1965 Orange Bowl National Championship

Texas 21 Alabama 17 January 1, 1965 Orange Bowl Stadium First Night Game a Classic Texas upset top-ranked Alabama, 21-17, in the first prime-time night game in Orange Bowl history. The Longhorns stopped Alabama quarterback Joe Namath inches short of the goal line on a crucial fourth-down play late in the game that would have given the Crimson Tide the lead. The defeat overshadowed a heroic performance by Namath, the senior quarterback who didn’t start the game because of a knee injury. He completed 18 of 37 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Steve Sloan started the game for the Tide, but he couldnt get the offense going following two missed field goals. The Longhorns’ Ernie Koy ran for a 79 yard for a touchdown on Texas first possession. Texas went up 14-0 after quarterback Jim Hudson hit George Sauer for a 69-yard score. Alabama head coach Bear Bryant needed some instant offense. In came Namath. He completed 10 passes in driving the Tide 87 yards, sewing up a touchdown with a 7-yard toss to Wayne Trimble. Texas came back with a 72 yard drive that ended on Koy’s right-end run with 27 seconds remaining in the half. Namath came out firing after intermission, hitting Ray Perkins with a 20-yard pass to close the gap to 21-14 with 9:25 left in the third. When Texas’ Marvin Kristynik fumbled at his own 34 late in the fourth quarter, Namath was at the controls once again. After a run and a pair of completed passes, Alabama had first down at the 6. Three plays later, the Tide was at the 1. Namath tried a quarterback sneak, gimpy knee and all, and Longhorn left tackle Frank Bedrick and All-American linebacker Tommy Nobis stopped him short of the goal. Two more Alabama possessions in the final six minutes resulted in an interception and three incomplete passes.