1985 Cotton Bowl Classic Explained

Year Game Played:1985
Game Name:Cotton Bowl Classic
Subheader:49th Cotton Bowl Classic
Football Season:1984
Visitor Name Short:Boston College
Visitor Nickname:Eagles
Visitor School:Boston College
Home Name Short:Houston
Home Nickname:Cougars
Home School:University of Houston
Visitor Record:9–2
Visitor Conference:Independent
Home Record:7–4
Home Conference:SWC
Visitor Coach:Jack Bicknell
Home Coach:Bill Yeoman
Visitor Rank Ap:8
Visitor Rank Coaches:8
Home Rank Ap:NR
Home Rank Coaches:NR
Visitor 1Q:17
Visitor 2Q:14
Visitor 3Q:0
Visitor 4Q:14
Home 1Q:7
Home 2Q:7
Home 3Q:14
Home 4Q:0
Date Game Played:January 1
Stadium:Cotton Bowl
City:Dallas, Texas
Mvp:Steve Strachan (FB, BC)
Bill Romanowski (LB, BC)
Odds:Boston College by 6½ [1] [2] [3]
Referee:John McClintock (Big 8)
Attendance:67,381
Us Network:CBS
Us Announcers Link:List of announcers of major college bowl games
Us Announcers:Lindsey Nelson, Pat Haden,
and Ara Parseghian

The 1985 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 49th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the 1984–85 bowl game season, it matched the No. 8 Boston College Eagles (independent) and the unranked Houston Cougars of the Boston College never trailed and won 45–28.[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Teams

See main article: 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Boston College

See main article: 1984 Boston College Eagles football team. Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie gained national attention on November 23, when he led the Eagles to a memorable win at Miami,[9] [10] in what would be called Hail Flutie. He left school as the NCAA’s all-time passing yardage leader with a consensus All-American, and the first quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy in This was BC's first Cotton Bowl appearance in 45 years, since January 1940. Boston College finished the regular season with a 9–2 record, and was the recipient of the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy (emblematic of the 'Eastern championship' in Division I FBS).

Houston

See main article: 1984 Houston Cougars football team. Houston shared the Southwest Conference title for the first time since 1979. By virtue of their defeat of conference co-champion SMU during the season, the Cougars made their first Cotton Bowl appearance in five years. SMU defeated Notre Dame in the Aloha Bowl on December 28; the Mustangs finished with ten wins and were eighth in the final AP poll.[11] Houston was the first unranked team to represent the SWC in the Cotton Bowl in 17 years.

Game summary

The game kicked off shortly after 12:30 p.m. CST, as did the Fiesta Bowl on NBC.[12] The game time temperature in Dallas was with gusty winds, freezing rain, and the artificial turf was slick.[5] [6] [7]

The Eagles rolled to a 31–14 lead at halftime on Flutie's three touchdown passes (to three different receivers) and a Steve Strachan 2-yard touchdown run, despite the Cougars' two quick ways of scoring touchdowns, one of which occurring when Larry Shepherd caught a Gerald Landry pass for a touchdown with 22 seconds left in the half.[13] [14]

Raymond Tate narrowed the lead with his touchdown late in the third quarter. Audray McMillian intercepted a Flutie pass and returned it 25 yards to the end zone to make it 31–28 as the third quarter ended. But the Eagles scored with 5:45 remaining on a Strachan 4-yard touchdown run. Troy Stradford sealed the game with a 18-yard touchdown run with 1:06 to go in the fourth quarter as Boston College won their first Cotton Bowl.[15] [16]

Scoring

First quarter:
Second quarter:
Third quarter:
Fourth quarter:

[4] [13] [15]

Statistics

Statistics Boston
College
Houston
First downs 22 15
Rushes–yards50–35742–202
Passing yards180 154
Passes 13–37–29–29–2
Total yards 537 356
Punts–average8–2910–33
Fumbles–lost 2–1 3–2
Turnovers<-- by-->34
Penalties–yards7–647–66
Time of possession34:4125:19

[4] [13] [15]

Aftermath

Boston College improved to 10–2 and climbed to No. 5 in the final AP poll.[11] Through, neither team has returned to the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Notes and References

  1. News: The latest line . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . January 1, 1985 . 39.
  2. News: Cotton Bowl . Pittsburgh Press . December 31, 1984 . D3.
  3. News: Betting line . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania) . January 1, 1985. 15.
  4. News: Eagles hold on to win Cotton Bowl . Victoria Advocate . (Texas) . Forman . Mike . January 2, 1985 . 1B.
  5. News: Flutie goes out a winner in Cotton Bowl, 42-28 . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . Associated Press . Freeman . Denne H.. January 2, 1985 . B2.
  6. News: BC reaches the summit with victory . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania) . (Dallas Morning News) . Blaudschum . Mark . January 2, 1985. 34.
  7. And so it came to pass... . Sports Illustrated . Underwood . John . January 14, 1985 . 98.
  8. Web site: 49th Classic, 1985 – 2019-20 – Past Classics. 2021-11-19. Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. en.
  9. News: 'Hail Mary' decides it, 47-45 . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . Associated Press . November 24, 1984 . 3C.
  10. It wasn't a fluke. It was a Flutie . Sports Illustrated . Underwood . John . December 3, 1984 . 22.
  11. News: It's close, but Washington is No. 2 . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . wire services . January 3, 1985 . 19.
  12. News: Sports menu . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . January 1, 1985 . 20.
  13. News: Flutie ways farewell with victory, 45-28 . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . (New York Times). Vescey . George . January 2, 1985 . 3C.
  14. News: Flutie struggles, but Eagles soar . The Bulletin . (Bend, Oregon) . UPI . January 2, 1985 . D2.
  15. News: Flutie of Boston College fantastic before the flaws . Toledo Blade . (Ohio) . (Dallas Morning News). Sherrod . Blackie . January 2, 1985 . 26.
  16. Web site: January 1, 1985 - Boston College 45, Houston 28 . AT&T Cotton Bowl.