SEARCY -- Archie Manning issued an apology of sorts 45 years later to his Texas friends and Arkansas is to blame.
Manning, a former college and professional football standout, said his Ole Miss Rebels beat the best team in the country in the 1970 Sugar Bowl -- the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Razorbacks, who lost 15-14 to Texas on Dec. 6, 1969, in what was termed the Game of the Century, ultimately lost 27-22 to Manning's Rebels in the Sugar Bowl. Manning said the Razorbacks were the better team that entire season, not the national-champion Longhorns who secured the top spot by beating Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl.
"I may have to apologize to any of my Texas Longhorns friends for saying this, but Arkansas was the best team in the country that year," Manning said Thursday night before speaking at Harding University's American Studies Institute Distinguished Lecture Series. "We were fortunate to beat them."
Manning, 65, was the MVP of the Sugar Bowl victory over the Razorbacks, who came into the game ranked No. 3. The father of NFL superstars Peyton and Eli Manning, Manning knows a little about national championship implications, having been named to serve on the inaugural College Football Playoff committee this past season, even though he had to withdraw early on for health reasons.
Despite not sitting in on the deliberations each week, Manning said the committee ultimately got it right when it named Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and eventual national-champion Ohio State as its final four teams.
"They worked so hard to get it right," Manning said. "I know they had everything in front of them to work off of and they put in a lot of hard work. I just don't understand how somebody could be so critical afterward of the job they did. I applaud the job they did."
Manning acknowledged Chairman Jeff Long, the Arkansas athletic director, for his ability to guide the committee through the process.
"Jeff Long did a great job," Manning said. "He by far had the toughest job. To get up there every week and speak to a national audience and explain the committee's thoughts and actions, that was tough. He handled it well."
Manning, who was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989 and is one of three committee members in the Hall, said he still has some time before he decides if he will participate on the committee in 2015.
"I have to give it some thought, pray about it a little more, talk with my family before I decide," he said. "I have to figure something out sometime early in March."
The No. 2 overall pick by the New Orleans Saints in the 1971 NFL Draft behind Stanford's Jim Plunkett, Manning finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1970. He was named the SEC Quarterback of the Quarter Century from 1950-75 and was actually selected in the Major League Baseball Draft four times. He said despite never playing in Arkansas, unlike Peyton when he played at Tennessee and Eli at Ole Miss, he still keeps plenty of connections within the state, particularly from the 1970 Sugar Bowl team.
"To this day, Bill Montgomery and Chuck Dicus are still good buddies of mine," Manning said. "I talked to Bill yesterday. Still lot of good friends, good people in Arkansas. I get treated wonderfully every time I am here.
"Now, the boys, I know they've had good and bad memories playing in the state, whether it was in Fayetteville or Little Rock. I think Eli had a good game in Jonesboro against ASU, if I remember right."
Born in Drew, Miss., and currently living in New Orleans with his wife, Olivia, Manning and his sons, including oldest son Cooper, host the Manning Passing Academy each summer at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La. Besides motivational speaking engagements, Archie is involved, among other things, with the Louisiana Special Olympics, the Allstate Sugar Bowl Committee and was recently named chairman of the board of the National Football Foundation.
He was the SEC Player of the Year in 1969, played for the Saints from 1971-82, the Houston Oilers from 1982-83 and the Minnesota Vikings from 1983-84. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 1978 and 1979 and was the NFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1978. Unlike Peyton and Eli who have each won Super Bowls, Archie never played in a playoff game since the Saints had nine losing seasons of the 10 he was in New Orleans. He sat out the 1976 season after shoulder surgery and finished the 1982 season in Houston.
"I had a good career," Manning said. "I guess you can say the boys have probably been a little more successful. I couldn't be more proud of them. Cooper, too. We've been extremely blessed in so many ways."
Sports on 02/20/2015