1963 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 1963 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 1963 college football season. The Midshipmen were led by head coach Wayne Hardin in his fifth year, finished the year with an overall record of nine wins and two losses and with a loss against Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Quarterback Roger Staubach won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award while leading the Midshipmen to a 9–1 regular season record and a final ranking of #2 in the nation. He led Navy to victory over their annual rivalry with Notre Dame, which would be the Midshipmen's last win over Notre Dame until 2007. In the Crab Bowl Classic, Navy defeated Maryland by a score of 42–7. There was talk of cancelling the 1963 Army-Navy game in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but his widow, Jacqueline, insisted that the game should be played. #2 Navy accepted an invitation to play in the 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic versus #1 Texas, the second #1 versus #2 bowl game in college football history.

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	Result
September 21	at West Virginia	#9	Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	W 51–7
September 28	William & Mary	#5	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	W 28–0
October 5	at Michigan	#6	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	W 26–13
October 11	at SMU	#4	Cotton Bowl • Dallas TX (Gansz Trophy)	L 28–32
October 19	vs. VMI	#10	Foreman Field • Norfolk, VA (Oyster Bowl)	W 21–12
October 26	#3 Pittsburgh	#10	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	W 24–12
November 2	at Notre Dame	#4	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Rivalry)	W 35–14
November 9	Maryland	#4	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD (Crab Bowl Classic)	W 42–7
November 16	at Duke	#2	Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, NC	W 38–25
December 7	vs. Army	#2	Philadelphia Municipal Stadium • Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	W 21–15
January 1, 1964	vs. #1 Texas	#2	Cotton Bowl • Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	L 6–28
Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

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Team players in the NFL

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Awards and honors

• Roger Staubach - Heisman Trophy,^[3] Walter Camp Award^[4]

References