The 1993 Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

played on January 1, 1993, at the Cotton Bowl in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. The bowl game featured the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

versus the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

champions,

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. Notre Dame upset the previously undefeated Aggies in a 28–3 victory.AT&T Cotton Bowl History
. AT&T Cotton Bowl. Retrieved January 1, 2014.

Matchup

Texas A&M

Texas A&M was ranked fourth in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

entering the game. The Aggies won the Southwest Conference and came into the game with a 12–0 record. The team was led on offense by running back Greg Hill, who rushed for more than 1,300 yards on the season, but he was one of five players suspended for the bowl game after an investigation found that they accepted payment from a team booster. Defensive back

Aaron Glenn Aaron Devone Glenn (born July 16, 1972) is an American football coach and former cornerback who is the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive backs coach for the N ...

led the Aggie defense with six interceptions that year.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame (9–1–1) was ranked fifth and featured quarterback

Rick Mirer Richard Franklin Mirer (born March 19, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He played college football at Notre Dame and was selected second overall by the Seattle Sea ...

and running backs

Reggie Brooks Reginald Arthur Brooks (born January 19, 1971) is a former American football running back in the National Football League. He attended Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is the uncle to Minnesota Vikings Linebacker Anthon ...

and

Jerome Bettis Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. (born February 16, 1972) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "the Bus" for his large size and runn ...

. Brooks finished fifth in the voting for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

that season. Bettis rushed for 825 yards on the season. In both 1991 and 1992, Bettis finished third in the NCAA in rushing touchdowns. The selection of Texas A&M's opponent generated controversy weeks before the game was played. Notre Dame was chosen by the Cotton Bowl's board of directors, who faced criticism for not selecting the third-ranked

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

. Barry Horn and Darryl Richards of the ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'' wrote that "the Cotton Bowl not only ignored the wishes of its host school and what many believe is the intent of the first-year Bowl Coalition, but the desire of its new network partner as well."

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

televised both the Cotton Bowl and the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

that season. The network preferred to have Notre Dame play in its primetime broadcast of the Orange Bowl rather than the Cotton Bowl. Texas A&M would have preferred to face the higher-ranked Seminoles. Board members for the Cotton Bowl said that they considered several factors, including the potential for ticket sales and the wishes of the network. Board members pointed out the Texas A&M-Florida State matchup at the

1992 Cotton Bowl Classic The 1992 Cotton Bowl Classic featured the Florida State Seminoles and the Texas A&M Aggies. Background The Aggies were the Southwest Conference champions for the first time since 1987, and they had done it with a perfect 8-0 record in conference ...

, saying that they preferred to avoid a rematch in consecutive years. Notre Dame honored the invitation of the Cotton Bowl board.

Game summary

During the first possession of the game, Texas A&M recovered a fumble that occurred on a pitch from Mirer to Brooks but did not score. Notre Dame threw 15 passes in the first half and scored just before halftime to make the score 7–0. The Fighting Irish threw only three passes in the second half and its rushing game took control. Notre Dame had a run of 34 consecutive running plays at one point in the second half. The team netted 290 rushing yards, including 115 yards from Brooks, 75 yards from Bettis and 55 rushing yards from Mirer. Mirer finished with 119 passing yards. Bettis scored three of the team's four touchdowns. In the second half, Texas A&M recovered a fumble by Brooks at their own 4-yard line. Two plays later, Texas A&M quarterback

Corey Pullig Corey Pullig (born October 23, 1973) is a former quarterback for Texas A&M University who went on to play professionally for the Arena Football League (1987–2008), Arena Football League's Grand Rapids Rampage and Buffalo Destroyers. High sc ...

fumbled the ball and Notre Dame recovered. The Aggies scored their only points on a 41-yard

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 ...

in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish won the game by a score of 28–3.

References

{{College bowl games on NBC Cotton Bowl Cotton Bowl Classic Notre Dame Fighting Irish football bowl games Texas A&M Aggies football bowl games Bowl Coalition January 1993 sports events in the United States 1993 in sports in Texas 1990s in Dallas 1993 in Texas