1982 Cotton Bowl Classic

Teams

Main article: 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season

Both teams entered the matchup with identical 9–1–1 records.

Texas

Main article: 1981 Texas Longhorns football team

The Longhorns were ranked #1 entering their fifth game of the season, but they lost to Arkansas, and a tie to Houston three weeks later knocked them out of serious championship contention.

Alabama

Main article: 1981 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Alabama was co-champion of the Southeastern Conference who had been ranked #2 after their first game, but a loss to Georgia Tech and a tie four weeks later knocked them out of contention, though they won the SEC title due to them having a perfect SEC record along with Georgia. Their win over Auburn the previous game gave Bryant his 315th win.

Game summary

Televised by CBS, the game kicked off shortly after 1 p.m. CST, a half hour after the Fiesta Bowl started on NBC.

Trailing 10–0 in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns scored their first points with a quarterback draw by Robert Brewer on a third-and-long with 10:38 remaining. On Texas' next possession, Terry Orr scored from eight yards out to cap an eleven-play, eighty-yard drive to put the Longhorns up 14–10 with 2:05 remaining. Alabama's Joey Jones returned the ensuing kickoff to the Texas 38-yard line, and Alabama quarterback Walter Lewis took over with 1:54 left. On the very next play, UT's William Graham picked off a Lewis pass at the one. The Longhorns took a safety to insure better field position and make the final margin 14–12.

Scoring

First quarter :No scoring Second quarter

• Alabama - Jesse Bendross 6-yard pass from Walter Lewis (Peter Kim kick) Third quarter :No scoring Fourth quarter
• Alabama - Kim 24-yard field goal
• Texas - Robert Brewer 30-yard run (Raul Allegre kick)
• Texas - Terry Orr 8-yard run (Allegre kick)
• Alabama - Safety, punter John Goodson downed ball in the end zone

:Source:

Statistics

:{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" ! Statistics !! Texas !! Alabama

Aftermath

Texas climbed to second in the final AP poll, while Alabama fell to seventh.

References

References

1. (January 1, 1982). "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
2. "Archived copy".
3. Freeman, Denne H.. (January 2, 1982). "Akers' gamble wins it". Victoria Advocate.
4. Amdur, Neil. (January 2, 1982). "Gambling Longhorns stem the Tide". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
5. (January 2, 1982). "Longhorns take a safety, give Bear a 14-12 defeat". Eugene Register-Guard.
6. Putnam, Pat. (January 11, 1982). "Cotton Bowl".
7. Browning, Al. (January 2, 1982). "Longhorns hook Tide hopes". Tuscaloosa News.
8. (January 1, 1982). "Bowl games". Spokesman-Review.
9. {{YouTube. 1EVsqL7ps8o. Robert Brewer QB draw
10. "Great Games & Moments: 1980s". Mack Brown Texas Football.
11. "Archived copy".