1960 Cotton Bowl Classic

The 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 24th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1959–60 bowl game season, it matched the independent and top-ranked Syracuse Orangemen and #4 Texas Longhorns of the Southwest Conference (SWC). The favored Orangemen won, 23–14.[3][4]

1960 Cotton Bowl Classic
24th Cotton Bowl Classic
Syracuse Orangemen Texas Longhorns
(10–0) (9–1)
Independent SWC
23 14
Head coach: 
Ben Schwartzwalder		 Head coach: 
Darrell Royal
APCoaches
11
APCoaches
44
1234 Total
Syracuse 7880 23
Texas 0068 14
DateJanuary 1, 1960
Season1959
StadiumCotton Bowl
LocationDallas, Texas
MVPErnie Davis (Syracuse RB)
Maurice Doke (Texas G)
FavoriteSyracuse by 12½ points[1][2]
Attendance75,504
PayoutUS$175,000 per team[3]
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersJack Drees, Forest Evashevski

Teams
Main article: 1959 NCAA University Division football season

Syracuse
Main article: 1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team

The Orangemen had just completed a perfect season for the first time in their history and were declared national champions by both major polls. They were looking for their first win in the Cotton Bowl, having lost previously three years earlier.

Texas
Main article: 1959 Texas Longhorns football team

The Longhorns opened with eight wins and were co-champions of the Southwest Conference; after a late-season home loss to rival TCU, they dropped from second to fourth in the rankings. This was the first Cotton Bowl appearance for third-year head coach Darrell Royal and the first for the Longhorns in seven years.

Game summary

The longest touchdown pass in Cotton Bowl history happened in this game as Syracuse halfback Gerhard Schwedes threw an 87-yard pass to Ernie Davis to give the Orangemen an early lead 1:13 into the game. Davis added in a touchdown run midway through the second quarter to extend the lead to 15–0 at halftime.

Jack Collins caught a 69-yard pass from Bobby Lackey to narrow the lead 1:46 into the third quarter, but the conversion failed, making it only 15–6. While Texas was trying to narrow the lead, Davis intercepted a Lackey pass at the Texas 24. Three plays later Schwedes ran in for a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 23–6 after another conversion success. Lackey narrowed it to 23–14 on a touchdown run in the fourth quarter, but only 7:21 was left on the clock by then. From that point on, the two teams did not seriously threaten to score again as the game ended in a Syracuse win.[5]

Scoring

First quarter

Second quarter

  • SYR – Davis 1-yard run (Davis pass from Dave Sarette)

Third quarter

  • TEX – Jack Collins 69-yard pass from Bobby Lackey (Rene Ramirez run failed)
  • SYR – Schwedes 3-yard run (Davis pass from Sarette)

Fourth quarter

  • TEX – Lackey 1-yard run (Richard Shulte pass from Lackey)

Statistics
StatisticsSyracuse   Texas   
First Downs1210
Yards Rushing133145
Yards Passing18199
Total Yards314244
Punts-Average6–33.35–42.4
Fumbles-Lost4–31–1
Interceptions11
Penalties-Yards6–677–61.5
Source:[3][4]

References
  1. "Prospects of muddy gridiron loom for Orange-Texas clash". Schenectady Gazette. (New York). Associated Press. January 1, 1960. p. 15.
  2. "Underdog Texas meets mighty Syracuse Orange". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 1, 1960. p. 27.
  3. "Syracuse tops Texas, 23-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1960. p. 5.
  4. "Syracuse remains bitter after Cotton win". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 2, 1960. p. 6.
  5. "38-49.pmd" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-01-10. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
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