1972 Cotton Bowl Classic

1972 Cotton Bowl Classic
1972 Cotton Bowl Classic
36th Cotton Bowl Classic
Penn State Nittany Lions	Texas Longhorns
(10–1)	(8–2)
Independent	SWC
30	6
Head coach: ; Joe Paterno	Head coach: ; Darrell Royal
AP	Coaches
10	11
AP	Coaches
12	12
Date	January 1, 1972
Season	1971
Stadium	Cotton Bowl
Location	Dallas, Texas
MVP	DE Bruce Bannon ; (Penn State); RB Lydell Mitchell ; (Penn State)
Referee	Paul Bertha (ECAC;; split crew: ECAC, SWC)
Attendance	70,000
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS
Cotton Bowl Classic
< 1971	1973 >

Last updated December 31, 2023

The 1972 Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Texas Longhorns. The 36th Cotton Bowl Classic, it was played on Saturday, January 1, 1972, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas.^[1]^[2]

Background

The Texas Longhorns repeated as Southwest Conference champions and were ranked third in the polls in early October, but consecutive losses (to rival Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl and to #15 Arkansas in Little Rock) dropped them to 3–2 and out of national title contention.^[3] Texas won its next five games to gain their fourth straight appearance in the Cotton Bowl, all as SWC champion.

The independent Nittany Lions had climbed to 10–0 and fifth in the rankings before the last game of the regular season, a 31–11 upset loss at #12 Tennessee on December 4.^[3]^[4]^[5] (That loss left only Nebraska, Alabama, and Michigan as undefeated, and the first two met for the national title in the Orange Bowl in Miami.) It was Penn State's first Cotton Bowl in 24 years, since 1948.

Game summary

The teams traded field goals and Texas led 6–3 at halftime, but the Nittany Lions scored 27 unanswered points in the second half.^[1]^[2] Penn State running back Lydell Mitchell and quarterback John Hufnagel had touchdown runs while Hufnagel threw a touchdown pass to Scott Skarzynski. Alberto Vitiello had three field goals for the Lions while Steve Valek kicked two for Texas, their only scoring.

The convincing win pushed Penn State back up to fifth for the final AP poll, while Texas fell to 18th.^[6]

Aftermath

The Longhorns went to three more Cotton Bowls in the 1970s, while Penn State returned three years later.

Statistics

Statistics	PSU	Texas
First Downs	18	15
Yards Rushing	239	159
Yards Passing	137	83
Total Yards	376	242
Punts-Average	5-36.0	5-33.0
Fumbles-Lost	1-0	5-3
Interceptions	1	0
Penalties-Yards	2-30	1-5

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References

1 2 "Texas Wishbone catches in throat". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 2, 1972. p. 61. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
1 2 "Penn State scuttles Texas for 30-6 Cotton Bowl win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1972. p. 1, sports. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
1 2 "Penn State, Texas seek 'redemption' in Cotton". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1972. p. 11. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
↑ "Tennessee to test Nittany Lions". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 4, 1971. p. 14. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
↑ "Vols flatten Lions". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 5, 1971. p. 1, sports. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
↑ "Huskers solid No. 1". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 4, 1972. p. 20. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2017.

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[twbcith-1] 1 2 "Texas Wishbone catches in throat". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 2, 1972. p. 61. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2017.

[scttx-2] 1 2 "Penn State scuttles Texas for 30-6 Cotton Bowl win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1972. p. 1, sports. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2017.

[skredm-3] 1 2 "Penn State, Texas seek 'redemption' in Cotton". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1972. p. 11. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2017.

[tentotes-4] "Tennessee to test Nittany Lions". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 4, 1971. p. 14. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2017.

[vfltli-5] "Vols flatten Lions". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 5, 1971. p. 1, sports. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2017.

[hsnmbron-6] "Huskers solid No. 1". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 4, 1972. p. 20. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2017.

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v t e Cotton Bowl Classic
History & conference tie-ins	History Cotton Bowl AT&T Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Playoff at-large Group of Five
Games	1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 (January) 1966 (December) 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (January) 2015 (December) 2017 (January) 2017 (December) 2018 2019 2020 2021 2023 (January) 2023 (December)
Notes	There was a Cotton Bowl Classic in January and December in 1966, 2015, 2017. The 2015 (December), 2018, and 2021 editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.