| Type: | NCAA College Division |
| Year: | 1965 |
| Champions: | North Dakota State (AP, UPI) Tennessee A&I (black) |
The 1965 NCAA College Division football season was the tenth season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA College Division level.
See main article: 1965 small college football rankings.
College Division teams (also referred to as "small college") were ranked in polls by the AP (a panel of writers) and by UPI (coaches). The national champion(s) for each season were determined by the final poll rankings, published at or near the end of the regular season, before any bowl games were played.
In 1965, both services ranked North Dakota State (10–0) first; the UPI coaches' poll had Cal State Los Angeles (8–1) second, while the AP poll had Middle Tennessee (9–0) as the number two team.[1] North Dakota State later beat Grambling, 20–7 in the Pecan Bowl in Abilene, Texas.[2] [3] Associated Press (writers) final poll
Published on November 26[4]
| Rank | School | Record | No. 1 votes | Total points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10–0 | 4 | 84 | ||
| 2 | 9–0 | 2 | 68 | ||
| 3 | 10–0 | 1 | 43 | ||
| 4 | 8–1 | 35 | |||
| 5 | 8–0 | 32 | |||
| 6 | 9–0 | 30 | |||
| 7 | 8–1 | 30 | |||
| 8 | 8–1 | 1 | 27 | ||
| 9 | 9–0 | 20 | |||
| 10 | 9–0 | 19 |
| Rank | School | Record | No. 1 votes | Total points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10–0 | 21 | 301 | ||
| 2 | 8–1 | 2 | 224 | ||
| 3 | 10–0 | 3 | 209 | ||
| 4 | 8–1 | 1 | 187 | ||
| 5 | 8–1 | 3 | 117 | ||
| 6 | 8–1 | 116 | |||
| 7 | 9–0 | 104 | |||
| 8 | 8–1 | 1 | 97 | ||
| 9 | 9–1 | 76 | |||
| 10 | 10–0 | 73 |
The postseason consisted of four bowl games as regional finals, played on December 11.
| Bowl | Region | Location | Winning team | Losing team | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tangerine | East | Orlando, Florida | East Carolina | 31 | Maine | 0 | [6] | |
| Grantland Rice | Mideast | Murfreesboro, Tennessee | align=center ! colspan=4 | Tennessee A&I 14, Ball State 14 | [7] | |||
| Pecan | Midwest | Abilene, Texas | North Dakota State | 20 | Grambling | 7 | ||
| Camellia | West | Sacramento, California | Cal State Los Angeles | 18 | UC Santa Barbara | 10 | [8] | |