1962 Cotton Bowl Classic

The 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic matched the Texas Longhorns and the Ole Miss Rebels.

Background

Both teams had at one point been ranked #1 in the polls before mid season losses had knocked them out of championship contention. But they were both still ranked in the top 5, which made for an interesting matchup. The Longhorns were co-champions of the Southwestern Conference while Ole Miss finished 3rd in the Southeastern Conference. Texas was fourth in offense while Ole Miss was first. Both teams were in the middle of bowl streaks, the Longhorns were in their 3rd consecutive bowl game, while Ole Miss was in their 5th consecutive bowl game.

Game summary

Tommy Ford intercepted Glynn Griffing's pass, which gave the Longhorns the ball at the Rebels 34. Seven plays later, James Saxton scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Texas the lead 47 seconds into the game. But Eldon Moritz's extra point attempt was blocked by James Dunaway to make it only 6-0. Mike Cotten drove his team 72 yards which culminated in a touchdown pass to Jack Collins. But when Texas tried to make the two point conversion, it fell short as the Longhorns held a 12-0 halftime lead. Four minutes into the third quarter, Griffing drove his team 86 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Reed Davis to narrow the lead to 5. But the Longhorn defense took over from there. Ole Miss had only one serious chance the rest of the game, as they drove to the 23 with eight minutes to go in the third. But Moses sacked Griffing on fourth down, as both teams did not score the rest of the game as Ole Miss lost their first game against the Southwest Conference.^[1]

Aftermath

Texas would go to three more Cotton Bowls before the 60's ended and win two national championships there. Ole Miss would go undefeated the following year but USC would be declared champion by the AP. However, since other polls voted them champion, Ole Miss claims the 1962 title. They would not reach another Cotton Bowl until 2004.

Statistics

References