1985 Cotton Bowl Classic

The 1985 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 49th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the 1984–85 bowl game season, it matched the eighth-ranked independent Boston College Eagles and the unranked Houston Cougars of the Southwest Conference (SWC).[2][4] Boston College never trailed and won 45–28.[5][6][7][8]

1985 Cotton Bowl Classic
49th Cotton Bowl Classic
Boston College Eagles Houston Cougars
(9–2) (7–4)
Independent SWC
45 28
Head coach: 
Jack Bicknell		 Head coach: 
Bill Yeoman
APCoaches
88
APCoaches
NRNR
1234 Total
Boston College 1714014 45
Houston 77140 28
DateJanuary 1, 1985
Season1984
StadiumCotton Bowl
LocationDallas, Texas
MVPSteve Strachan (FB, BC)
Bill Romanowski (LB, BC)
FavoriteBoston College by 6½ [1][2][3]
Attendance67,381
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersLindsey Nelson, Pat Haden,
and Ara Parseghian

Teams
Main article: 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season

Boston College
Main article: 1984 Boston College Eagles football team

Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie gained national attention on November 23, when he led the Eagles to a memorable 47–45 win at Miami,[9][10] in what would be called Hail Flutie. He left school as the NCAA’s all-time passing yardage leader with 10,579 yards,[4] a consensus All-American, and the first quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy in thirteen years.[11] This was BC's first Cotton Bowl appearance in 45 years, since January 1940.

Houston
Main article: 1984 Houston Cougars football team

Houston shared the Southwest Conference title for the first time since 1979. By virtue of their defeat of conference co-champion SMU during the season, the Cougars made their first Cotton Bowl appearance in five years. SMU defeated Notre Dame in the Aloha Bowl on December 28; the Mustangs finished with ten wins and were eighth in the final AP poll.[12] Houston was the first unranked team to represent the SWC in the Cotton Bowl in seventeen years.

Game summary

The game kicked off shortly after 12:30 p.m. CST, as did the Fiesta Bowl on NBC.[13] The game time temperature in Dallas was 32 °F (0 °C) with gusty winds, freezing rain, and the artificial turf was slick.[6][7][8]

The Eagles rolled to a 31–14 lead at halftime on Flutie's three touchdown passes (to three different receivers) and a Steve Strachan touchdown, despite the Cougars' two quick ways of scoring touchdowns, one of which occurring when Larry Shepherd caught a Gerald Landry pass for a touchdown with 22 seconds left in the half.[14][15]

Raymond Tate narrowed the lead with his touchdown late in the third quarter. Audrey McMillian intercepted a Flutie pass and returned it 25 yards to the end zone to make it 31–28 as the third quarter ended. But the Eagles scored with 5:45 remaining on a Strachan touchdown run. Troy Stradford sealed the game with a touchdown run with 1:06 to go as Boston College won their first Cotton Bowl.[16][17]

Scoring
First quarter
  • Boston College – Kelvin Martin 63-yard pass from Doug Flutie (Kevin Snow kick)
  • Boston College – Troy Stradford 8-yard pass from Flutie (Snow kick)
  • Houston – Earl Allen 98-yard kickoff return (Mike Clendenen kick)
  • Boston College – Snow 31-yard field goal
Second quarter
  • Boston College – Gerard Phelan 13-yard pass from Flutie (Snow kick)
  • Boston College – Steve Strachan 2-yard run (Snow kick)
  • Houston – Larry Shepherd 15-yard pass from Gerald Landry (Clendenen kick)
Third quarter
  • Houston – Raymond Tate 2-yard run (Clendenen kick)
  • Houston – Audray McMillan 25-yard interception return (Clendenen kick)
Fourth quarter
  • Boston College – Strachan 4-yard run (Snow kick)
  • Boston College – Stradford 18-yard run (Snow kick)
Source:[5][14][16]

Statistics
StatisticsBoston
College		Houston
First Downs2215
Rushes–Yards50–35742–202
Passing Yards180154
Passes13–37–29–29–2
Total Yards537356
Punts–Average8–2910–33
Fumbles–Lost2–13–2
Turnovers34
Penalties–Yards7–647–66
Time of possession34:4125:19
Source:[5][14][16]

Aftermath

Boston College improved to 10–2 and climbed to fifth in the final AP poll.[12] Through 2021, neither team has returned to the Cotton Bowl Classic.

References
  1. "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1985. p. 39.
  2. "Cotton Bowl". Pittsburgh Press. December 31, 1984. p. D3.
  3. "Betting line". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). January 1, 1985. p. 15.
  4. "Boston College, Flutie pound Houston, 45-28". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. January 2, 1985. p. 1, part 2.
  5. Forman, Mike (January 2, 1985). "Eagles hold on to win Cotton Bowl". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). p. 1B.
  6. Freeman, Denne H. (January 2, 1985). "Flutie goes out a winner in Cotton Bowl, 42-28". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. B2.
  7. Blaudschum, Mark (January 2, 1985). "BC reaches the summit with victory". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). (Dallas Morning News). p. 34.
  8. Underwood, John (January 14, 1985). "And so it came to pass..." Sports Illustrated. p. 98.
  9. "'Hail Mary' decides it, 47-45". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 24, 1984. p. 3C.
  10. Underwood, John (December 3, 1984). "It wasn't a fluke. It was a Flutie". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.
  11. "Flutie can believe it now: the Heisman is his". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 2, 1984. p. 1B.
  12. "It's close, but Washington is No. 2". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). wire services. January 3, 1985. p. 19.
  13. "Sports menu". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). January 1, 1985. p. 20.
  14. Vescey, George (January 2, 1985). "Flutie ways farewell with victory, 45-28". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (New York Times). p. 3C.
  15. "Flutie struggles, but Eagles soar". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. January 2, 1985. p. D2.
  16. Sherrod, Blackie (January 2, 1985). "Flutie of Boston College fantastic before the flaws". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). (Dallas Morning News). p. 26.
  17. http://media.attcottonbowl.com/resource/history/1985/rsrc/1985-Classic-Recap.pdf
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