Cotton Bowl (game) Totally Explained

Everything about Cotton Bowl Game totally explained

The Cotton Bowl Classic is a United States college football bowl game played annually since 1937 at the self-named stadium in Dallas, Texas. On February 27 2007, it was announced that the game will move to the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in 2010. With the planned move, Cotton Bowl officials also began a campaign to become part of the Bowl Championship Series when the current contract featuring the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, and Orange bowls expires in 2010.
Since 1996, the game has been sponsored by Southwestern Bell Corporation; however, it went through several name changes, first in 2000 when the firm adopted a standardized "SBC" branding reflecting its name it adopted in 1995, SBC Communications, and since 2006, after their acquisition of AT&T, and its subsequent name change, as the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. From 1989 until 1995, the game was sponsored by Mobil Oil and known as the Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic.

History

1930s

The Cotton Bowl Classic was founded in Dallas, Texas in 1937 at the Texas State Fair Grounds, when Texas oil executive J. Curtis Sanford financed the first one out of his own pocket. Texas Christian University took on Marquette, winning 16-6, but the game lost money even though some 17,000 attended. Nonetheless, Sanford persevered, and in 1938 the game made a profit as Rice defeated Colorado 28-14, in front of a crowd of 37,000.
Some 40,000 attended the 1939 match between St. Mary's and Texas Tech, with the Gaels upsetting the undefeated Red Raiders 20-13.

1940s

In 1940, an underdog Clemson team surprised the Boston College Eagles 6-3, in the first of several appearances at the Cotton Bowl by Tigers coach Frank Howard. Attendance at this game was given as 20,000. Later that year, a group of prominent Dallas citizens took over the staging of the game as the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. A few months later, the CBAA became an agency of the Southwest Conference. From 1941 to 1994, the SWC's champion hosted the Cotton Bowl.
In 1946, the University of Missouri was defeated by the University of Texas, despite the 4th quarter work of freshman fullback Robert (Bob) Lee Clodfelter, who was to mature under Weeb Ewbank at Washington University the next three years.
In 1947 LSU and Arkansas played in front of 38,000 people to a 0-0 tie in what would later become known as the "Ice Bowl." LSU got the better of Arkansas most of the game but the game truly belonged to the weatherman.

1950s

The 1954 Cotton Bowl featured one of the most famous plays in college football history. Rice's Dickey Moegle began a run around from Owl 5 yard line and down the open field. Alabama's Tommy Lewis jumped off the bench and tackled Maegle. The referee Cliff Shaw saw what happened and signaled touchdown even though Maegle was "tackled" at the 42 yard line.

1960s

In 1964, the number one ranked University of Texas completed an undefeated season by defeating #2 ranked Navy (who was led by future Dallas Cowboys star Roger Staubach). The game was played less than seven weeks after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. The 1967 game was moved to Saturday, December 31, 1966, due to the Dallas Cowboys hosting the NFL Championship Game at the stadium on New Year's Day, a Sunday (Note: The other major bowl games that year --- the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Orange Bowl --- were played on Monday, January 2).

1970s

The 1970 game featured Notre Dame's return to bowl games after a 45-year self-imposed ban. The Irish, led by quarterback Joe Theismann, faced top-ranked and undefeated Texas. Notre Dame led 17-14 late in the fourth quarter, but the Longhorns scored a late touchdown to clinch a 21-17 victory and an undisputed national championship. The same two teams met the next year, but this time, the Irish ended the Longhorns' 30-game winning streak with a 24-11 victory, denying Texas the Associated Press national championship (the Longhorns had already clinched the championship in the United Press International poll, which didn't release a post-bowl poll at the time). Texas and Notre Dame met again in the 1978 game, with the Longhorns again ranked number one, only to see the Irish and quarterback Joe Montana roll to a 38-10 victory. The Irish vaulted from fifth to first in the final polls with the victory.
The Chicken Soup Game, the 1979 Cotton Bowl, featured one of the most historic comebacks in bowl history. Notre Dame trailed the University of Houston 34-12 midway through the fourth quarter. Thanks to a blocked punt and the brilliance of future NFL hall of famer Joe Montana, the Irish rallied to win 35-34.

1980s

The 1989 game between UCLA and Arkansas was highly publicized in the Dallas area because UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman was expected to be the #1 pick in the NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Much was made of Cowboys coach Tom Landry watching Aikman practice at Texas Stadium (UCLA's practice facility for game preparation). Landry never got to draft Aikman, because he was fired the next month, but his successor, Jimmy Johnson, did draft Aikman.
The Bowl was known for featuring great quarterbacks. Sammy Baugh, Davey O'Brien, Babe Parilli, Bart Starr, Roger Staubach, Joe Theismann, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Doug Flutie, Troy Aikman and Eli Manning all have played in the game.
Three of the four Heisman Trophy winners from 1985 to 1988 finished their college career in the Cotton Bowl. Doug Flutie for Boston College in 1985, Bo Jackson of Auburn in 1986, and Tim Brown of Notre Dame in 1988.

1990s

For 40 years the champion of the now-defunct Southwest Conference (SWC) played as the home team in the Cotton Bowl, a tie-in which continued through the 1994 season. Until the mid-1980s the contest was universally considered as a major New Year's Day bowl. However, by the late 1980s the Cotton Bowl's prestige was dropping as many SWC teams served NCAA probations for rule violations, rendering them bowl-ineligible. Also, the conference's quality of play suffered a marked decline. The SWC champion lost the last 7 times they hosted the event, and the last national champion to play in the Cotton Bowl was Notre Dame in 1977.
   Meanwhile, the Fiesta Bowl, unhindered by conference tie-ins, was attracting national championship contenders, most notably with its January 1987 game between Penn State and Miami. In the minds of many fans, the Fiesta replaced the Cotton as a major bowl. Despite this, the Cotton Bowl still retained enough prestige that it was included as one of the top bowls in the Bowl Coalition when it was formed in 1992. However, in 1995, the new Bowl Alliance (the predecessor of today's BCS) chose to include the Fiesta Bowl over the Cotton in its national championship game rotation, sealing the Cotton Bowl's displacement from the four "major bowls."
   In 1995, the SWC gave up control of the Cotton Bowl as part of its planned dissolution after the season. In 1996, the BYU Cougars became the first team from the WAC, Western Athletic Conference to play in the game defeating the Kansas State Wildcats 19-15 winning an NCAA record 14th game and finishing the season ranked fifth in the country with a 14-1 record.
   Since 1996, the game has been anchored by the Big 12 Conference. The opponent in the late 1990s was either the Pacific 10 Conference or Western Athletic Conference, and since 1999 the Southeastern Conference (usually a Western Division team) with Southwestern Bell (now AT&T) sponsoring the event.

2000s

The Cotton Bowl continues to be played on New Year's Day (except when January 1 falls on a Sunday; then it's moved to January 2), and is usually the second game of the day to kick off, generally following the Outback Bowl. In the 2008 Cotton Bowl, Missouri Tiger's Running back, Tony Temple, broke the bowl game rushing record. He ran for 281 yards in 24 carries. (The record was previously held by Rice's Dicky Meagle, who rushed for 265 yards)Missouri ended up winning against Arkansas 38-7. In 2010, the Cotton Bowl will move to the New Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, leaving the aging Cotton Bowl facility. Reportedly, the Bowl will seek to become a BCS bowl game in 2011. One of the concerns for this game has been the weather since Dallas can be cold in January, but the new stadium would offer top amenities and weather protection.(External Link)
Television and radio coverage
Fox Sports has televised the game since 1999. For many decades, the Cotton Bowl was a New Year's Day staple on CBS, where the man most associated with the game, Lindsey Nelson, handled the play-by-play. NBC transmitted it for a brief period during the mid-1990s. Currently, Brad Sham (best known as the voice of the Dallas Cowboys) is the radio voice of the Cotton Bowl on the Westwood One network, and longtime NFL broadcaster Pat Summerall has come out of retirement to announce the annual game for Fox.
Previous results

Date Played Winning Team Losing Team notes
January 1, 1937 TCU 16 Marquette 6

January 1, 1938 Rice 28 Colorado 14

January 2, 1939 Saint Mary's (CA) 20 Texas Tech 13

January 1, 1940 Clemson 6 Boston College 3

January 1, 1941 Texas A&M 13 Fordham 12

January 1, 1942 Alabama 29 Texas A&M 21

January 1, 1943 Texas 14 Georgia Tech 7

January 1, 1944 Texas 7 Randolph Field 7

January 1, 1945 Oklahoma State 34 TCU 0

January 1, 1946 Texas 40 Missouri 27

January 1, 1947 Arkansas 0 LSU 0

January 1, 1948 SMU 13 Penn State 13

January 1, 1949 SMU 21 Oregon 13

January 2, 1950 Rice 27 North Carolina 13

January 1, 1951 Tennessee 20 Texas 14

January 1, 1952 Kentucky 20 TCU 7

January 1, 1953 Texas 16 Tennessee 0

January 1, 1954 Rice 28 Alabama 6

January 1, 1955 Georgia Tech 14 Arkansas 6

January 2, 1956 Mississippi 14 TCU 13

January 1, 1957 TCU 28 Syracuse 27

January 1, 1958 Navy 20 Rice 7

January 1, 1959 TCU 0 Air Force 0

January 1, 1960 Syracuse 23 Texas 14

January 2, 1961 Duke 7 Arkansas 6

January 1, 1962 Texas 12 Mississippi 7

January 1, 1963 LSU 13 Texas 0

January 1, 1964 Texas 28 Navy 6

January 1, 1965 Arkansas 10 Nebraska 7

January 1, 1966 LSU 14 Arkansas 7

December 31, 1966 Georgia 24 SMU 9

January 1, 1968 Texas A&M 20 Alabama 16

January 1, 1969 Texas 36 Tennessee 13

January 1, 1970 Texas 21 Notre Dame 17

January 1, 1971 Notre Dame 24 Texas 11

January 1, 1972 Penn State 30 Texas 6

January 1, 1973 Texas 17 Alabama 13

January 1, 1974 Nebraska 19 Texas 3

January 1, 1975 Penn State 41 Baylor 20

January 1, 1976 Arkansas 31 Georgia 10

January 1, 1977 Houston 30 Maryland 21

January 2, 1978 Notre Dame 38 Texas 10

January 1, 1979 Notre Dame 35 Houston 34 notes

January 1, 1980 Houston 17 Nebraska 14

January 1, 1981 Alabama 30 Baylor 2

January 1, 1982 Texas 14 Alabama 12

January 1, 1983 SMU 7 Pittsburgh 3

January 2, 1984 Georgia 10 Texas 9

January 1, 1985 Boston College 45 Houston 28

January 1, 1986 Texas A&M 36 Auburn 16

January 1, 1987 Ohio State 28 Texas A&M 12

January 1, 1988 Texas A&M 35 Notre Dame 10

January 2, 1989 UCLA 17 Arkansas 3

January 1, 1990 Tennessee 31 Arkansas 27

January 1, 1991 Miami 46 Texas 3

January 1, 1992 Florida State 10 Texas A&M 2

January 1, 1993 Notre Dame 28 Texas A&M 3

January 1, 1994 Notre Dame 24 Texas A&M 21

January 2, 1995 USC 55 Texas Tech 14

January 1, 1996 Colorado 38 Oregon 6

January 1, 1997 BYU 19 Kansas State 15

January 1, 1998 UCLA 29 Texas A&M 23

January 1, 1999 Texas 38 Mississippi State 11

January 1, 2000 Arkansas 27 Texas 6

January 1, 2001 Kansas State 35 Tennessee 21

January 1, 2002 Oklahoma 10 Arkansas 3

January 1, 2003 Texas 35 LSU 20

January 2, 2004 Mississippi 31 Oklahoma State 28

January 1, 2005 Tennessee 38 Texas A&M 7 notes

January 2, 2006 Alabama 13 Texas Tech 10 notes

January 1, 2007 Auburn 17 Nebraska 14 notes

January 1, 2008 Missouri 38 Arkansas 7 notes

MVPs

Date Played MVP(s) Team Position
January 1, 1937 Ki Aldrich TCU C

Sammy Baugh TCU QB

L.D. "Dutch" Meyer TCU K

January 1, 1938 Ernie Lain Rice HB

Byron "Whizzer" White Colorado QB

January 1, 1939 Jerry Dowd St. Mary's C

Elmer Tarbox Texas Tech HB

January 1, 1940 Banks McFadden Clemson B

January 1, 1941 Charles Henke Texas A&M G

John Kimbrough Texas A&M FB

Chip Roult Texas A&M T

Lou DeFilippo Fordham C

Joe Ungerer Fordham T

January 1, 1942 Jimmy Nelson Alabama HB

Holt Rast Alabama E

Don Whitmire Alabama T

Martin Ruby Texas A&M T

January 1, 1943 Jack Freeman Texas G

Roy McKay Texas B

Stanley Mauldin Texas T

Harvey Hardy Georgia Tech G

Jack Marshall Georgia Tech E

January 1, 1944 Martin Ruby Texas T

Glenn Dobbs Texas QB

Randolph Field Texas T

Joe Parker Texas E

January 1, 1945 Neill Armstrong Oklahoma State E

Bob Fenimore Oklahoma State RB

Ralph Foster Oklahoma State DT

January 1, 1946 Hub Bechtol Texas E

Bobby Layne Texas B

Jim Kekeris Missouri T

January 1, 1947 Alton Baldwin Arkansas E

Y.A. Tittle LSU QB

January 1, 1948 Steve Suhey Penn State G

Doak Walker SMU RB

January 1, 1949 Kyle Rote SMU RB

Doak Walker SMU RB

Brad Ecklund Oregon C

Norm Van Brocklin Oregon QB

January 2, 1950 Billy Burkhalter Rice HB

Joe Watson Rice C

James Williams Rice E

January 1, 1951 Andy Kozar Tennessee FB

Hank Lauricella Tennessee HB

Horace "Bud" Sherrod Tennessee DE

Bud McFadin Texas G

January 1, 1952 Emery Clark Kentucky HB

Ray Correll Kentucky G

Vito "Babe" Parilli Kentucky QB

Keith Flowers TCU FB

January 1, 1953 Richard Ochoa Texas FB

Harley Sewell Texas G

Bob Griesbach Tennessee LB

January 1, 1954 Richard Chapman Rice T

Dan Hart Rice E

Dickey Maegle Rice HB

January 1, 1955 George Humphreys Georgia Tech FB

Bud Brooks Arkansas G

January 2, 1956 Buddy Alliston Mississippi G

Eagle Day Mississippi QB

January 1, 1957 Norman Hamilton TCU T

Jim Brown Syracuse HB

January 1, 1958 Tom Forrestal Navy QB

Tony Stremic Navy G

January 1, 1959 Dave Phillips Air Force T

Jack Spikes TCU FB

January 1, 1960 Ernie Davis Syracuse HB

Maurice Doke Texas G

January 2, 1961 Dwight Bumgarner Duke T

Lance Alworth Arkansas HB

January 1, 1962 Mike Cotten Texas QB

Bob Moses Texas E

January 1, 1963 Lynn Amedee QB LSU

Johnny Treadwell Texas G

January 1, 1964 Scott Appleton Texas T

Duke Carlisle Texas QB

January 1, 1965 Ronnie Caveness Arkansas LB

Fred Marshall Arkansas QB

January 1, 1966 Joe Labruzzo LSU TB

David McCormick LSU T

December 31, 1966 Kent Lawrence Georgia TB

George Patton Georgia T

January 1, 1968 Grady Allen Texas A&M DE

Edd Hargett Texas A&M QB

Bill Hobbs Texas A&M LB

January 1, 1969 Tom Campbell Texas LB

Cotton Speyrer Texas WR

James Street Texas QB

January 1, 1970 Steve Worster Texas FB

Bob Olson Notre Dame LB

January 1, 1971 Clarence Ellis Notre Dame CB

Eddie Phillips Texas QB

January 1, 1972 Bruce Bannon Penn State DE

Lydell Mitchell Penn State RB

January 1, 1973 Randy Braband Texas LB

Alan Lowry Texas QB

January 1, 1974 Tony Davis Nebraska TB

Wade Johnson Texas LB

January 1, 1975 Tom Shuman Penn State QB

Ken Quesenberry Baylor S

January 1, 1976 Ike Forte Arkansas HB

Hal McAfee Arkansas LB

January 1, 1977 Alois Blackwell Houston RB

Mark Mohr Houston CB

January 1, 1978 Vagas Ferguson Notre Dame RB

Bob Golic Notre Dame LB

January 1, 1979 Joe Montana Notre Dame QB

David Hodge Houston LB

January 1, 1980 Terry Elston Houston QB

David Hodge Houston LB

January 1, 1981 Warren Lyles Alabama NG

Major Ogilvie Alabama RB

January 1, 1982 Robert Brewer Texas QB

Robbie Jones Alabama LB

January 1, 1983 Wes Hopkins SMU SS

Lance McIlhenny SMU QB

January 1, 1984 John Lastinger Georgia QB

Jeff Leiding Texas LB

January 1, 1985 Bill Romanowski Boston College LB

Steve Strachan Boston College FB

January 1, 1986 Domingo Bryant Texas A&M SS

Bo Jackson Auburn TB

January 1, 1987 Chris Spielman Ohio State LB

Roger Vick Texas A&M FB

January 1, 1988 Adam Bob Texas A&M LB

Bucky Richardson Texas A&M QB

January 2, 1989 Troy Aikman UCLA QB

LaSalle Harper Arkansas LB

January 1, 1990 Carl Pickens Tennessee FS

Chuck Webb Tennessee TB

January 1, 1991 Craig Erickson Miami (Fla.) QB

Russell Maryland Miami (Fla.) DL

January 1, 1992 Sean Jackson Florida State RB

Chris Crooms Texas A&M S

January 1, 1993 Rick Mirer Notre Dame QB

Devon McDonald Notre Dame DE

January 1, 1994 Lee Becton Notre Dame RB

Antonio Shorter Texas A&M L

January 2, 1995 Keyshawn Johnson USC WR

John Herpin USC CB

January 1, 1996 Herchell Troutman Colorado RB

Marcus Washington Colorado DB

January 1, 1997 Steve Sarkisian BYU QB

Shay Muirbrook BYU LB

Kevin Lockett Kansas State WR

January 1, 1998 Cade McNown UCLA QB

Dat Nguyen Texas A&M LB

January 1, 1999 Ricky Williams Texas RB

Aaron Babino Texas LB

January 1, 2000 Cedric Cobbs Arkansas RB

D.J. Cooper Arkansas LB

January 1, 2001 Jonathan Beasley Kansas State QB

Chris L. Johnson Kansas State DE

January 1, 2002 Quentin Griffin Oklahoma RB

Roy Williams Oklahoma S

January 1, 2003 Roy Williams Texas WR

Cory Redding Texas DE

January 2, 2004 Eli Manning Mississippi QB

Josh Cooper Mississippi DE

January 1, 2005 Rick Clausen Tennessee QB

Justin Harrell Tennessee DT

January 2, 2006 Brodie Croyle Alabama QB

DeMeco Ryans Alabama LB

January 1, 2007 Courtney Taylor Auburn WR

Will Herring Auburn LB

January 1, 2008 Tony Temple Missouri RB

William Moore Missouri SS

Previous Logos
Image:Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic.gif|1995-1999 Image:SBC Cotton Bowl Classic Logo.jpg|2000-2005 Image:2006 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic.jpg|2006 Image:CottonBowlLogo.png|2007 Further Information
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