The 1969 NCAA University Division Football Season: A Centennial Celebration

The 1969 NCAA University Division football season marked the 100th anniversary of college football, commemorating the historic 1869 game between Rutgers and Princeton. This season was filled with exciting matchups, dominant performances, and a thrilling race for the unofficial national championship. During this era, the NCAA did not have a playoff system for major college football teams, which later became known as "Division I-A." Instead, the NCAA Football Guide recognized an "unofficial national champion" based on the top-ranked teams in the "wire service" polls, primarily the Associated Press (AP) poll and the United Press International (UPI) poll.

Ranking System and Preseason Poll

The AP poll, consisting of votes from up to 45 sportswriters, was the most popular method for determining the top teams. Each writer would rank their top twenty teams, and a point system (20 points for first place, 19 for second, and so on) determined the overall ranking.

In the preseason poll released on September 15, the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes were ranked No. 1, receiving 26 of the 33 first-place votes. The top five teams in the preseason poll were:

Ohio State
Arkansas
Penn State
Texas
USC

Key Games and Shifting Rankings

Throughout the season, several key games and upsets led to significant shifts in the rankings.

September

September 20: No. 2 Arkansas defeated Oklahoma State 39-0 at Little Rock, while No. 1 Ohio State had not yet started its season.
September 27: No. 1 Ohio State opened its season with a 62-0 victory over TCU. No. 2 Penn State beat Colorado 27-3, and No. 4 Texas won 49-7 over Texas Tech. No. 5 USC beat Northwestern 48-6.

October

October 4: No. 1 Ohio State beat Washington 41-14 at Seattle. No. 2 Penn State narrowly won 17-14 at Kansas State, causing them to drop in the next poll. No. 4 Texas beat Navy 56-17.
October 11: No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 19 Michigan State 54-21 at home. No. 2 Texas defeated No. 8 Oklahoma 27-17 in their Dallas rivalry game. No. 4 USC got past No. 16 Stanford on a last-second field goal, 26-24. No. 5 Penn State beat No. 17 West Virginia 20-0 at home.
October 18: No. 1 Ohio State won 34-7 at Minnesota. No. 3 USC tied No. 11 Notre Dame 14-14 at South Bend. No. 4 Arkansas won 21-7 at Baylor, and No. 5 Penn State narrowly stayed unbeaten at Syracuse, winning 15-14. No. 7 Tennessee beat No. 20 Alabama 41-14 in Birmingham.
October 25: No. 1 Ohio State shut out Illinois 41-0. No. 2 Texas blanked Rice 31-0 in Austin. No. 4 Arkansas beat Wichita State 52-14 in Little Rock. No. 5 Missouri lost at unranked Colorado 31-24.

November

November 1: No. 1 Ohio State won at Northwestern 35-6. No. 2 Texas beat SMU 45-14 at Dallas. No. 3 Tennessee won 17-3 at No. 11 Georgia. No. 4 Arkansas beat Texas A&M 35-13. No. 5 Penn State beat Boston College 38-16.
November 8: No. 1 Ohio State beat Wisconsin 62-7. No. 2 Texas beat Baylor 56-14. No. 3 Tennessee beat South Carolina 29-14. No. 4 Arkansas defeated Rice 30-6.
November 15: No. 1 Ohio State hosted No. 10 Purdue and won 42-14. No. 2 Texas beat TCU 69-7. No. 3 Tennessee was shut out 38-0 by No. 18 Ole Miss. No. 4 Arkansas beat SMU 28-15. No. 5 Penn State blanked Maryland 48-0. No. 6 USC beat Washington 16-7.
November 22: No. 1 Ohio State lost to No. 12 Michigan 24-12, ending its 22-game winning streak. No. 5 USC beat No. 6 UCLA 14-12. No. 4 Penn State won 27-7 at Pittsburgh.
November 27-29: No. 1 Texas won at Texas A&M 49-12, while No. 2 Arkansas beat Texas Tech 33-0. No. 3 Penn State won 33-8 at North Carolina State.

December

December 6: No. 1 Texas faced No. 2 Arkansas in Fayetteville. Texas won 15-14.

The Game of the Century: Texas vs. Arkansas

The final regular season game between No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Arkansas on December 6 was a highly anticipated matchup that drew national attention. With both teams undefeated at 9-0, the game was seen as a de facto national championship game. President Richard Nixon was in attendance, bringing a plaque to award to the "national champion."

After three quarters, Arkansas led 14-0. In the fourth quarter, Texas quarterback James Street ran for a 42-yard touchdown, and then ran for a two-point conversion, cutting the lead to 14-8. With 4:47 remaining, Texas faced a fourth-down situation on their own 43-yard line. Street threw a long pass to Randy Peschel, who made the catch and fell out of bounds on the 13-yard line. Jim Bertelsen then ran for a touchdown, and Happy Feller's extra point gave Texas a 15-14 lead. A late interception sealed the victory for the Longhorns.

President Nixon presented the plaque to Texas head coach Darrell Royal after the game. The win also secured the Southwest Conference championship for Texas and a bid to the Cotton Bowl.

Bowl Games and Final Rankings

The bowl game matchups and results further shaped the final rankings and the determination of the national champion.

Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Texas defeated No. 9 Notre Dame 21-17.
Sugar Bowl: No. 8 Ole Miss defeated No. 7 Arkansas 27-22.
Orange Bowl: No. 6 Missouri tied No. 11 Penn State 10-10.
Camellia Bowl (College Division): North Dakota State defeated Montana 30-3.

The final AP top 20 poll was:

Texas
Penn State
USC
Ohio State
Notre Dame
Missouri
Arkansas
Ole Miss
Michigan
UCLA
Nebraska
Houston
LSU
Florida
Tennessee
Colorado
Auburn
Arizona State
Purdue
Washington

Texas was the top choice for 36 of the 45 writers voting, and won the AP Trophy.

Read also: UCLA Bruins Basketball (1969)

Other Notable Events

The Black 14: In October, Wyoming head coach Lloyd Eaton dismissed 14 African-American players who had planned to wear black armbands during a game against BYU to protest the racial doctrines of the LDS Church.
College Football Centennial: Many schools commemorated the 1969 season by wearing a special decal on their football helmets. The decal consisted of the numeral "100" inside a football-shaped outline, celebrating the 100th anniversary of college football.
Heisman Trophy: Steve Owens of Oklahoma won the Heisman Trophy. In 1969, he had 29 touchdowns and scored 138 points, and rushed for 248 yards against Iowa State.

College Division

College Division teams (also referred to as "small college") were ranked in polls by the AP (a panel of writers) and by UPI (coaches). In 1969, both services ranked 9-0 North Dakota State first and 10-0 Montana second. The postseason consisted of four bowl games as regional finals, all played on December 13.

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