1973 Cotton Bowl Classic

1973 Cotton Bowl Classic
Texas Longhorns Alabama Crimson Tide (9–1) (10–1) 17 13 Head coach:  Darrell Royal Head coach:  Bear Bryant AP Coaches 7 7 AP Coaches 4 4
1 2 3 4 Total Texas 0 3 7 7 17 Alabama 10 3 0 0 13
Date	January 1, 1973
Season	1972
Stadium	Cotton Bowl
Location	Dallas, Texas
MVP	LB Randy Braband (Texas) QB Alan Lowry (Texas)
Attendance	72,000
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS

The 1973 Cotton Bowl Classic, part of the 1972 bowl game season, took place on January 1, 1973, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the Texas Longhorns, representing the Southwest Conference (SWC). Texas won the game by a final score of 17–13.

Teams

Alabama

The 1972 Alabama squad finished the regular season with an 10–1 record and as conference champions. Their only loss came against Auburn in the Iron Bowl by a final score of 17–16 in the famous Punt Bama Punt game.^[1] Following their victory over Virginia Tech, university officials announced they accepted an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl.^[2] The appearance marked the fourth for Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, their 26th overall bowl game appearance.^[2]

Texas

The 1972 Texas squad finished the regular season with a 9–1 record. Their only loss came against Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry by a final score of 27–0. Following their victory over TCU, university officials announced they accepted an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl.^[2] The appearance marked the fourteenth for Texas in the Cotton Bowl, their 20th overall bowl game appearance.

Game summary

Alabama opened the game by going up 10–0 as a result of a pair of Alan Lowry interceptions.^[3][4] Steve Wade made both interceptions for the Crimson Tide, and the first resulted in a 50-yard Greg Gantt field goal and the second a 31-yard Wilbur Jackson touchdown.^[3] After trading field goals in the second quarter, Alabama took a 13–3 lead at the half.^[3][4] In the second half, the Texas defense shutout the Alabama offense, and a pair of rushing touchdowns from Longhorn quarterback Alan Lowry from three and 34-yards sealed the 17–13 Texas victory.^[3][4]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Texas Alabama 1 10:06 7 plays, 17 yards 3:33 Alabama 50-yard field goal by Greg Gantt 0 3 1 4:49 1 play, 31 yards 00:09 Alabama Wilbur Jackson 31-yard touchdown run, Bill Davis kick good 0 10 2 13:34 16 plays, 71 yards 6:09 Texas 24-yard field goal by Billy Schott 3 10 2 00:03 7 plays, 66 yards 1:33 Alabama 30-yard field goal by Bill Davis 3 13 3 4:43 15 plays, 59 yards 7:17 Texas Alan Lowry 3-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good 10 13 4 4:22 7 plays, 80 yards 3:20 Texas Alan Lowry 34-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good 17 13 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 17 13

References

1. Smothers, Jimmy (November 27, 1973). "Gantt makes a promise: No repeat of last year". The Gadsden Times. p. 29. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
2. Reed, Delbert (November 19, 1972). "It's official: Alabama in Cotton Bowl". The Tuscaloosa News. p. B1.
3. "The Cotton Bowl". 2010 Alabama Football Media Guide (PDF). Tuscaloosa, AL: UA Athletics Media Relations Office. 2010. p. 196. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
4. "1973 Cotton Bowl: Texas 17, Alabama 13". TexasSports.com. Retrieved January 25, 2011.