The 1966 Cotton Bowl Classic (December) was the 31st edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on December 31.[a] It matched the No. 10 SMU Mustangs of the Southwest Conference (SWC) and the No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).[3][b] Kickoff for the Saturday game was 1:30 p.m. CST and it was televised by CBS.[4]
| 1966 Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 31st Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Cotton Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Kent Lawrence (Georgia TB) George Patton (Georgia T) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Georgia by 6½ to 7 points[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Harold Matthews (SWC) (split crew: SWC, SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 75,504 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jack Drees, Pat Summerall | ||||||||||||||||||||
This was the first playing of the Cotton Bowl Classic in December—the "1967 game" was moved to New Year's Eve because New Year's Day was a Sunday in 1967. The decision to move the game had been announced in January 1966.[5] The other major bowls (Sugar, Orange, Rose) were played on January 2.
Teams
editSMU
editThe #10 Mustangs (8–2) had won the Southwest Conference (SWC) championship (6–1) for the first time since 1948,[6] led by fifth-year head coach Hayden Fry. They won all five games at the Cotton Bowl, their home stadium through 1978.
Georgia
editFourth-ranked Georgia (9–1) shared the Southeastern Conference (SEC) title (6–0) with #3 Alabama, with a one-point loss to Miami as their only blemish. They completed the regular season with a rivalry win over previously undefeated Georgia Tech.[7] Led by Vince Dooley, in the third of his 25 seasons as head coach, the Bulldogs were a seven-point favorite.[1][2] It was their first appearance in a major bowl in seven years.
Game summary
editOn the second play from scrimmage, Georgia's Kent Lawrence ran 74 yards for a touchdown. SMU responded with a field goal later in the quarter, but Georgia scored ten more points (highlighted by a Billy Payne touchdown catch from Kirby Moore) to lead 17–3. Mike Richardson of SMU scored a touchdown from a yard out to narrow the lead, but the kick was blocked, and it was 17–9 at halftime.
Those were SMU's last points, as Georgia held the Mustangs in check the rest of the game. The Bulldogs scored once more in the fourth quarter, on a four-yard Ronnie Jenkins touchdown run, to seal the game.[8][9] Ultimately, it was Georgia's rushing attack that won the game for the Bulldogs, who had 244 more rushing yards than the Mustangs, who could only muster forty.[10]
Scoring
editFirst quarter
- Georgia – Kent Lawrence 74-yard run (Bob Etter kick)
- SMU – Dennis Partee 22-yard field goal
- Georgia – Etter 28-yard field goal
Second quarter
- Georgia – Billy Payne 20-yard pass from Kirby Moore (Etter kick)
- SMU – Mike Richardson 1-yard run (kick blocked)
Third quarter
- No scoring
Fourth quarter
- Georgia – Ron Jenkins 4-yard run (Etter kick)
Statistics
editStatistics SMU Georgia First Downs 11 17 Yards Rushing 40 284 Yards Passing 165 79 Passing (C–A–I) 10–20–3 6–14–1 Total Yards 205 363 Punts–Average 4–36.5 4–28.5 Fumbles–Lost 1–1 2–1 Turnovers 4 2 Penalties–Yards 7–45 3–37
Notes
edit- ^ The next day, January 1, 1967, Cotton Bowl stadium hosted the 1966 NFL Championship Game.
- ^ Rankings per AP Poll of the 1966 NCAA University Division football rankings.
References
edit- ^ a b "Tennessee, Georgia bowl picks". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. December 30, 1966. p. 21.
- ^ a b "Georgia hopes Jenkins ready". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. December 31, 1966. p. 6.
- ^ "SMUMUSTANGS.COM 1966 COTTON BOWL - GEORGIA 24, SMU 9 - Official Athletic Site Official Athletic Site - Football". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ "Georgia's rated best". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 31, 1966. p. 9.
- ^ "Cotton Bowl To Be Played On Dec. 31". Miami Herald. UPI. January 6, 1966. Retrieved December 31, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "'Big Play' leads SMU into Cotton Bowl". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 27, 1966. p. 5B.
- ^ "'Dogs slip Tech first defeat, 23-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 27, 1966. p. 4B.
- ^ a b c Ratliff, Harold (January 1, 1967). "'Dogs reap Cotton Bowl harvest, 24-9". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1B.
- ^ a b c "Georgia power grinds down SMU, 24-9, in Cotton Bowl". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 1, 1967. p. 1, section 4.
- ^ "38-49.pmd" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2014.