Cotton Bowl: 5 of the bowl games' most unforgettable finishes
The Cotton Bowl is one of the oldest bowl games in college football. Since the 1936 college football season, teams have played in Dallas and Arlington, Texas to often determine the national champion. In recent years, it's been a College Football Playoff semifinal game.
Champions from the Big 12, SEC, and now-defunct Southwestern Conference often faced runners-up from other conferences or at-large teams. Here are five of the more memorable games in Cotton Bowl history:
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1970 Cotton Bowl: Texas 21, Notre Dame 17
Notre Dame hadn't played in a bowl game in 45 years but changed that stance in 1969 and decided to meet the winner of the Southwest Conference in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1970. An 8-1-1 record in the regular season featured quarterback Joe Theismann on offense and the ninth-best defense in the country.
Texas came into the game with the fourth-best scoring offense and fifth-best scoring defense in the country. The Longhorns didn't allow more than 17 points in any game that season and outscored opponents 414-102 in the regular season. Running backs Ted Koy, Steve Worster, and Jim Bertelsen led the way on offense while defensive linemen Bill Atessis and Leo Brooks set the tone on defense.
The Fighting Irish scored the first 10 points of the game but Texas answered with a Bertelsen touchdown run to make it 10-7 at half. A scoreless third quarter set up a final frame with three total touchdowns.
Texas got on the board first with Koy finding the end zone from three yards out to get the go-ahead touchdown and take a 14-10 lead. Theismann and the Notre Dame offense took an 80-yard drive to re-take the lead on a 24-yard touchdown pass. There was nearly seven minutes of time left on the clock, plenty enough for the Longhorns' potent running game. Junior running back Billy Dale scored from two yards out to put Texas up 21-17 and the defense held on.
This win gave Texas its second national championship in program history after the Longhorns' title in 1963.
1979 Cotton Bowl: Notre Dame 35, Houston 34
The "Chicken Soup Game" is one of the more memorable college football bowl games of all-time. The game sold out but the stadium was barely half-full due to the worst ice storm in decades affecting the Dallas area. Kickoff temperatures were 22 degrees with a wind chill of -6 degrees and those temperatures impacted the old turf field which was set to be torn up after the season ended.
Defending champion Notre Dame, led by future NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, lost its first two games of the season to Missouri and Michigan before winning eight in a row. A loss to eventual champion USC in the regular season finale kept the Fighting Irish out of contention for another title.
Houston won its first Southwest Conference (now the Big 12) title behind running backs Randy Love and Emmett King. Both rushed for more than 1,000 yards as the Cougars rolled out a top-15 offense in the country.
Notre Dame jumped out to a 12-0 lead before Houston responded with 20 unanswered points to take a 20-12 lead at halftime. Montana was battling hypothermia in the freezing conditions and had to sit out the start of the second half in the locker room. Medical staffers gave him chicken bouillon soup and covered him with blankets to get his body temperature up.
Houston took advantage of Montana's absence to score another two touchdowns and take a 34-12 lead. Though Montana returned late in the third quarter, he threw interceptions on his first two drives back in the game.
Steve Cichy returned a blocked punt for a Notre Dame touchdown to cut the deficit to 34-20. Montana punched it in himself from two yards out on the ensuing drive. Notre Dame then got a stop on fourth-and-1 to get the ball back on Houston's 29-yard-line with 28 seconds left in the game. Montana found Kris Haines as time expired to get Notre Dame its second consecutive Cotton Bowl victory.
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2023 Cotton Bowl (January): Tulane 46, USC 45
This isn't recency bias; last season's Cotton Bowl was another thrilling, down-to-the-wire affair.
Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams led USC to 11 wins in 2022, head coach Lincoln Riley's first year in Los Angeles. A receiving corps of Jordan Addison, Tahj Washington, and Mario Williams and a one-two punch of Travis Dye and Austin Jones at running back powered the Trojans to the third-highest scoring offense in the FBS.
Tulane's offense put up points with ease in 2022 as well. Running back Tyjae Spears led the FBS in touchdowns (21) and was fifth in rushing yards (1,581). One of the better scoring defenses in college football (22.2 points per game allowed) kept the Green Wave ahead in most games and helped secure the school's first Cotton Bowl berth.
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USC came in as the slight favorite and accordingly jumped out to a 14-0 lead early on in the second quarter. The teams traded touchdowns and USC took a 28-14 lead into halftime thanks to Williams' touchdown throw to Brenden Rice with a minute left in the half.
Tulane cut the deficit to 35-30 by the end of the third quarter but USC responded and held a 45-30 lead with just 4:30 left in the game.
"They're down by two scores but this game is not quite over," announcer Robert Griffin III said as Tulane started their ensuing drive. "Tulane has the playmakers to make it happen."
He was right; Tulane took just two plays to score a touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Mario Williams fumbled the ball out of bounds at the Trojans' 1-yard line. Two plays later, Green Wave defenders tackled Jones in the end zone for a safety. Tulane drove 66 yards on the next drive and scored on a touchdown throw by Michael Pratt to Alex Bauman to take the 46-45 win with nine seconds left.
1980 Cotton Bowl: Houston 17, Nebraska 14
Houston's heartbreak in 1979 didn't stop the Cougars from making a second Cotton Bowl game in a row.
Coach Bill Yeoman and the Cougars looked a little different in 1979. Running back Terald Clark led the way on offense but it was Houston's top-10 defense that pushed the Cougars to a 10-1 regular season.
Nebraska boasted the 11th-best scoring offense and eighth-best scoring defense in college football in 1979. Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne led the team to its 11th consecutive bowl game berth but their first Cotton Bowl game in six years. Only a loss to Oklahoma in the regular season finale kept Nebraska from a perfect record in 1979.
Given their performance on each side of the ball, Nebraska entered the game as slight favorites. Cornhuskers halfback Jarvis Redwine scored late in the first quarter to put Nebraska up 7-0. Houston scored as well before halftime to make it 7-7.
A scoreless third quarter gave way to a Houston field goal with 8:25 left in the game. Nebraska responded minutes later with a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jeff Quinn to tight end Jeff Finn. Facing a 14-10 deficit with just under four minutes remaining, Houston's offense drove the length of the field. Cougars quarterback Terry Elston found Eric Herring in the back of the end zone between two defenders to get the go-ahead touchdown with 12 seconds remaining.
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2015 Cotton Bowl: Michigan State 42, Baylor 41
The 2015 edition was another down-to-the-wire modern classic in the inaugural College Football Playoff season.
Junior quarterback Connor Cook had his best season in East Lansing to lead the Spartans to a 10-2 regular season with losses to eventual national champion Ohio State and runner-up Oregon. Michigan State were in the top 10 by season's end thanks to the seventh-best scoring offense in the FBS.
On the other side of this one, Baylor brought the top scoring offense in the FBS into the Cotton Bowl behind quarterback Bryce Petty and top wideout Corey Coleman. The Big 12 co-champions made the Cotton Bowl for the first time since 1980.
Baylor's top scoring offense showed up in a big way in the first half of the game. The teams traded touchdowns to make it 14-14 after the first quarter but Baylor scored 20 unanswered points to make it 34-14 early in the third. Michigan State responded with a two-yard run from running back Jeremy Langford to cut it to 34-21 but the Bears responded with yet another score of their own to make it 41-21 entering the final frame.
Michigan State's defense held strong in the fourth quarter and let the offense go to work. Cook found wide receiver Keith Mumphrey with 17 seconds left for the Spartans' third touchdown of the quarter to go ahead 42-41 and get their first Cotton Bowl win in program history.
This Cotton Bowl game set the record for most points (83), yards (1,187), and Bryce Petty set the record for most passing yards with 550.
2023 Cotton Bowl (December)
The Cotton Bowl game for the 2023 college football season will be held on Friday, Dec. 29. No. 9 Missouri (10-2) meets No. 7 Ohio State (11-1) in AT&T Stadium with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cotton Bowl: The top 5 most memorable games
