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 a 10–1 record and as conference champions. Their only loss came against
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
in the
Iron Bowl by a final score of 17–16 in the famous ''
Punt Bama Punt'' game.
Following their victory over , university officials announced they accepted an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl.
The appearance marked the fourth for Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, their 26th overall bowl game appearance.
Texas
The 1972 Texas squad finished the regular season with a 9–1 record. Their only loss came against
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
in the
Red River Rivalry by a final score of 27–0. Following their victory over
TCU TCU may stand for:
Education
* Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania
* Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas
** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school
* Tok ...
, university officials announced they accepted an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl.
The appearance marked the fourteenth for Texas in the Cotton Bowl, their 20th overall bowl game appearance and their fifth straight Cotton Bowl appearance after winning their fifth straight Southwest Conference championship by going undefeated in conference play.
Game summary
Alabama opened the game by going up 10–0 as a result of a pair of
Alan Lowry interceptions.
Steve Wade made both interceptions for the Crimson Tide, and the first resulted in a 50-yard Greg Gantt
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
and the second a 31-yard
Wilbur Jackson touchdown.
After trading field goals in the second quarter, Alabama took a 13–3 lead at the half.
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.
References
{{Texas Longhorns bowl game navbox
Cotton
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
Alabama Crimson Tide football bowl games
Texas Longhorns football bowl games
January 1973 sports events in the United States
Cotton Bowl