Wikipedia

2023 Cotton Bowl Classic (January)

The 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2023, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The 87th annual Cotton Bowl Classic, the game featured two teams selected at-large by the College Football Playoff selection committee — Tulane from the American Athletic Conference and USC from the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at 12:00 p.m. CST[5] and was aired on ESPN.[6] It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, the game was officially known as the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
87th Cotton Bowl Classic
Tulane Green Wave USC Trojans
(11–2) (11–2)
AAC Pac-12
46 45
Head coach: 
Willie Fritz		 Head coach: 
Lincoln Riley
APCoachesCFP
141716
APCoachesCFP
8810
1234 Total
Tulane 0141616 46
USC 721710 45
DateJanuary 2, 2023
Season2022
StadiumAT&T Stadium
LocationArlington, Texas
MVP
FavoriteUSC by 2.5
RefereeSteve Marlowe (SEC)[3]
Attendance55,329
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersMark Jones (play-by-play), Robert Griffin III (analyst), and Quint Kessenich (sideline)
International TV coverage
NetworkESPN Deportes
AnnouncersJavier Trejo Garay and Ramiro Pruneda[4]
Cotton Bowl Classic
 < 2021 2023 (Dec.) > 

Teams

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The game featured at-large teams selected by the College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee. Tulane qualified as the highest-ranked team from the Group of Five conferences.

This was the fourth meeting between the two teams and their first since 1946; USC led the all-time series, 2–1.[7] One of their meetings came in the 1932 Rose Bowl, where USC defeated Tulane to win the national championship. This was USC's third Cotton Bowl, they were 1–1 in previous appearances. This was Tulane's first Cotton Bowl.

Tulane Green Wave

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Main article: 2022 Tulane Green Wave football team

Tulane played to a 10–2 regular-season record (7–1 in conference). They faced two ranked teams, defeating Cincinnati and losing to UCF. Their only other loss was to Southern Miss. The Green Wave qualified for the AAC Championship Game, where they defeated a ranked UCF in a rematch. Tulane entered the Cotton Bowl with an 11–2 overall record.

USC Trojans

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Main article: 2022 USC Trojans football team

USC compiled an 11–1 record during the regular season (8–1 in conference). Their only loss was to Utah in mid-October. In addition to Utah, USC faced ranked teams UCLA and Notre Dame, defeating the latter two. The Trojans qualified for the Pac-12 Championship Game, where they lost to Utah in a rematch. USC entered the Cotton Bowl with an overall 11–2 record.

Game summary

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USC had a lead of 14–0 that quickly evaporated, but led 28–14 at halftime. The game tightened again in the second half but USC kicked a field goal with just 4:30 left in the game to extend their lead to 45–30. Tulane responded by taking just 23 seconds to cut the lead to 45–37, and then registered a safety with 3:20 left to cut the lead to 45–39. Tulane then converted a pair of fourth downs on a 12-play, 66-yard drive, scoring the winning touchdown with just 9 seconds left in the game.[8] With 4:30 remaining in the game and a 15-point lead, USC's win probability stood at 99.8%.[9]

2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 16 Tulane 0 14 161646
No. 10 USC 7 21 71045

at AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Tulane USC
1 5:58 17 75 9:02 USC Michael Jackson III 9-yard touchdown reception from Caleb Williams, Denis Lynch kick good 0 7
2 12:33 12 95 5:13 USC Terrell Bynum 3-yard touchdown reception from Caleb Williams, Denis Lynch kick good 0 14
2 9:30 8 75 3:03 Tulane Tyjae Spears 3-yard touchdown run, Valentino Ambrosio kick good 7 14
2 5:42 2 92 0:50 Tulane Jha'Quan Jackson 87-yard touchdown reception from Michael Pratt, Valentino Ambrosio kick good 14 14
2 2:21 6 75 3:21 USC Raleek Brown 39-yard touchdown run, Denis Lynch kick good 14 21
2 0:12 6 68 1:07 USC Brenden Rice 4-yard touchdown reception from Caleb Williams, Denis Lynch kick good 14 28
3 11:55 7 76 3:05 Tulane Tyjae Spears 7-yard touchdown run, Valentino Ambrosio kick good 21 28
3 4:02 7 40 3:06 Tulane 42-yard field goal by Valentino Ambrosio 24 28
3 1:24 5 97 2:38 USC Brenden Rice 19-yard touchdown reception from Caleb Williams, Denis Lynch kick good 24 35
3 0:40 3 65 0:44 Tulane Tyjae Spears 3-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 30 35
4 12:09 7 47 3:31 USC Kyron Hudson 4-yard touchdown reception from Caleb Williams, Denis Lynch kick good 30 42
4 4:30 11 46 6:16 USC 43-yard field goal by Denis Lynch 30 45
4 4:07 2 63 0:23 Tulane Tyjae Spears 4-yard touchdown run, Valentino Ambrosio kick good 37 45
4 3:20 Tulane Austin Jones tackled in end zone for a safety by Patrick Jenkins 39 45
4 0:09 12 66 3:11 Tulane Alex Bauman 6-yard touchdown reception from Michael Pratt, Valentino Ambrosio kick good 46 45
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 46 45

With the win, Tulane finished their season with an overall 12–2 record, a 10-win improvement over their prior season—the biggest single-season improvement in NCAA football history.[10]

Statistics

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References

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  1. ^ "Tulane's Tyjae Spears Named 87th Classic J. Curtis Sanford Offensive MVP". cottonbowl.com. January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  2. ^ Trainor, Emma (January 2, 2023). "Tulane's Dorian Williams Named 87th Classic Felix McKnight Defensive MVP". cottonbowl.com. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  3. ^ Austro, Ben (December 4, 2022). "2022–23 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "Javier Trejo Garay on Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "2023 Cotton Bowl Classic Final Stats" (PDF). Statbroadcast. January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  6. ^ "2022 College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  7. ^ "Winsipedia - Tulane vs. USC". Winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  8. ^ Gaydos, Ryan (January 2, 2023). "Tulane scores 16 points in under 5 minutes to shock USC at Cotton Bowl Classic". Fox News. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  9. ^ "Tulane 46-45 USC (Jan 2, 2023) Box Score - ESPN". January 2, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  10. ^ "Tulane seeks 10-win improvement vs. USC in Cotton Bowl". apnews.com. AP. January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
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