Texas Football: Ranking the 10 greatest teams in program history

6. 1977 (11-1, 8-0 SWC)

A truly dominant Texas football team that wasn’t able to win a national title came in 1977, when the only slip up came at the hands of No. 5 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. Notre Dame dominated the Longhorns in that 1977 Cotton Bowl by the final score of 38-10. Prior to that point, Texas looked like the nation’s best team.

There were six straight weeks of the Longhorns holding the top ranking in the AP Poll. They cleared No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 14 Texas Tech, and No. 12 Texas A&M over the course of the regular season. That dominant win by the final score of 57-28 over Texas A&M in the final week of the regular season was a memorable mark for the Longhorns 1977 team.

Another memorable part of the 1977 season was obviously legendary running back Earl Campbell winning the Heisman Trophy and becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft.

5. 1963 (11-0, 7-0 SWC)

Standout running back Tommy Ford and quarterback Duke Carlisle spearheaded Texas during the 1963 season that got this team to win a nation title. But Texas did get their fourth Southwest Conference Championship under the direction of Royal during the 1963 season, with an undefeated record overall.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the Longhorns deserved the national title in 1963 by beating No. 1 Oklahoma during the regular season and the No. 2 ranked Navy Midshipmen in the Cotton Bowl. Texas had a top 15 offense and a top five defense in 1963, and their strength of schedule still ranked in the top 25 in the nation.