Texas Tops Final AP Football Poll

Texas' irrepressible Longhorns, who preserved their perfect record with a mighty finishing kick against Notre Dame, captured the national collegiate football championship Saturday by a whopping electoral margin in the final Associated Press poll. The Longhorns, atop the national rankings at the closing of the regular season and acclaimed by President Nixon as the reigning major-college power before their Cotton Bowl clash with the Fighting Irish, proved themselves all over again on New Year's Day.

Cashing a fourth-down gamble in the closing, minutes, they came from behind to win 21-17 and gain their second national title in seven years. The Longhorns were No. 1 in the country in 1963, the seventh of Darrell Royal's 13 seasons as head coach.

Penn State received seven first-place ballots and wound up the solid No. 2 team for the second year in succession. Two voters split their top choice between the Longhorns and Nittany Lions.

[source: ap]