All Hogs

Believe It! Arkansas-Texas is Truly a Rivalry for the Ages


Hogs' golden era of football matched by Longhorns as college football world watched intently

Bob Stephens

Arkansas fans storm the field to celebrate the Razorbacks' 40-21 win against the No. 15 Texas Longhorns at Razorback Stadium on Sept. 11, 2021. The Hogs have won two straight against Texas, including a 31-7 beatdown at the 2014 Texas Bowl. The Longhorns enjoy a startling 17-4 edge in games played in Fayetteville.
Arkansas fans storm the field to celebrate the Razorbacks' 40-21 win against the No. 15 Texas Longhorns at Razorback Stadium on Sept. 11, 2021. The Hogs have won two straight against Texas, including a 31-7 beatdown at the 2014 Texas Bowl. The Longhorns enjoy a startling 17-4 edge in games played in Fayetteville. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images
In this story:

Lots of folks are questioning whether Arkansas-Texas is a rivalry game, whether it should matter more than others. How we interpret situations is usually determined by our personal point of view — our latest election being testimony to that — but as we say in my house, there's no such thing as alternative facts.

So, read on my friends. Here are a few fun facts regarding the genesis of the Texas-Arkansas rivalry and why the Hogs and 'Horns game was once one of the most important cornerstones of college football.

From the magical punt return by Arkansas' Ken Hatfield that culminated in Arkansas' only national championship to Texas quarterback James Street's pinpoint pass to validate coach Darrell Royal's gutsy call with President Richard Nixon watching, this marvelous match-up was closely watched by the entire college football world.

Texas won three national titles in an eight-year span way back when Arkansas coach Sam Pittman was learning to love football. Meanwhile, the Razorbacks about two Hog whiskers from doing better than that in the same decade.

Arkansas had a realistic chance to win five — count 'em, five — national titles in the 1960s, and one in the '70s. Texas, as usual, was a sharp 'Horn in the Hogs' side.

Yes, Texas owns a decisive 56-23 edge in the series that dates back to 1894. However, for more than a decade, this intense rivalry captivated the country, dominated the strong Southwest Conference, decided national championships, and created legends.

Chicago Bears defensive end Dan Hampton (99) celebrates with the football against the New England Patriots during Super Bowl
Chicago Bears defensive end Dan Hampton (99) celebrates with the football against the New England Patriots during Super Bowl XX at the New Orleans Superdome. Chicago defeated New England 46-10 on Jan. 26, 1986. Hampton, a Hall of Famer, was the Bears' first-round draft pick in 1979 following an All-American season with the Hogs. / RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Can it be a rivalry when one team has such a big lead in the all-time series? You may say no. I say yes.

Before this season, the Dodgers had faced the Yankees in 11 World Series and won only three, but they're both among the most storied franchises in baseball history. If you missed it, the Dodgers beat the Yanks last month in the Series.

It's true that nearly all players (and many coaches) from both teams that meet today at 11 a.m. in Razorback Stadium are not aware of what came before them. That's typical of most players, and lots of fans. They don't know the history, except for what grandpa may have told them, or what a rare internet search turned up.

But, history matters. Whether it's Jackie Robinson stealing home, Mickey Mantle or Reggie Jackson hitting home runs, or Freddie Freeman stealing the show, it's all part of World Series (and Yankees-Dodgers) history.

Just like quarterback Matt Jones — the prototype for current Hogs' QB Taylen Green— willing Arkansas to a win at Texas in 2003 with his legs and arm. And the Razorbacks running for 333 yards and four touchdowns -- one each from Trelon Smith, AJ Green, Rocket Sanders and Dominique Johnson -- in a 40-21 beatdown (33-7 after three quarters) of the 'Horns in 2021.

We're about to journey back about 60 years to check a few facts in this rivalry. Yep, that might seem like we need a time travel machine or players wearing leather helmets but trust me, none of that is true. The video might look ancient, but the players were just as good.

Remember, we have to go back 100 years to talk about the greatest player in baseball history: Babe Ruth. The best NFL player is still Jim Brown, who played in the 1960s.

That same decade is the golden era of Arkansas football. It was Texas that topped the rankings three times between 1963-70. It was the Longhorns which had a 30-game winning streak. The UT-Austin program was also at its all-time peak.

But the Hogs played them straight up, toe to toe, helmet to helmet. I wasn't there, but I've been told it was a rivalry built on respect for the other side.

The hatred of the 'Horns by Arkansas fans came at the end of the decade and into the next, fueled by frustration and failure. But prior to that, and again after, was a whole lot of winning.

Consider this:
* Arkansas was the 1964 national champ, the nation's only undefeated team.
* Arkansas would've won the 1965 title, but lost the Cotton Bowl 14-7 to LSU and finished No. 3.
* Arkansas would've won the 1968 title, but lost 39-29 in Austin. They were 10-1, No. 6 nationally.
* Arkansas' only regular-season setbacks in 1962 and '69 were to Texas, but the deflated Hogs also lost bowl games.

Enough of what could've been. The point is that Texas directly cost the Hogs the '68 title and kept them from playing for two more national championships in their New Year's Day bowl games in '62 and '69.

Here's one more. Arkansas finished 11-1 and third in all the polls in 1977, the first year Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz stalked the Hogs' sideline. Famously, the Razorbacks embarrassed Oklahoma 31-6 in the Orange Bowl despite missing four key starters.

January 2, 1978: The Arkansas Razorbacks pull off one of the greatest upsets in Orange Bowl history defeating the...

Posted by Ghosts of the Orange Bowl on Thursday, July 25, 2024

An Oklahoma win would've given Arkansas native and former Razorback captain Barry Switzer a third national title in four seasons. But the Hogs' victory could've led to their second national title, except they lost one game at mid-season, 13-9, in Fayetteville to the hated 'Horns.

If you're counting, that's two one-loss seasons when the Razorbacks would've been national champs except they lost to Texas. Twice in 10 years.

There's more. Check out these facts from the 1960s:
* Arkansas and Texas each won three Southwest Conference titles.
* When one of them copped the crown, the other was runner-up four of six times.
* They shared two SWC crowns, accounting for eight of 10 in the decade.

That's dominance, shared dominance. The Arkansas-Texas game decided the league championship all but twice in 10 years. In the decade, the Razorbacks held their own, going 4-6 against the Longhorns.

Former Arkansas Razorbacks football coach and athletic director Frank Broyles calls the Hogs during a Nov. 23, 2012 dedicatio
Former Arkansas Razorbacks football coach and athletic director Frank Broyles calls the Hogs during a Nov. 23, 2012 dedication ceremony for the unveiling of his statue before the start of a game against LSU at Razorback Stadium. / Beth Hall-Imagn Images

There's more. The rivalry began in Hall of Fame coach Frank Broyles' second season at Arkansas in 1959 when he revitalized the Razorbacks football program and tied Texas for the SWC title. The amazing stretch ended after 1970 and '71, when the Hogs were SWC runner up both seasons to the Longhorns, who were a combined 13-1 in the league.

So, in the 13 seasons from '59 to '71:
* The Hogs and Horns won 11 of the 13 SWC championships.
* They shared three of those.
* Six times they were runner up to the other.
* Arkansas was 108-31-2 in that span.
* The Hogs were 71-17-1 in the SEC.

I ask you, does that constitute a rivalry? Were the Hogs good enough to be taken seriously by the 'Horns? Of course, especially when the outcome of their game usually had national title implications. There's a reason the Arkansas-Texas tilt was a staple of college football on TV back when only a few were shown in a weekend.

It's called sustained excellence. Arkansas certainly held up its end of the rivalry.

Eight times in 11 seasons from 1959-69, the Hogs were No. 9 or better in the final rankings. That is certainly sustained excellence.

Here's another question: Any chance Royal and Texas fans considered Arkansas their biggest rival back then? Despite Texas' annual Red River Shootout (now called Red River Rivalry) with Oklahoma, that game wasn't as important as a conference game.

That's because only one or two teams from each league played in bowl games, with the champs getting an automatic bid. Case in point: In 1970, Arkansas was ranked No. 4 in the country and played the regular-season finale in Austin against No. 1 Texas.

The 'Horns hammered the Hogs 42-7. Arkansas, with an impressive 9-2 record, didn't get a bowl invite but was No. 11 in the final rankings. Oh yes, times have changed.

It was a year earlier when Arkansas-Texas was deemed the likely choice as biggest game of the season. It was college football's 100th anniversary and ABC-TV convinced the Hogs and 'Horns to move their showdown to season's end for a showcase performance — the only college football game that weekend.

Deemed the "Game of the Century" or "Big Shootout," it lived up to the hype with two dominant 9-0 teams squaring off. It attracted 50 million viewers, more than half of all TVs in use, still the largest audience for a college football game.

Much to the chagrin of Hog fans to this day, Arkansas lost a 14-0 lead; eschewed a short field goal that could've made it a nearly insurmountable 17-8 lead and instead suffered an interception in the end zone; gave up an unlikely but sensational 44-yard catch on Street's pass on fourth-and-three with 4:47 left; and lost 15-14.

President Richard Nixon attended the game, went to Texas' cramped locker room, and declared the Longhorns national champs. Nixon visited Arkansas' locker room afterward and told them he knew all about defeat.

Razorback fans a bit older than Pittman were thrilled by Arkansas' success a couple generations ago. Two decades later, in the 1980s, Hatfield — the All-American defensive back who won the Texas game in 1964 to help the Hogs to the national title — was back as coach and went 48-13 in the final five of his six seasons, with a pair of 10-2 teams before he left for Clemson.

Only one Arkansas coach, in only one season, has posted a record with less than three losses since Hatfield's swan song in 1989. That was Bobby Petrino, now the Hogs' offensive coordinator, who was 11-2 in 2011.

Maybe, just maybe, as the Arkansas-Texas rivalry is renewed with the Longhorns joining the SEC, it'll be what the Hogs need to jump start their program. They'll never recreate the amazing success of Broyles' heyday — it was a different time, of course — but just seeing burnt orange should get the juices flowing for any self-respecting Razorback fan.

HOGS FEED:

• Pittman Hushes Critics of Longhorns 'Fine Team'

• Razorbacks ready to face Longhorns’ “simple” defense

• Arkansas' defense has four tasks it must accomplish to win

• Rivalry between Texas, Arkansas highly questionable

• Why John Nabors hates Longhorns so much | Locked on Razorbacks

• Subscribe and follow us on YouTube
• Follow HogsSI on X and Facebook

Published
Bob Stephens
BOB STEPHENS

Home/Football