The 1962 NCAA University Division football season was played by American football teams representing 140 colleges and universities recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as major programs.
The remaining 370 colleges and universities that were NCAA members and fielded football teams competed as part of the 1962 NCAA College Division football season.
[2] Four teams, including three from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), have a claim to the 1962 major college national championship: Oregon State quarterback Terry Baker won both the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award as the best player in college football.
Minnesota defensive lineman Bobby Bell finished third in the Heisman voting and won the Outland Trophy.
Baylor quarterback Don Trull won the Sammy Baugh Trophy.
Statistical leaders in the 1962 University Division included Terry Baker with 1,738 passing yards; New Mexico State halfback Preacher Pilot with 1,247 rushing yards; Preacher Pilot and Cotton Clark of Alabama, each with 90 points scored; and Oregon State end Vern Burke with 1,007 receiving yards.
1 choice for 45 of the 50 voters, and its Big Ten rival, Michigan State was 4th overall.
Texas placed second, and SEC rivals Alabama and Louisiana State (LSU) were third and fifth respectively.
[5] As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.
5 LSU both recorded shutouts, defeating Georgia (at Birmingham 35–0) and Texas A&M (21–0) respectively.
Penn State, which had beaten Navy at home 41–7, rose from 9th to 4th, while LSU remained at No.
All six of the charter members (including Arizona State and Utah) had withdrawn by 1999.
5 LSU played Rice to a 6–6 tie, enough to knock it from the Top Ten.
1 Ohio State was upset by the UCLA Bruins in Los Angeles, 9–7.
3 Texas hosted Tulane (fresh from a 44–6 loss to Alabama) and won 35–8.
5 Georgia Tech lost to LSU in Atlanta, 10–7, and dropped back out of the poll.
3 Penn State lost to Army at West Point by the same 9–6 margin.
6 LSU improved its record to 3–0–1 with a 17–3 win against the visiting Miami Hurricanes.
Though Alabama got more first place votes than Texas in the poll (24 vs. 21) the Longhorns had more points overall, and were the new No.
Nevertheless, LSU and Mississippi dropped to 6th and 7th in the next poll, while Big Ten rivals No.
In the first weekend after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, week 7's games were played on October 27.
45 days after President Kennedy asked "Why does Rice play Texas?"
4 Texas hosted Texas A&M and won 13–3 to clinch the Southwestern Conference title and the Cotton Bowl bid, half a game ahead of Arkansas.
1 USC beat UCLA, 14–3, extending its record to 9–0–0 and finishing a game ahead of Washington for the AAWU title and the Rose Bowl bid.
They met at Madison and the Badgers won on their home field, 14–9, to take the Big Ten title and the trip to the Rose Bowl.
1 USC closed a perfect season by beating Notre Dame 25–0 in Los Angeles for a 10–0–0 finish.
5 Alabama beat Auburn 38–0 in the season-ender at Birmingham to close their season at 10–1–0 and second place.
The final AP poll, which determined the unofficial national championship, was released on December 3.
However, neither poll published rankings after the bowl games at this time, so USC was already the season-ending No.
Tuesday, January 1, 1963 Games played in December 1962, rankings from Coaches Poll The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player Source: [7][8]