1966 All-America college football team
The 1966 All-America college football team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations that chose All-America college football teams in 1966.
The NCAA recognizes six selectors as "official" for the 1966 season. They are the American Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press, the Central Press Association, the Football Writers Association of America, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, and the United Press International. Four of the six teams were selected by polling of sports writers and/or broadcasters. The Central Press team was selected with input from the captains of the major college teams. The AFCA team was based on a poll of coaches. Other notable selectors, though not recognized by the NCAA as official, included Time magazine, The Sporting News, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
The undefeated [1966 1966 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame] and [1966 1966 Michigan State Spartans football team|Michigan State Spartans football team|Michigan State] teams finished the season ranked #1 and #2, played to a 10–10 tie in the 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game, and dominated the 1966 All-America selections. Notre Dame had six players who received first-team honors: guard Tom Regner ; back Nick Eddy ; defensive end Alan Page ; linebacker Jim Lynch ; and defensive tackles Pete Duranko and Kevin Hardy. Michigan State had five: defensive end Bubba Smith ; offensive end Gene Washington ; running back Clint Jones ; defensive back/linebacker George Webster ; and tackle Jerry West.
Consensus All-Americans
The NCAA recognizes 22 players as "consensus" All-Americans for the 1966 season. The following chart identifies the consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received.| Name | Position | School | Official selectors | Number | Others | Total |
| Jack Clancy | End | Michigan | AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | 6/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 10/10 |
| Jim Lynch | Linebacker | Notre Dame | AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | 6/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 10/10 |
| Loyd Phillips | Defensive tackle | Arkansas | AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | 6/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 10/10 |
| Bubba Smith | Defensive end | Michigan State | AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | 6/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 10/10 |
| Steve Spurrier | Quarterback | Florida | AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | 6/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 10/10 |
| George Webster | Defensive back | Michigan State | AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | 6/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 10/10 |
| Mel Farr | Running back | UCLA | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | 5/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 9/10 |
| Tom Regner | Guard | Notre Dame | AFCA, AP, CP, NEA, UPI | 5/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 9/10 |
| Nick Eddy | Running back | Notre Dame | AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | 6/6 | FN, WCFF | 8/10 |
| Ron Yary | Tackle | USC | AFCA, CP, FWAA, UPI | 4/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 8/10 |
| Cecil Dowdy | Tackle | Alabama | AFCA, AP, CP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | 6/6 | WCFF | 7/10 |
| Wayne Meylan | Middle guard | Nebraska | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | 5/6 | FN, WCFF | 7/10 |
| Alan Page | Defensive end | Notre Dame | CP, FWAA, NEA | 3/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 7/10 |
| Nate Shaw | Defensive back | USC | AFCA, NEA, UPI | 3/6 | FN, Time, TSN, WCFF | 7/10 |
| Tom Beier | Defensive back | Miami | AFCA, AP, NEA, UPI | 4/6 | FN, WCFF | 6/10 |
| Jim Breland | Center | Georgia Tech | AFCA, AP, CP, UPI | 4/6 | FN, WCFF | 6/10 |
| Clint Jones | Running back | Michigan State | AP, CP, NEA | 3/6 | Time, TSN, WCFF | 6/10 |
| Paul Naumoff | Linebacker | Tennessee | AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI | 4/6 | FN, WCFF | 6/10 |
| Ray Perkins | End | Alabama | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA | 4/6 | FN, WCFF | 6/10 |
| LaVerne Allers | Guard | Nebraska | AP, CP, UPI | 3/6 | FN, WCFF | 5/10 |
| John LaGrone | Middle guard | SMU | AFCA, CP, FWAA, NEA | 4/6 | WCFF | 5/10 |
| Tom Greenlee | Defensive tackle | Washington | AFCA, AP, UPI | 3/6 | WCFF | 4/10 |
Offensive selections
Ends
Jack Clancy, Michigan Ray Perkins, Alabama- Gene Washington, Michigan State
- Jim Beirne, Purdue
- Eppie Barney, Iowa
- Larry Gilbert, Texas Tech
- Jim Seymour, Notre Dame
Tight ends
- Austin Denney, Tennessee
- Cas Banaszek, Northwestern
Tackles
Cecil Dowdy, Alabama Ron Yary, USC- Wayne Mass, Clemson
- Jerry West, Michigan State
- Jack Calcaterra, Purdue
- Reeve Vannaman, Cornell
Guards
Tom Regner, Notre Dame LaVerne Allers, Nebraska- Mo Moorman, Texas A&M
- Gary Bugenhagen, Syracuse
- Bob Hyland, Boston College
- Edgar Chandler, Georgia
- Lynn Thornhill, Southern Methodist
- Del Williams, Florida State
Centers
Jim Breland, Georgia Tech- Bill Carr, Florida
- Ray Pryor, Ohio State
- Bob Johnson, Tennessee
- George Goeddeke, Notre Dame
Quarterbacks
Steve Spurrier, Florida- Bob Griese, Purdue
- Gary Beban, UCLA
Running backs
Mel Farr, UCLA Nick Eddy, Notre Dame Clint Jones, Michigan State- Floyd Little, Syracuse
- Ray McDonald, Idaho
- Lenny Snow, Georgia Tech
- Larry Csonka, Syracuse
- Jim Bohl, New Mexico State
- Warren McVea, Houston
- Bob Apisa, Michigan State
- Larry Conjar, Notre Dame
- Garrett Ford, Sr., West Virginia
- Pete Pifer, Oregon State
Defensive selections
Defensive ends
Bubba Smith, Michigan State Alan Page, Notre Dame- George Foussekis, Virginia Tech
- Sam Harris, Colorado
- Billy Anders, Ohio State
- Dennis Randall, Oklahoma State
- Ted Hendricks, Miami
Defensive tackles
Loyd Phillips, Arkansas Tom Greenlee, Washington- Pete Duranko, Notre Dame
- Dennis Byrd, North Carolina State
- George Patton, Georgia
- Kevin Hardy, Notre Dame
- Bill Stanfill, Georgia
- Ed Philpott, Miami
- Jim Urbanek, Mississippi
Middle guards
Wayne Meylan, Nebraska John LaGrone, SMU- John Richardson, UCLA
- Granville Liggins, Oklahoma
Linebackers
Jim Lynch, Notre Dame Paul Naumoff, Tennessee- Bob Matheson, Duke
- Townsend Clarke, Army
- Charles Thornhill, Michigan State
- Adrian Young, Southern California
- D. D. Lewis, Mississippi State
- Wayne Purdon, Montana State
Defensive backs
George Webster, Michigan State Nate Shaw, USC Tom Beier, Miami- Frank Loria, Virginia Tech
- Martine Bercher, Arkansas
- Rick Volk, Michigan
- John Charles, Purdue
- Henry King, Utah State
- Bobby Johns, Alabama
- Wynn Mabry, Dartmouth
- Larry Wachholtz, Nebraska
- Chuck Latourette, Rice
- Bruce Sullivan, Illinois
- Bobby Bryant, South Carolina
- Tom Schoen, Notre Dame
- Lynn Hughes, Georgia
Special teams
Kicker
- Jan Stenerud, Montana State
Punter
- Ron Widby, Tennessee
Key
Bold – Consensus All-American- -1 – First-team selection
- -2 – Second-team selection
- -3 – Third-team selection
Official selectors
- AFCA = American Football Coaches Association, sponsored by the Eastman Kodak Company
- AP = Associated Press, "based on recommendations of the AP football board of sportswriters and sportscasters"
- CP = Central Press Association, "picked with the aid of the nation's football captains"
- FWAA = Football Writers Association of America
- NEA = Newspaper Enterprise Association, "chosen by consulting scouts, coaches and writers in every part of the country, representing a true cross-section of opinion"
- UPI = United Press International, "selected by the ballots of 267 football writers and broadcasters"
Unofficial selectors
- FN = The Football News, consisting of the 34 best players out of the 25,000 men playing college football that year, as selected by the paper's correspondents and staff members
- Time = Time magazine
- TSN = The Sporting News, consisting of 24 players "picked by 24 directors of player personnel of the American and National Football Leagues for the Sporting News"
- WCFF = Walter Camp Football Foundation