1962 College Football National Championship

This is the 5th time in 6 years 1957-1962 that we have an SEC team vying for the MNC against a non-Southern team, and I've discussed this issue in previous MNC articles, but the big problem for the South at this time was segregation. This wasn't just because segregation caused poll voters to have a political bias against Southern teams, but also because segregation forced SEC MNC contenders to only play against other all-white teams, severely restricting the level of their competition. On top of that, they generally only played teams from their own region, and as such they were easy for the rest of the nation to forget about or ignore.



But this was a particularly difficult year for the Ole Miss football team, because in the fall of 1962, James Meredith (pictured above) became the first African American student at the university, and the ensuing racist riots and violence (pictured below) were so virulent and ugly that it was impossible for anyone not from the South to have any good will for Mississippi, either the college or the state as a whole, and there was simply no way that anyone not from the South was going to even entertain the notion of voting their football team #1.

Southern Cal 1962

Southern Cal had previously won national championships in 1931 and 1932 under Hall of Fame coach Howard Jones. Another Hall of Famer, John McKay (pictured at left), brought the Trojans a 2nd round of greatness as head coach 1960-1975, going 127-40-8 and winning 9 conference championships and 4 school-claimed MNCs (I count fewer). McKay had played at halfback for Purdue in 1946 and for Oregon 1947-1949. He had then been an assistant coach at Oregon 1950-1958, then at Southern Cal for one season in 1959 before being promoted to head coach. Southern Cal had been on probation when he took over, and they went a mere 4-6 in 1960 and 4-5-1 in 1961 before breaking through for 11-0 this season. McKay is the winningest head coach in USC history. After his tenure at Southern Cal, he became the first-ever coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1976-1984, going 44-88-1.

Southern Cal's Season

Rose Bowl

So the Rose Bowl got a pretty good matchup with #1 Southern Cal facing #2 Wisconsin. Wisconsin was the season scoring champion at 31.7 points per game, and though they started slowly in this one, they ended up outdoing that average thanks to a huge 4th quarter.



It wasn't much of a game for most of the afternoon, as USC led 21-7 at the half and 42-14 in the 4th quarter, Hal Bledsoe catching 2 of USC's 4 touchdown passes. But Wisconsin roared to life and scored 23 unanswered points, quarterback Ron Vander Kelen throwing for 401 yards, mind-boggling numbers for the time. With the score closed to 42-28, Willie Brown intercepted a pass in his own end zone, which would prove to be a critical play. USC took a safety on a bad punt snap soon after that, and Wisconsin quickly scored again, but there was no time left when next they got the ball back, and the Badgers came up short 42-37.



11 Rose Bowl records were broken that day, and a high-scoring shootout in a big game was unheard of in those days (the previous #1 vs. #2 showdown, Army vs. Notre Dame in 1946, had ended in a 0-0 tie), so this game was considered an instant classic. Wisconsin, despite the loss, was more lauded after the game than they had been before it, and probably would have been voted #2 in a post-bowl AP poll despite being 8-2, Ole Miss 10-0. Speaking of which...

Mississippi 1962

Mississippi's Season

Sugar Bowl

The Sugar Bowl wanted to match Mississippi up against Alabama, who was 9-1 and ranked #5, but Alabama declined in favor of the Orange Bowl. Still, the Sugar did just as well in getting Arkansas, who was also 9-1 and ranked right behind Alabama. Arkansas and Mississippi had been longtime rivals, playing each other annually for nearly 50 years, but after their 1960 game, Arkansas coach Frank Broyles had canceled the series in bitterness over a key call by an SEC official that cost his team a win right at the end. When fans chided him about canceling the series, he had answered that the 2 programs would meet again in a bowl game, and now here they were, just 2 years later.

Arkansas missed a 43 yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, and Ole Miss hit one from 32 yards out in the 2nd to lead 3-0. Arkansas then connected on a 68 yard pass to a receiver who got behind everyone, but he stumbled on the way to the end zone, enabling a Mississippi defender to catch up enough to dive and slap his heel, spilling him at the 13. That effort ended up keeping Arkansas to a field goal on the drive. Mississippi answered on their next drive with a 33 yard touchdown pass, giving them a 10-3 halftime lead.



Mississippi fumbled the ball away at their own 18 yard line early in the 2nd half, and Arkansas hit a touchdown pass soon thereafter to tie the game up 10-10. Mississippi again answered on their next drive, quarterback Glynn Griffing hitting passes of 23 and 35 yards, then scoring on a sneak for a 17-10 lead. It was Arkansas' turn, and they drove right to the Mississippi goal line, but a tackle for loss forced them to settle for a field goal again, making it 17-13. But that would hold up as the final score, as Arkansas was unable to mount any real offense the rest of the game, while Mississippi drained the clock in the 4th quarter with 3 long drives that ended inside the Arkansas 10 yard line.

Though the final score was close, Mississippi dominated this game, outgaining Arkansas 429 yards to 170 and making 22 first downs to 7. Arkansas had come into the game averaging 241.2 yards rushing, but Mississippi held them to 47. The MVP was Glynn Griffing, who hit 14 of 23 passes for 242 yards, then a Sugar Bowl record.

Southern Cal vs. Mississippi

Rethinking Southern Cal's Claim to #1

Awards Ceremony

Grading the Selectors