Last Time in Football that UT hosted No. 1 Team

[Phil C]

I know everyone is excited because No. 1 Ohio State is coming to Austin but it was not the first time we hosted a No. 1 Team in Austin. In 1950 SMU came into Austin ranked No. 1 while UT was ranked No. 7 losing only to Oklahoma 13 - 14 earlier in the year.
The great Doak Walker had graduated from SMU but Kyle Rote was having a great year and he went on to have a successful pro football career. SMU had beaten Ohio State, Rice and Georgia Tech and was favored by 7 points. UT had a 21 to 14 lead but SMU made a td in the fourth quarter but missed the extra point. UT got another safety for the final score in favor of UT 23 -20. UT won the rest of its' regular season games but lost to Tennessee in a bowl game 20 to 14.
Unfortunately for SMU they would lose 3 more games and drop out of the top ten.

Let's hope history repeats itself this Saturday and UT gets a win.

[Adidas410s]

thanks for this info Phil. I had a friend telling me last night that it WAS the first time that UT had ever hosted a #1 team.

[BMOC]

Just out of curiosity, I know the cotton bowl is nuetral ground, but would UT be considered the host when they are the home team vs. OU? I know that they have been the home team while OU has been ranked #1.

[Phil C]

Originally posted by BMOC
Just out of curiosity, I know the cotton bowl is nuetral ground, but would UT be considered the host when they are the home team vs. OU? I know that they have been the home team while OU has been ranked #1.

You have a good point there and what I should have done was add in Austin. There have been some news sources who have said that the game this Saturday is the first time UT has hosted the No. 1 team in Austin but such is not the case since they hosted No. 1 SMU in 1950.

[District303aPastPlayer]

they are 4-0 all time in #1 vs #2 games...

[Phil C]

Originally posted by District303aPastPlayer
they are 4-0 all time in #1 vs #2 games...

District correct me if I am wrong but I think the games were

1950 No. 2 Texas beats No. 1 SMU 23 to 20 during regular season in Austin.

1963 No. 2 Texas beats No. 1 Oklahoma in regular season 28 to 7. This game was played in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl.

1963 No. 1 Texas beats Navy 29 to 6 in Cotton Bowl played in January 1964.

Of course the recent Rose Bowl that No. 2 Texas beat No. 1 USC 41 to 38.


The 1969 National Champion Texas Longhorns were No. 1 when the went to the Cotton Bowl and could have played No. 2 Penn State but Penn State players decided to go have fun in the sun at the Orange Bowl. Coach Paterno could have overruled them but didn't do so. The whinning that followed was of their own making. They were not messed up by the polls or the bowls but they did that themselves. They were the Cotton Bowl's first choice.

[BMOC]

Hopefully we stay unbeaten after this weekend.

[un b weavable]

How much do you think they will drop when they get beat this weekend?

[Phil C]

It should be a great game.

[District303aPastPlayer]

Originally posted by un b weavable
How much do you think they will drop when they get beat this weekend?

#6

[Phil C]

Originally posted by un b weavable
How much do you think they will drop when they get beat this weekend?

Neither should drop by much if it is a well played close game. Maybe two or three places. It will make it difficult for the loser to get to the NC game but still a good possibility to get to a BCS game though. The loser would have to have help and things work out in the rest of the country. That is why I wish we had a "real" playoff system in division 1 football.