| Year Game Played: | 1982 |
| Game Name: | Cotton Bowl Classic |
| Subheader: | 46th Cotton Bowl Classic |
| Football Season: | 1981 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Texas |
| Visitor Nickname: | Longhorns |
| Visitor School: | University of Texas at Austin |
| Home Name Short: | Alabama |
| Home Nickname: | Crimson Tide |
| Home School: | University of Alabama |
| Visitor Record: | 9–1–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | SWC |
| Home Record: | 9–1–1 |
| Home Conference: | SEC |
| Visitor Coach: | Fred Akers |
| Home Coach: | Bear Bryant |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 6 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 5 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 3 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 3 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 14 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 5 |
| Date Game Played: | January 1 |
| Stadium: | Cotton Bowl |
| City: | Dallas, Texas |
| Mvp: | Robert Brewer (Texas QB) Robbie Jones (Alabama LB) |
| Odds: | Alabama by 1½ points[1] |
| Referee: | Donald Safrit (ACC) |
| Attendance: | 73,243[2] |
| Us Network: | CBS |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Lindsey Nelson, Roger Staubach |
The 1982 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 46th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1981–82 bowl game season, it matched the third-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the #6 Texas Longhorns of the Southwest Conference (SWC). Down by ten points, slight underdog Texas rallied in the fourth quarter to win, 14–12.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
See main article: 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Both teams entered the matchup with identical 9–1–1 records.
See main article: 1981 Texas Longhorns football team. The Longhorns were ranked #1 entering their fifth game of the season, but they lost to Arkansas, and a tie to Houston three weeks later knocked them out of serious championship contention.
See main article: 1981 Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Alabama was co-champion of the Southeastern Conference who had been ranked #2 after their first game, but a loss to Georgia Tech and a tie four weeks later knocked them out of contention, though they won the SEC title due to them having a perfect SEC record along with Georgia. Their win over Auburn the previous game gave Bryant his 315th win.
Televised by CBS, the game kicked off shortly after 1 p.m. CST, a half hour after the Fiesta Bowl started on NBC.[8]
Trailing 10–0 in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns scored their first points with a quarterback draw by Robert Brewer on a third-and-long with 10:38 remaining. On Texas' next possession, Terry Orr scored from eight yards out to cap an eleven-play, eighty-yard drive to put the Longhorns up 14–10 with 2:05 remaining. Alabama's Joey Jones returned the ensuing kickoff to the Texas 38-yard line, and Alabama quarterback Walter Lewis took over with 1:54 left. On the very next play, UT's William Graham picked off a Lewis pass at the one. The Longhorns took a safety to insure better field position and make the final margin 14–12.[9]
First quarter
No scoringSecond quarter
Third quarter
No scoringFourth quarter
| Statistics | Texas | Alabama | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 21 | 15 | |
| Rushes–yards | 52–158 | 44–163 | |
| Passing yards | 201 | 144 | |
| Passes | 12–22–0 | 8–13–1 | |
| Total Offense | 74–359 | 57–307 | |
| Punts–average | 6–36 | 5–45 | |
| Fumbles–lost | 0–0 | 1–1 | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 | |
| Penalties–yards | 4–17 | 1–5 |
Texas climbed to second in the final AP poll, while Alabama fell to seventh.