The 1981 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 45th

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of the

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, played at the Cotton Bowl in

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Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, on Thursday, January 1. Part of the 1980–81 bowl game season, it matched the ninth-ranked

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of the

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(SEC) and the #6 Baylor Bears of the

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(SWC). Favored Alabama

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the Baylor offense and won, 30–2.

Teams

Alabama

Baylor

Game summary

Televised by

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, the game kicked off shortly after 1 p.m. CST, at the same time as the

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. Alabama took a 6–0 lead on a pair of Peter Kim

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s. Baylor responded later in the first quarter with its only points of the game when Tommy Tabor sacked Alabama

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in the end zone for a

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to bring the score to 6–2. The Crimson Tide extended their lead to 13–2 at the half following a one-yard Major Ogilvie touchdown run in the second quarter. After a third Kim field goal in the third, Alabama closed out the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdowns; Don Jacobs scored on a one-yard run, followed by Mark Nix from three yards out to make the final score 30–2. Alabama

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Warren Lyles was named the defensive

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, and running back Ogilvie took the offensive honors.

Scoring

First quarter *Alabama - Peter Kim 29-yard field goal *Alabama - Kim 27-yard field goal *Baylor - Safety, quarterback

tackled by Tommy Tabor in the end zone Second quarter *Alabama - Major Ogilvie 1-yard run (Kim kick) Third quarter *Alabama - Kim 42-yard field goal Fourth quarter *Alabama - Don Jacobs 1-yard run (Kim kick) *Alabama - Mark Nix 2-yard run (George Mardini kick) :

Statistics

: :

Aftermath

This was the final collegiate game for Baylor's All-American linebacker Mike Singletary, a future

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and

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

r. In the final AP poll, Alabama climbed to sixth and Baylor dropped to fourteenth.

References

1980–81 NCAA football bowl games

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1981 in sports in Texas January 1981 sports events in the United States {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub