The 2008 AT&T 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, 2008, at the Cotton Bowl in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

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 ...

, USA. The Cotton Bowl Classic was part of the

2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 30, 2007 and ended on De ...

and one of 32 games in the 2007–08 bowl season. The bowl game featured the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

from the SEC and the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

from the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

and was televised in the United States on

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. Senior RB

Tony Temple Tony Temple (born September 13, 1985) is a former starting running back for the Missouri Tigers football team representing the University of Missouri. Temple played for the Tigers from 2004 to 2007. He entered the 2008 NFL Draft, but was not c ...

of Mizzou set a single game rushing record for the Cotton Bowl Classic with 281 yards and 4 touchdowns. His 281 rushing yards put him in second place all time for total rushing yards in a bowl game.

Game invitation

The

and the

accepted the Cotton Bowl Classic's invitation to play in the bowl game on January 1. This was the Arkansas Razorbacks' 11th appearance in the Cotton Bowl Classic (with a record of 3–6–1 in previous Cotton Bowl Classics) and the second appearance for the Missouri Tigers (0–1). Many Missouri fans felt insulted that the Tigers had been sent to the Cotton Bowl Classic instead of a BCS bowl after a stunning season that included a spot atop the AP College Football Rankings and a co-championship in the Big XII North. This feeling was amplified by the fact that the Kansas Jayhawks, Missouri's historical and then-conference rival, had been invited to the BCS Orange Bowl after being beaten by the Tigers at the annual Arrowhead Stadium Border Showdown in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

Pre-game buildup

* The 72nd Cotton Bowl Classic featured two

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 ...

candidates,

Darren McFadden Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round with the fourth overall pick of the 2008 NFL Dra ...

(playing for Arkansas) and

Chase Daniel William Chase Daniel (born October 7, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri and was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted f ...

(playing for Missouri). McFadden finished second in the voting, while Daniel was fourth. * Reggie Herring was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

at Arkansas for this game. The

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

was the bridge between the departing

Houston Nutt Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is a former American football player and coach. He currently works for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State University (19 ...

(who next coached at Ole Miss) and the arriving

Bobby Petrino Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He is the former head coach for the Missouri State Bears. Previously, he served as the head coa ...

(who resigned from the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

of the NFL). * This was the first of two sideline reporting assignments for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

Jeanne Zelasko Jeanne Zelasko (born October 26, 1966) is an American journalist and sportscaster who worked for "The Beast" AM980 KFWB and Fox Sports West in Los Angeles County, California. Prior to taking that position Zelasko had a relatively lengthy career w ...

. She also has a reporting assignment at 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 ...

, then she will leave the network to undergo treatments for

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...

Game summary

References

{{Missouri Tigers bowl game navbox Cotton Bowl Classic Arkansas Razorbacks football bowl games Missouri Tigers football bowl games

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

January 2008 sports events in the United States 2008 in sports in Texas 2000s in Dallas 2008 in Texas

Game invitation

Pre-game buildup

Game summary

See also

References