1999 Cotton Bowl Classic

The 1999 Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic was a post-season college football game played on January 1, 1999. It pitted the Texas Longhorns against the Southeastern Conference (SEC) West champions Mississippi State Bulldogs. This was the first Cotton Bowl Classic broadcast by Fox.

1999 Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic
63rd Cotton Bowl Classic
Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic logo
Texas Longhorns Mississippi State Bulldogs (8–3) (8–4) Big 12 SEC 38 11 Head coach:  Mack Brown Head coach:  Jackie Sherrill AP Coaches 20 19 AP Coaches 25 NR
1 2 3 4 Total Texas 7 7 24 0 38 Mississippi State 0 3 0 8 11
Date	January 1, 1999
Season	1998
Stadium	Cotton Bowl
Location	Dallas, Texas
MVP	RB Ricky Williams (Texas) LB Aaron Babino (Texas)
Referee	Dan Blum (Conference USA)
Attendance	72,611
United States TV coverage
Network	Fox
Announcers	Joe Buck and Bill Maas

This game was the first time Texas had reached the post-season since the 1996 season. It was the first bowl game for Texas under new head coach Mack Brown. Texas had compiled an 8–3 season record.

Meanwhile, Mississippi State had compiled an 8–3 regular season record under head coach Jackie Sherrill. They won the SEC West division title before falling to Tennessee, 24–14, in the SEC Championship game. The loss knocked them to 8–4 coming into the bowl game.

Behind the rushing of Ricky Williams, who was declared the Heisman Trophy and Doak Walker award winner a few days before, Texas raced to a 14–3 lead by halftime. They scored 24 unanswered points in the third quarter en route to a 38–11 victory.

It was Texas's first bowl game win since the 1994 Sun Bowl, and their first 9-win season as a Big 12 team (Texas had left the Southwest Conference and joined the Big 12 at the start of the 1996 season). It was also Texas's first New Year's Day bowl win since the 1981 season. It was also the first Cotton Bowl Classic on Fox.[1]