| 1970 Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 34th Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1969 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Cotton Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Steve Worster, FB, Texas Bob Olson, LB, Notre Dame | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Texas by 7[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Cliff Domingue (SWC) (split crew: SWC,Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 71,938 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Lindsey Nelson, Tom Brookshier | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1970 Cotton Bowl Classic[2] was a postseasoncollege footballbowl game in the1969 season, held at theCotton Bowl inDallas,Texas, on Thursday, January 1, 1970. The game matched the top-rankedTexas Longhorns(10–0) and the #9Notre Dame Fighting Irish(8–1–1).[3][4]
Texas was looking to win its second unanimousnational championship in seven seasons, previously won in1963. The Longhorns, who had already won the national championship of the UPI coaches poll prior to the Cotton Bowl, finished with a perfect season and a second straightSouthwest Conference championship. The Associated Press would conduct a final poll following the bowl games.
This wasindependent Notre Dame's first postseason appearance since the1925 Rose Bowl, 45 years earlier.
By a vote of its players in mid-November, second-rankedPenn State (10–0) opted to return to theOrange Bowl,[5][6] and faced #6Missouri(9–1). Penn State had several black players and wished to avoid Dallas due to segregation issues.[7] At the time, the top-ranked team was defending championOhio State, who lost the next week atMichigan.
On a cool, clear day in Dallas, the two teams were even in first downs and were different in total yards by only 28. Both had over 70 offensive plays, the Irish had their passing attack and the Longhorns with their running attack. Notre Dame scored the first ten points; a Scott Hempel made a short field goal in the first quarter andJoe Theismann threw a 54-yard touchdown pass toTom Gatewood early in the second. After the Irish kickoff, Texas went on a 74-yard drive that culminated with a one-yardJim Bertelsen touchdown run that made the score 10–7 at halftime. After a scoreless third, the fourth quarter saw three touchdowns, each changing the lead. LonghornTed Koy culminated a 77-yard drive with his touchdown run with ten minutes remaining to give Texas a 14–10 advantage.
Theismann then led the Irish on an 80-yard drive and threw a 24-yard pass to Jim Yoder for a 17–14 lead with 6:52 left. The Longhorns then went on a 76-yard drive that included a fourth down pass fromJames Street toCotton Speyrer that went eight yards down to the two.[8] On third down from the one, Billy Dale's touchdown plunge came with 68 seconds remaining, too little time for the Irish as Texas secured its second consensusnational championship in school history.[3][4][9][10]
Despite the loss, Notre Dame climbed four spots in thefinal AP poll, ending at fifth.[10]
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 Notre Dame | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 1 Texas | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Game information |
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| Statistics | ND | TEX |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 25 | 25 |
| Total yards | 420 | 438 |
| Rushes/yards | 43/189 | 67/331 |
| Passing yards | 231 | 107 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 17–27–2 | 6–11–1 |
| Time of possession |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | Passing | Joe Theismann | 17–27, 231 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs |
| Rushing | Bill Barz | 10 car, 49 yards | |
| Receiving | Tom Gatewood | 6 rec, 112 yards, 1 TD | |
| Texas | Passing | James Street | 6–11, 107 yards, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Steve Worster | 20 car, 155 yards | |
| Receiving | Charles Speyrer | 4 rec, 70 yards |
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