1984 Cotton Bowl Classic

The 1984 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 48th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Monday, January 2.[3] Part of the 1983–84 bowl game season, it matched the undefeated and second-ranked Texas Longhorns of the Southwest Conference (SWC) and the #7 Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Underdog Georgia rallied with a late touchdown to win, 10–9.[4][5][6]

1984 Cotton Bowl Classic
48th Cotton Bowl Classic
Georgia Bulldogs Texas Longhorns
(9–1–1) (11–0)
SEC SWC
10 9
Head coach: 
Vince Dooley		 Head coach: 
Fred Akers
APCoaches
77
APCoaches
22
1234 Total
Georgia 3007 10
Texas 3060 9
DateJanuary 2, 1984
Season1983
StadiumCotton Bowl
LocationDallas, Texas
MVPJohn Lastinger (Georgia QB)
Jeff Leiding (Texas LB)
FavoriteTexas by 7½ points[1][2]
RefereeHoward Roe (Big Eight)
Attendance67,891
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersLindsey Nelson, Pat Haden

New Year's Day was on Sunday in 1984, and the major college bowl games were played the following day.

Teams
Main article: 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season

Georgia
Main article: 1983 Georgia Bulldogs football team

The Bulldogs tied Clemson on the road in September, and lost at home to Auburn in November. It was Georgia's third appearance in the Cotton Bowl.

Texas
Main article: 1983 Texas Longhorns football team

The Longhorns had won all eleven games and had a regular season winning streak of seventeen games.

Game summary

Televised by CBS, the game kicked off shortly after 12:30 p.m. CST, as did the Fiesta Bowl on NBC.[3]

Texas drove deep on its first possession, but settled for a 22-yard field goal by Jeff Ward. Georgia's Kevin Butler made one from 43 yards to tie the game in the closing seconds of the first quarter. The second quarter was scoreless.

Ward added six more points with two more field goals of 40 and 27 yards in the third quarter, and Texas led 9–3 with less than five minutes to play. A Chip Andrews (Georgia) muffed punt by Texas defensive back Craig Curry late in the fourth quarter allowed Georgia quarterback John Lastinger to run 17 yards for a touchdown with 3:22 left to play to capture a 10–9 victory. The loss was the first for the Longhorns, costing them a possible national title.

Scoring

First quarter

  • Texas - Jeff Ward 22-yard field goal
  • Georgia - Kevin Butler 43-yard field goal

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

  • Texas - Ward 40-yard field goal
  • Texas - Ward 27-yard field goal

Fourth quarter

  • Georgia - John Lastinger 17-yard run (Butler kick)
Source:[4][6]

Statistics
Statistics Georgia    Texas   
First Downs1314
Yards Rushing45–14947–110
Yards Passing66168
Passing6–20–18–26–2
Total Offense65–21573–278
Punts–Average9–417–46
Fumbles–Lost2–14–2
Turnovers24
Penalties–Yards3–256–52
Time of possession29:4130:19
Source:[4][6]

Aftermath

That night in the Orange Bowl, the #5 Miami Hurricanes upset top-ranked Nebraska, 31–30. Miami moved past Nebraska and the Longhorns to secure their first national championship. Georgia climbed to fourth in the final AP poll, and Texas fell to fifth.

References
  1. "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 30, 1983. p. 12.
  2. "Harrah's Odds: college football". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 2, 1984. p. 17.
  3. "Cotton Bowl". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services reports. January 2, 1984. p. 3B.
  4. "Bulldogs take No. 2 Longhorns out, 10-9". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. January 3, 1984. p. 3D.
  5. Freeman, Denne H. (January 3, 1984). "Longhorns title hopes fumbled away". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. C1.
  6. Rabun, Mike (January 3, 1984). "Miscue gives Georgia Cotton". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. p. D2.
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