| Game Name: | Cotton Bowl Classic |
| Subheader: | 35th Cotton Bowl Classic |
| Date Game Played: | January 1 |
| Year Game Played: | 1971 |
| Football Season: | 1970 |
| Stadium: | Cotton Bowl |
| City: | Dallas, Texas |
| Visitor School: | University of Notre Dame |
| Visitor Name Short: | Notre Dame |
| Visitor Nickname: | Fighting Irish |
| Visitor Record: | 9–1 |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 6 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 5 |
| Visitor Coach: | Ara Parseghian |
| Visitor Conference: | Independent |
| Visitor 1Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home School: | University of Texas |
| Home Name Short: | Texas |
| Home Nickname: | Longhorns |
| Home Record: | 10–0 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 1 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 1 |
| Home Coach: | Darrell Royal |
| Home Conference: | SWC |
| Home 1Q: | 3 |
| Home 2Q: | 8 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Mvp: | Steve Worster (Texas FB) Bob Olson (Notre Dame LB) |
| Odds: | Texas by 7 points[1] |
| Referee: | Gene Calhoun (Big Ten) (split crew: Big Ten, Southwest) |
| Attendance: | 72,000 |
| Us Network: | CBS |
| Us Announcers: | Lindsey Nelson, Tom Brookshier |
The 1971 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 35th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, January 1.[2] A rematch from the previous year, the undefeated and top-ranked Texas Longhorns of the Southwest Conference were upset by the independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 24–11.[3] [4] [5]
See main article: 1970 NCAA University Division football season.
See main article: 1970 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. Led by head coach Ara Parseghian, Notre Dame's captains were Larry DiNardo and Tim Kelly, and featured Joe Theismann at quarterback and Tom Gatewood as a wide receiver.
See main article: 1970 Texas Longhorns football team. Texas was coached by Darrell Royal, and the captains for the Longhorns were Scott Henderson, Steve Worster, Bobby Wuensch and Bill Zapalac. The team also featured Jerry Sisemore at tackle and Jim Bertelsen at running back.
Texas was trying to win consecutive national championships, while Notre Dame was seeking revenge for the previous Cotton Bowl loss to Texas, its first bowl appearance in over four decades.
| Statistics | ND | TEX |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 16 | 20 |
| Total yards | 359 | 426 |
| Rushes/yards | 52/146 | 55/216 |
| Passing yards | 213 | 240 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 10–19–1 | 10–27–1 |
| Time of possession | ||
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | Passing | 9–16, 176 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | Cieszkowski | 13 car, 52 yards | |
| Receiving | Yoder | 2 rec, 96 yards | |
| Texas | Passing | 9–17, 199 yards | |
| Rushing | Eddie Phillips | 23 car, 164 yards | |
| Receiving | Deryl Comer | 4 rec, 67 yards |
It ended the Longhorns' 30-game winning streak,[4] which is currently (as of October 2011) the 12th longest winning streak in NCAA Division I records. Notre Dame had defeated Oklahoma in 1957 to end their 47-game win streak.[9]
Second-ranked Ohio State lost to Stanford in the Rose Bowl, while #3 Nebraska won the Orange Bowl and was named the AP national champion for the 1970 season, with Notre Dame as runner-up.[2]
Texas had been selected as the national champion by the UPI Coaches' Poll,[10] whose final edition was then released at the end of the regular season, prior to bowl games. After a similar occurrence in 1973, the Coaches Poll released its final edition after the bowl games, starting with the 1974 season.