1965 college football season During the 20th Century , the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as " Division I - A " . The NCAA did recognize a national champion based upon the final results of " wire service " ( AP and UPI ) polls . The " writers ' poll " by Associated Press ( AP ) was the most popular , followed by the " coaches ' poll " by United Press International ) ( UPI ) . Prior to 1965 , both services issued their final polls at the close of the regular season , but before teams competed in bowl games . For the 1965 season , the AP took its final poll after the postseason games , an arrangement made permanent in 1968 . The Associated Press presented the " AP Trophy " to the winner . The AP poll in 1965 consisted of the votes of 55 sportswriters , each of whom would give their opinion of the ten best teams . Under a point system of 10 points for first place , 9 for second , etc . , the " overall " ranking was determined . In the preseason poll for 1965 , the writers cast first place votes for 9 different teams , and the range of points between the highest six finishers ranged from 252 to 311 points . Nebraska was # 1 in the preseason rankings , followed by 2 . Texas 3 . Notre Dame 4 . Michigan 5 . Alabama 6 . Arkansas . As the regular season progressed , a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend ' s games . At season ' s end , Michigan State , Arkansas and Nebraska were all unbeaten , with records of 10 - 0 - 0 , and as champions of the Big Ten , Southwestern and Big 8 conferences , respectively , they played in three separate bowl games ( Rose , Cotton and Orange ) . Arkansas and Michigan State lost in their bowl games , and Alabama defeated Nebraska in the Orange Bowl . In the poll taken after the bowls , Alabama was crowned the national champion by the Associated Press . The school had been # 1 in the UPI coaches ' poll at the end of the 1964 season . The AP Regular Season Poll . In the preseason poll released on September 13 , 1965 , the top five teams were from different conferences . First place was the Nebraska Cornhuskers ( Big 8 ) followed by Texas ( Southwest ) , independent Notre Dame , Michigan of the Big Ten and Alabama from the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . Arkansas , the SWC rival to Texas , was # 6 , followed by USC from the AAWU ( which would later be the " Pacific 8 " , then the " Pac - 10 " , and now the " Pac - 12 " ) . September . In Week One ( September 18 ) Alabama and USC both fell out of the Top Ten . USC played Minnesota to a 20 - 20 tie on a Friday night game in Los Angeles while # 5 Alabama narrowly lost to Georgia , 18 - 17 . # 1 Nebraska beat Texas Christian ( TCU ) at home , 34 - 14 . # 2 Texas shut out Tulane 31 - 0 , # 3 Notre Dame crushed California 48 - 6 at Berkeley , and # 4 Michigan won 31 - 24 at North Carolina . Following the 48 - 6 win , Notre Dame rose to # 1 in the next poll , Nebraska and Texas fell to 2nd and 3rd , Michigan stayed at 4th and Arkansas ( which had beaten Oklahoma State 28 - 14 ) was 5th . Michigan State defeated UCLA 13 - 3 at East Lansing and was # 7 . On September 25 , # 1 Notre Dame stayed in Indiana as it lost to # 6 Purdue 25 - 21 at West Lafayette . # 2 Nebraska won 27 - 17 over Air Force in Colorado Springs . # 3 Texas beat Texas Tech 33 - 7 . # 4 Michigan barely won over unranked California 10 - 7 and # 5 Arkansas 20 - 12 defeated Tulsa . In next poll , Texas , Purdue and Nebraska had had 15 , 14 and 13 first place votes in a tight race for # 1 , # 2 and # 3 . Arkansas rose to 4th , while the LSU Tigers , coming from a 42 - 14 win over Rice , placed fifth . Michigan State rose to 6th , while Michigan and Notre Dame fell to 7th and 8th place respectively . October . October 2 , # 1 Texas hosted Indiana and beat them at home , 27 - 12 . Purdue , which was also visiting Texas , played SMU to a 14 - 14 tie at Dallas . # 3 Nebraska shut out Iowa State 44 - 0 , while # 4 Arkansas blanked Texas Christian 28 - 0 . In an SEC matchup at Gainesville , visiting # 5 LSU fell to the Florida Gators 14 - 7 . # 10 Georgia beat # 7 Michigan in Ann Arbor , 15 - 7 , which would be sufficient to put it into the Top Five , while Michigan State beat Illinois at home , 22 - 12 . The next poll was 1 . Texas 2 . Nebraska 3 . Arkansas 4 . Georgia and 5 . Michigan State In October 9 play , all five of the top teams remained unbeaten . # 1 Texas shut out Oklahoma , 19 - 0 at Dallas . # 2 Nebraska held visiting Wisconsin scoreless 37 - 0 . # 3 Arkansas won at Baylor , 38 - 7 and # 4 Georgia beat Clemson at home , 23 - 9 . # 5 Michigan State followed Georgia ' s visit to Ann Arbor with one of its own , beating Michigan 24 - 7 . The Spartans and Bulldogs traded places in the next poll , which was 1 . Texas 2 . Nebraska 3 . Arkansas 4 . Michigan State 5 . Georgia On October 16 the # 1 Texas Longhorns met the # 3 Arkansas Razorbacks at Fayetteville in a Southwestern Conference matchup between the two 4 - 0 - 0 teams . Arkansas won 27 - 24 . Meanwhile , # 2 Nebraska recorded its third straight shutout , a 41 - 0 win at Kansas State . In a game that ultimately decided the Big - 10 title , # 4 Michigan State beat Ohio State 32 - 7 . # 5 Georgia lost to Florida State at Tallahassee , 10 - 3 . Arkansas was the new # 1 in the poll that followed , followed by Michigan State and Nebraska . The USC Trojans , who had beaten Stanford 14 - 0 and remained unbeaten ( 4 - 0 - 1 ) were # 4 while Texas dropped from first to fifth . October 23 : The # 1 Arkansas Razorbacks played North Texas State at Little Rock , winning 55 - 20 . # 2 Michigan State won 14 - 10 at Purdue and # 3 Nebraska beat Colorado 38 - 13 . The # 4 USC Trojans fell to # 7 Notre Dame at South Bend , 28 - 7 . # 5 Texas lost its second straight game , with Rice winning 20 - 17 . After its 4 - 0 start , the Longhorns would finish the season 6 - 4 - 0 . In the next poll , Michigan State received fewer 1st place votes than Arkansas , but had 7 more points overall , 473 - 466 , while Nebraska was third . The three teams were the last to remain unbeaten , all with 6 - 0 - 0 records . Notre Dame was fourth , and LSU , 5 - 1 - 0 after beating South Carolina 21 - 7 , rose from ninth to fifth . October 30 # 1 Michigan State overwhelmed Northwestern 49 - 7 at home in East Lansing . Playing in Little Rock , # 2 Arkansas shut out Texas A & M 31 - 0 . # 3 Nebraska won a close one , 16 - 14 , at Missouri and # 4 Notre Dame won 29 - 3 over Navy . The # 5 LSU Tigers were shut out at home by Mississippi , 23 - 0 . Meanwhile , # 10 Alabama beat Mississippi State at Jackson , Miss . , 10 - 7 to take LSU ' s place at # 5 . The Top 4 stayed the same : 1 . Michigan State 2 . Arkansas 3 . Nebraska 4 . Notre Dame 5 . Alabama . November . On November 6 , the # 1 Michigan State Spartans went to 8 - 0 - 0 with a 35 - 0 win at Iowa . # 2 Arkansas won 31 - 0 at Rice . # 3 Nebraska won 42 - 6 over Kansas . All three remained unbeaten , with 8 - 0 records . # 4 Notre Dame rolled over the Pitt Panthers , 69 - 13 , at Pittsburgh , and # 5 Alabama won 31 - 7 at LSU to take the SEC title and a trip to the Sugar Bowl . November 13 The Top 3 schools extended their records to 9 - 0 - 0 . # 1 Michigan State beat Indiana 27 - 13 to guarantee itself the Big Ten title and the trip to Pasadena . # 2 Arkansas beat SMU 24 - 3 at Dallas , with only one game left in SWC play , a match against second place Texas Tech . # 3 Nebraska had a surprisingly difficult game against the 1 - 6 - 0 Oklahoma State Cowboys , winning 21 - 17 at Stillwater , OK . # 4 Notre Dame shut out visiting North Carolina , 17 - 0 , and # 5 Alabama beat South Carolina 35 - 14 at home . November 20 : With its Big Ten title assured , # 1 Michigan State hosted its most difficult opponent yet , # 4 Notre Dame , with hopes of finishing its season unbeaten . The Spartans won , 12 - 3 . Though unbeaten , # 2 Arkansas was only a game ahead of SWC rival Texas Tech ( 6 - 0 vs . 5 - 1 ) in conference play . The two met at Arkansas , and the Razorbacks beat the Red Raiders 42 - 24 to get a spot in the Cotton Bowl . In Los Angeles , # 7 UCLA beat # 6 USC 20 - 16 to win the AAWU ( Pac 8 ) title and the right to meet Michigan State in the Rose Bowl . Thanksgiving Day , # 3 Nebraska beat Oklahoma at home in Lincoln , 21 - 9 to gain the Big 8 title and the Orange Bowl spot . # 5 Alabama and Auburn University both had the week off . When they met in their annual season closer at Birmingham November 27 , the Crimson Tide beat the Tigers 30 - 3 . On the following Saturday ( December 4 ) # 4 UCLA lost to Tennessee 37 - 34 in a game marred by a questionable pass intereference call and a lost down for UCLA . The next AP poll was 1 . Michigan State 2 . Arkansas 3 . Nebraska 4 . Alabama and 5 . Tennessee . For the first time , the Associated Press made plans to take its final poll after the post - season bowl games . Conference standings . The following is an incomplete list of conference standings : Bowl games . It was a day of upsets as # 2 Arkansas lost to LSU in the Cotton Bowl . Then came an even bigger stunner when # 1 Michigan State lost to 13 point underdog UCLA in the Rose Bowl , 14 - 12 . Trailing 14 - 6 in the final minute , Michigan State scored and went for a tying 2 - point conversion but was stopped just short of the goal line . With # 2 Arkansas and # 1 Michigan State losing , that meant the Orange Bowl game between # 3 Nebraska and # 4 Alabama would determine the national champion . Alabama , led by QB Steve Sloan , beat Nebraska 39 - 28 to claim the national title . The final poll was 1 . Alabama , 2 . Michigan State , 3 . Tennessee , 4 . Arkansas , and 5 . UCLA . Other champions . The grouping of schools that would later become the NCAA ' s Divisions II and III were ranked in the " small college poll " , taken by both the UPI ( coaches ) and AP ( a panel of writers ) . In 1966 , both services ranked the ( 10 - 0 - 0 ) North Dakota State Bison , now a Division I FCS team , # 1 . The UPI coaches ' poll had Los Angeles State ( 8 - 1 - 0 ) 2nd , while the AP poll had a future Division I FBS team , Middle Tennessee State ( 10 - 0 - 0 ) , as the # 2 team . North Dakota State beat another future FCS school , Grambling , 20 - 7 in the Pecan Bowl , one of four regional bowl games for smaller programs . In the NAIA championship game , the St . John ' s ( Minnesota ) Johnnies defeated the Linfield Wildcats 33 - 0 . Both schools now compete in NCAA Division III .