1965 LSU Tigers football team

The 1965 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University during the 1965 NCAA University Division football season.

1965 LSU Tigers football
Cotton Bowl, W 14–7 vs. Arkansas
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 8
Record	8–3 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach	Charles McClendon (4th season)
Home stadium	Tiger Stadium
Seasons ← 1964 1966 →

1965 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Alabama $	6	–	1	–	1			9	–	1	–	1
Auburn	4	–	1	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Florida	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
No. 7 Tennessee	2	–	1	–	2			8	–	1	–	2
Ole Miss	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
No. 8 LSU	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Kentucky	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Georgia	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	1
Tulane	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Back-to-back losses to Ole Miss and Alabama by a combined 54-7 put LSU's bowl hopes in peril, but wins vs. Mississippi State and Tulane prompted the Cotton Bowl to extend a bid to the 7-3 Tigers. The bowl's faith in LSU was rewarded when the Tigers stunned No. 2 Arkansas 14–7 to stop the Razorbacks' winning streak at 22 and deny Arkansas a second consecutive national championship.

Schedule

Destruction from Hurricane Betsy on September 10 put the season opener vs. Texas A&M in jeopardy. Repairs to the light towers, scoreboard and press box were made in time for the game to proceed as planned eight days later.

LSU defeated rival Tulane by a 62-0 tally for the third time in eight seasons (1958 and 1961) in the Green Wave's final football game as a member of the Southeastern Conference. It was also LSU's third consecutive shutout of Tulane at Baton Rouge.

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Source
September 18	Texas A&M*	No. 8	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	W 10–0
September 25	Rice*	No. 7	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	W 42–14
October 2	at Florida	No. 5	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	L 7–14
October 9	at Miami (FL)*		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	W 34–27
October 16	Kentucky		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	W 31–21
October 23	South Carolina*	No. 9	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	W 21–7
October 30	at Ole Miss	No. 5	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)	L 0–23
November 6	No. 5 Alabama		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	L 7–31
November 13	Mississippi State		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	W 37–20
November 20	Tulane		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (Battle for the Rag)	W 62–0	^[1]
January 1, 1966	vs. No. 2 Arkansas*		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl / rivalry)	W 14–7
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[2]

References

1. "LSU dismantles Wave, 62–0, then takes Cotton Bowl bid". The Shreveport Times. November 21, 1965. Retrieved October 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
2. 1965 season