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Sports History

Every Time Texas Has Beaten the No. 1 Team in the Country — All Six, Ranked

Every Time Texas Has Beaten the No. 1 Team in the Country — All Six, Ranked
Rose Bowl, Jan. 4, 2006: fourth-and-5, 19 seconds left, Vince Young to the pylon.

On Saturday night in Austin, Texas trailed Ohio State 23-3 going into the fourth quarter and won 24-23. Arch Manning hit Ryan Wingo for one touchdown, Hollywood Smothers ran for two more, the last one with 25 seconds left, and 105,044 people watched the largest fourth-quarter comeback ever to beat an AP No. 1 team. On Sunday, Texas was No. 1 itself, the earliest a team has held that spot in a regular season since 1965.

Arch Manning, Saturday night, with a 20-point hole to climb out of.
Arch Manning, Saturday night, with a 20-point hole to climb out of.

It was also only the sixth time in the 90-year history of the AP poll that Texas has beaten the No. 1 team. For a program with four national titles, that's a short list, and every game on it is a story. Here they all are, ranked.

6. Nov. 4, 1950: No. 7 Texas 23, No. 1 SMU 20

The first one, and the most forgotten. SMU came to Memorial Stadium ranked No. 1 with Kyle Rote, the most famous player in the Southwest Conference, and 65,498 showed up. Texas held Rote to minus-3 yards on 7 carries (he scored twice anyway, because he was Kyle Rote), Byron Townsend ran for two short touchdowns, Ben Tompkins threw for another, and a safety made the difference. The Longhorns won the conference, lost the Cotton Bowl to Tennessee, and finished No. 3. It was coach Blair Cherry's last season.

Memorial Stadium, Nov. 4, 1950: Texas students after the Longhorns knocked off No. 1 SMU.
Memorial Stadium, Nov. 4, 1950: Texas students after the Longhorns knocked off No. 1 SMU.
“Longhorns End Mustang Win String With 23-20 Triumph” — AP, in the Valley Morning Star of Harlingen, Nov. 5, 1950.
“Longhorns End Mustang Win String With 23-20 Triumph” — AP, in the Valley Morning Star of Harlingen, Nov. 5, 1950.

5. Oct. 11, 2008: No. 5 Texas 45, No. 1 Oklahoma 35

The highest-scoring Red River game ever played to that point, in front of a Cotton Bowl record 92,182. Texas trailed by 11 twice. Jordan Shipley returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, Colt McCoy went 28-of-35, and Sam Bradford threw for 387 yards and five touchdowns and lost anyway. McCoy and Bradford finished one-two in the Heisman voting; Bradford won it. Texas finished 12-1, and the one loss, at Texas Tech three weeks later, is the reason this game isn't remembered as the start of a title run.

Jordan Shipley, 96 yards, Cotton Bowl, Oct. 11, 2008.
Jordan Shipley, 96 yards, Cotton Bowl, Oct. 11, 2008.
Quan Cosby lays out against Oklahoma in front of a record 92,182.
Quan Cosby lays out against Oklahoma in front of a record 92,182.
“Lowering the Boom — Horns swoop into Dallas, yank OU's top rank.” Austin American-Statesman, Oct. 12, 2008.
“Lowering the Boom — Horns swoop into Dallas, yank OU's top rank.” Austin American-Statesman, Oct. 12, 2008.

4. Jan. 1, 1965 Orange Bowl: No. 5 Texas 21, No. 1 Alabama 17

The one everybody leaves off the list, including the people who make the list. The AP's final poll in those days came out before the bowls, so Alabama had already been crowned national champion when it walked into the Orange Bowl. Texas then beat them. Ernie Koy scored on runs of 79 yards and 2, George Sauer caught a 69-yard touchdown, and Alabama's answer was a sophomore quarterback with a bad knee who came off the bench: Joe Namath, 18-of-37 for 255 yards and two touchdowns, the game's MVP in a loss.

The program from the 31st Orange Bowl, Jan. 1, 1965, with the final score written in by hand.
The program from the 31st Orange Bowl, Jan. 1, 1965, with the final score written in by hand.
Texas on the move in the Orange Bowl, the first one ever played at night.
Texas on the move in the Orange Bowl, the first one ever played at night.
Namath, No. 12, working from under center on a bad knee.
Namath, No. 12, working from under center on a bad knee.

In the fourth quarter, on fourth-and-inches at the Texas 1, Namath took the snap and ran a sneak. Tommy Nobis stopped him. Namath swore for the rest of his life that he'd scored. He signed with the New York Jets the next day.

Joe Namath and Bear Bryant on the Alabama sideline. Bryant sent him in; Nobis sent him back.
Joe Namath and Bear Bryant on the Alabama sideline. Bryant sent him in; Nobis sent him back.
“Texas Stems Tide's Surge in 21-17 Win” and “Bama Yields to Longhorns' Brute Strength” — Miami Herald, Jan. 2, 1965.
“Texas Stems Tide's Surge in 21-17 Win” and “Bama Yields to Longhorns' Brute Strength” — Miami Herald, Jan. 2, 1965.

3. Oct. 12, 1963: No. 2 Texas 28, No. 1 Oklahoma 7

The most complete beating on the list. Texas held Oklahoma to eight first downs, intercepted three passes, and did it while completing exactly one pass of its own, a 14-yard touchdown from Marv Kristynik to George Sauer. Duke Carlisle, Tommy Ford and Harris ran for the rest. Carlisle made the cover of Sports Illustrated. Texas went 11-0, beat No. 2 Navy and Roger Staubach in the Cotton Bowl, and won Darrell Royal's first national championship. Beating No. 1 in October was the day the season stopped being a question.

Sports Illustrated, Oct. 21, 1963: “Texas Is No. 1!” Duke Carlisle scores against Oklahoma.
Sports Illustrated, Oct. 21, 1963: “Texas Is No. 1!” Duke Carlisle scores against Oklahoma.
“Longhorns Topple Oklahoma” — San Antonio Express and News, Oct. 13, 1963: Tommy Ford sweeps right end.
“Longhorns Topple Oklahoma” — San Antonio Express and News, Oct. 13, 1963: Tommy Ford sweeps right end.

2. Sept. 12, 2026: No. 4 Texas 24, No. 1 Ohio State 23

Down 23-3 with fifteen minutes to play, at home, against the team that had beaten them 14-7 in last year's opener. Manning found Wingo from 3 yards out 41 seconds into the quarter. Smothers scored from the 1 with 7:14 left. Ohio State's Connor Hawkins missed a 45-yard field goal that would have made it a two-score game. And Smothers scored from the 1 again with 25 seconds left. Jeremiah Smith had 164 yards receiving for Ohio State and it didn't matter. No team had ever come from that far behind in a fourth quarter to beat an AP No. 1, and no No. 1 had blown a 20-point lead since 1988. Where this one ends up on the list depends on what the rest of the season does with it.

Hollywood Smothers finds a crease against Ohio State.
Hollywood Smothers finds a crease against Ohio State.
Smothers over the top from the 1. Two of these, the second with 25 seconds left.
Smothers over the top from the 1. Two of these, the second with 25 seconds left.

1. Jan. 4, 2006 Rose Bowl: No. 2 Texas 41, No. 1 USC 38

There was never going to be another No. 1. USC came in on a 34-game winning streak with two Heisman winners and a claim to being the best team of the decade. Vince Young threw for 267 yards and ran for 200 more, three of them touchdowns, 467 yards of total offense by one man in a national championship game. The last of them came on fourth-and-5 from the 8-yard line with 19 seconds left, Young sprinting untouched to the right pylon, then running in the two-point conversion for good measure. Texas finished 13-0 with its first consensus national title since 1969. It's the greatest college football game ever played, and Texas beat the No. 1 team in it.

Vince Young walks off the Rose Bowl field under the confetti, Jan. 4, 2006.
Vince Young walks off the Rose Bowl field under the confetti, Jan. 4, 2006.
“Young runs 8 yards into history” — Austin American-Statesman, Jan. 5, 2006.
“Young runs 8 yards into history” — Austin American-Statesman, Jan. 5, 2006.

The list, for the record: 1950 SMU, 1963 Oklahoma, 1965 Alabama, 2006 USC, 2008 Oklahoma, 2026 Ohio State. Six in 90 years. Alabama, for comparison, has 11.

Where does Saturday rank when the season's over? Comments below.

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