1965 College Football All America Team

The 1965 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1965.

Contents

• Consensus All Americans
• Ends
• Tackles
• Guards
• Centers
• Quarterbacks
• Running backs
• Defensive ends
• Defensive tackles
• Middle guards
• Linebackers
• Defensive backs
• Kicking specialist
• Key
• Official selectors
• Other selectors
• References

The NCAA recognizes six selectors as "official" for the 1965 season. They are (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), (2) the Associated Press (AP), (3) the Central Press Association (CP), (4) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), (5) the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), and (6) the United Press International (UPI). Four of the six teams (AP, UPI, NEA, and FWAA) were selected by polling of sports writers and/or broadcasters. The CP team was selected with input from the captains of the major college teams. The AFCA team was based on a poll of more than 500 coaches. Other notable selectors, though not recognized by the NCAA as official, included The Football News (FN), a weekly national football newspaper, Time magazine, The Sporting News (TSN), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC).

Three players were unanimously selected as first-team players by all six official selectors as well as the four unofficial selectors. They are: (1) USC running back Mike Garrett who led the NCAA with 1,440 rushing yards and won the 1965 Heisman Trophy; (2) Tulsa end Howard Twilley who in 1965 set an NCAA record with 1,779 receiving yards, a single-season record that stood for 30 years; and (3) Illinois fullback Jim Grabowski who was second in the NCAA with 1,258 rushing yards and won the 1965 Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy after breaking the Big Ten Conference career rushing record. Garrett, Twilley, and Grabowski also finished first, second, and third in the 1965 Heisman Trophy voting with 926, 528, and 481 points, respectively. All three were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

The 1965 Michigan State Spartans football team were ranked #1 in the final UPI Coaches Poll and led the country with eight players receiving at least one first-team All-American designation. The Spartans' first-team honorees were: defensive back George Webster (AFCA, AP, NEA, UPI, FN, WC); defensive end Bubba Smith (AFCA, UPI, WC); end Gene Washington (CP, FN); quarterback Steve Juday (AP); running backs Clinton Jones (FWAA) and Bob Apisa (FN); middle guard Harold Lucas (NEA); and linebacker Ron Goovert (FWAA).

Purdue, ranked #13 in the final UPI Coaches' Poll, finished second with four first-team honorees: quarterback Bob Griese (AFCA, CP, NEA, UPI, FN, WC); defensive tackle Jerry Shay (AFCA, FN); offensive tackle Karl Singer (AP); and offensive end Bob Hadrick (FN). Notre Dame, Arkansas, and Nebraska tied for third place, each with three first-team selections.