead before he hit the endzone."
Alabama got the ball back, but Namath threw and interception and then on their last possession he had four straight incompletions. Texas had the win 21-17, and the Orange Bowl had a game that drew more national attention than any other in its history.
POSTSCRIPT
Namath was the object of a heated NFL-AFL bidding war, and he signed for the then-outlandish amount of $400,000 with the AFL New York Jets. Just four years later, Namath and several of his Texas adversaries would be back in the Orange Bowl to play the game that would change pro football.
Four Longhorns who played against 'Bama — Jim Hudson, John Elliott, Pete Lammons and George Sauer — were teammates of Namath’s with the Jets in Super Bowl III.
This was the game where Namath made his famous guarantee of victory during the buildup. Joe Willie credits Lammons with giving him the idea. Namath says that while coach Weeb Ewbank was going over Baltimore scouting report during the week, Lammons piped up and and said, “If we watch any more of these Colts game films, we’re going to get overconfident.”
In Super Bowl III, George Sauer caught 8 passes from Joe Namath for 133 yards in the Jets 16-7 win.
Namath was asked in an interview about the pre-game jitters before Super Bowl III and he specifically mentioned how he and his Longhorn teammates understood better than most how to handle the pressure.
"We had played in the Orange Bowl when it was everything. Namath said. "That's why we felt it was our kind of game, whereas some guys might have been tentative or anxious. We weren't anxious."
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Thanks for the writeup. I’m getting tired of watching other teams play. Keep em coming.
by Magnificent Bastard on Jan 1, 2010 10:03 PM CST reply actions
Thanks, srrr50. That is awesome content. Keep it coming.
by The General on Jan 1, 2010 10:43 PM CST reply actions
Save that link, and the name Larry Burton.
by Magnificent Bastard on Jan 1, 2010 10:54 PM CST reply actions
Thanks for posting srr. I remember the game well! Namath was unbelievable but so was our defense.
by Longhorn on Jan 1, 2010 11:59 PM CST reply actions
TOR: Until now, I’d been unable to work up any deep, seething hatred of Bama or their fans, although I have gotten quite tired of the disrespect coming from the mainstream media. I was just looking forward to a good, hard-fought game between 2 of the premier programs in college football and hoping like hell we’ll pull it out. Then I read this motherfucker Larry Burton’s blog.
Now I’m ready for heinous violence. I want his pets dead and want him to bleed out of every orifice while watching Muckelroy decapitate Ingram and Kindle rip McElroy’s arm off and sodomize him with it. He’s just a prototypical “SEC rules, all others are unworthy” dumbshit who refuses to see the truth even when it’s right in front of him.
They can’t accept that there are other talented, capable teams and players out there and that the SEC, while often times the best conference overall, also has plenty of suck-ass teams, routinely plays the easiest non-con schedule of any BCS conference, and has the offensive sophistication of ‘70s-era SWC, which seriously skews the defensive stats they’re so proud of.
Thursday can’t get here soon enough.
Hook ’em!
by burnt orange outrage on Jan 2, 2010 12:27 AM CST reply actions
Just wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed reading the Barking Carnival posts this football season. It’s been my go-to place to read humorous and insightful Longhorn blogging.
Wishing you all the best for 2010.
Cheers and Happy New Year!
by pants on Jan 2, 2010 12:59 AM CST reply actions
Yeah, yeah, Namath and Nobis and Koy are great and all, but I want to read about Robert Motherfucking Brewer!
by Woody Bombay on Jan 2, 2010 1:25 AM CST reply actions
Well done, srr50.
It is refreshing to read something in a blog that delivers information instead of methane gas and ignance. I vividly recall watching that game with my parents when I was a kid back in Tuscaloosa. I will always believe that Namath was over because, as your otherwise complete story omitted, the linesman nearest the play signaled touchdown but was waved off by the man in the white hat. And that. Was that.
When McCullough complained about the call to Bryant, he said, “If y’all had blocked for him he would have walked in and handed the ball to the ref.”
I can still see Koy and Sauer streaking down the field on those long TDs. I couldn’t believe my eyes. No one had big plays like that against those great Bama defenses, but Texas did. UT was the better team that night, no argument from me.
Even if Joe was over, it was not convincingly enough so to keep the head ref from waving it off. Nor does it mean DKR would not have found a way to win it anyway even if the TD had been called.
Burnt Orange Outrage, don’t be hatin, man. I like your first take best. Let’s give it hell for three or four hours and shake hands and wish each other good luck next year. Win with class. Lose with class. That’s the way. Leave the provocation and humiliation to the pinheads among us such as Burton. That dumbass predicted “LSU is just too big, too fast, too talented, and too SEC for Penn State. If they don’t like this game, they won’t like the series they’re about to start with Alabama.”
It is not all about dominance and humiliation and chest thumping one conference over another. It is a game of sport between students. One that I am leaving tomorrow to drive 2,000 miles to witness, hoping to god I am not sitting in front of a football fan and not some asshole like Burton.
May the team that wants it the most win it, without injury to anyone, and without controversy injected by bumbling officials. Let’s schedule a home and home. Could become an interesting tradition.
by Grampaw Fug on Jan 2, 2010 5:04 AM CST reply actions
Thanks for this write-up, SRR.
Namath was great for the sport at one time. Boys my age wanted to be him, and to start shaving as soon as humanly possible:
by parlin on Jan 2, 2010 7:15 AM CST reply actions
Well done srr50; always enjoy the historical reviews, complete with media anecdotes.
But don’t skip over the ’48 Sugar Bowl – That was a BEVO-D favorite.
by Super on Jan 2, 2010 9:37 AM CST reply actions
From a guy who lives in SEC-SEC-SEC country, let me say that without a doubt Rammer Jammer Alabammer fans are right at the top of worst fans in the nation. The trailer parks are slam full of T-shirt Bammer fans. The most interesting breed however, is the FSU/Bammer fans. This breed loves FSU but has a family that loves Bammer because FSU was still a girls school when they were growing up. The FSU/Bammer hybrid was ever prevalent after the SEC chapeenship game.
Get ready Texas fans. I will admit that the Bammer attendees at the SEC championship last year were nice and appeared educated, most even had teeth and some were even hotties. However, the typical Bammer fan is either a 400 pound female with 5 sprays of $4 perfume that will make you gag, or her husband who is wearing Camo from head to toe with a Bammer hat and his favorite Nascar T-shirt on.
Bammer falls right behind OU as my most hated team and fan base.
by jinx on Jan 2, 2010 10:40 AM CST reply actions
Geatness as alwyas Srr. Thanks for these.
by Minnesotahorn on Jan 2, 2010 11:20 AM CST reply actions
Ernie Koy to the house!!!
I love your encyclopedic knowledge srr50, and you’ve hyped me up once again, just as you did before the OU game. You’re a treasure my man. Thanks.
by magnusbleuveigner on Jan 2, 2010 11:34 AM CST reply actions
Nice writeup. Thanks. I remember that game well. The night before the game, I had a very vivid dream in which Texas won, 21-7. Nobis was magnificent in my dream, as he was when the game was actually played. It turned out that 21-7 was the halftime score, the final being 21-17.
I never could figure out if I misread the score in my dream, or if I stopped dreaming at halftime.
by j.r.69 on Jan 2, 2010 11:43 AM CST reply actions
Great writeup as usual. As a native Texan, and a lifelong fan, I relish this opportunity for greatness. As a Bama alum starting school in 1994, I am drinking in this return to greatness by my school.
As I tell everyone who asks about my loyalty, I have dual citizenship and look forward to a great clash between two of the greatest teams in history. What a treat. Hook’em.
by lowery on Jan 2, 2010 4:33 PM CST reply actions
When McCullough complained about the call to Bryant, he said, "If y’all had blocked for him he would have walked in and handed the ball to the ref."
What a rube
by Bo Pelini on Jan 2, 2010 4:42 PM CST reply actions
I’m too young to remember Joe Namath’s college days, or Noxzema commercials. But this was funny…I wanna kiss you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQqIQyT-RuM&feature=related
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