The Georgia Bulldogs have been a pretty consistent winner over the years, but only once have they won the national championship. That came in the 1980 college football season, when a freshman running back named Herschel Walker came blazing onto the scene and transformed Georgia and the entire SEC for the three years he was in Athens.
Texas A&M hadn’t gotten the old Southwest Conference’s Cotton Bowl bid in 18 years. Auburn had the Heisman Trophy winner in Bo Jackson and were looking to vindicate themselves after a disappointing regular season. Here’s a look back at the paths these two future SEC West rivals took through the 1985 college football season, to […]
Boston College had a magical year in the 1984 college football season, one whose biggest moment lives on as perhaps the most famous sports play of the modern era. It would be a stretch to call Houston’s year magical, but the Cougars had a lot break right for them on the way to a Southwest […]
The 1984 Cotton Bowl was one of the most memorable in the long history of the Dallas-based bowl game. Second-ranked Texas was upset by Georgia in a game that took on even greater significance by the time the night had ended. Here’s a look back on the road the Longhorns and Bulldogs took through the […]
The 1983 Cotton Bowl was a what-might-have-been game. Pitt and SMU had reached the 1-2 spots in the national rankings by the end of October in the 1982 college football season. But each team, particularly Pitt had some disappointment in November and while the Cotton Bowl was still a good game between two highly ranked […]
Texas and Alabama are two of college football’s historic programs and they played a memorable game at the 1982 Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day in Dallas. It was a big win for a Longhorn program that needed it, and it was the final major bowl appearance for legendary Crimson Tide head coach Bear Bryant. Here’s a look back on the road both Texas & Alabama traveled through the 1981 college football season to reach January 1 in Dallas.
The 1981 Cotton Bowl brought together one traditional power for whom the bid was a disappointment, and one up-and-comer for whom just being there was reason to celebrate. Alabama, the two-time defending national champion, met Baylor in the game that followed the 1980 college football regular season.
The Houston Cougars and Nebraska Cornhuskers each flirted with greatness during 1979 college football season. Each “settled” for just being really good, at 10-1 before they met on New Year’s Day in the 1980 Cotton Bowl. Let’s look back on the road each team took to Dallas.
The 1978 Cotton Bowl was the lynchpin to a dramatic turn of events that saw the polls turned upside down on January 2, as Notre Dame stunned top-ranked Texas and ended up vaulting from #5 all the way to a national championship by night’s end.
Upstarts crashed the 1977 Cotton Bowl. The Houston Cougars were in the first year of the old Southwest Conference, which had the bowl’s automatic bid. Rather than pay deference to legendary coaches in Texas’ Darrell Royal and Arkansas’ Frank Broyles, both in their final year, Houston quickly won the league. Their opponent was Maryland, who rose up to enjoy an undefeated season. Here’s how they arrived in Dallas following the 1976 college football season.