Best games and moments in Cotton Bowl history

While Arkansas' 10-7 win was a wild one with the Razorbacks' scoring their lone touchdown late in the game, it was the controversy that followed the game that changed college football. At the time, the polls crowned their champions prior to the bowl games. The AP and the Coaches Poll crowned No. 1 Alabama their champion before the Tide lost to Texas in the Orange Bowl. No. 2 Arkansas not only won the Cotton Bowl, but beat Texas earlier in the season. The AP decided to begin awarding its championship after the bowls were done the following season. Also, Arkansas' co-captain, a kid by the name of Jerry Jones, would go on to build the stadium in which the Cotton Bowl is currently played.

This was a marquee game as Texas had already clinched a share of a national title (at the time, the coaches poll declared its champion before the bowls), and Notre Dame was making its first postseason appearance in 45 years. The Longhorns and Irish went back and forth with the lead before Texas went on a 76-yard touchdown drive to take a 21-17 lead with 1:08 remaining. Notre Dame couldn't counter, and the Horns walked away with a consensus national championship. The Fighting Irish would get their revenge the following season by beating No. 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

Dubbed the "Chicken Soup" game, this bowl classic was played as an ice storm blew through the Dallas area. Houston jumped out to a 34-12 lead as Notre Dame QB Joe Montana was suffering from the flu and struggling to stay warm during a brutally cold and windy afternoon. After eating some chicken soup in the locker room, Montana was rejuvenated, and the Irish came alive, returning a blocked kick for a touchdown and added Montana run for a score (plus two two-point conversions) to get within 34-28. Then, with time expiring, Montana hit Kris Haines for an 8-yard TD. The ensuing PAT was good, and Notre Dame finished off a remarkable comeback, winning 35-34.

Houston was just getting its footing on a national stage and taking on tradition-rich Nebraska. Late in the fourth quarter, the Cornhuskers scored after a Houston turnover to take a 14-10 advantage. The Cougars would answer, driving 66 yards and scoring the winning touchdown on a Terry Elston dart between two defenders to Eric Herring with 12 seconds left. Houston won, 17-14, in much the same fashion it had lost the previous Cotton Bowl. 

The Longhorns entered the game 11-0 and had a shot at a national championship if top-ranked Nebraska lost to Miami — which it did — and they won. Both teams found scoring difficult, but Texas held a 9-3 lead late in the game. Texas muffed a punt late in the game, which allowed Bulldogs QB John Lastinger to run and dive in for a touchdown to take the lead. Georgia held on, 10-9. 

This game was a rematch of the previous year's Cotton Bowl (Notre Dame won that won) and featured an Irish team that toppled top-ranked Florida State late in the season only to lose to Boston College the following week. Unlike the 1993 game, this one was close and featured less scoring. Notre Dame's Kevin Pendergast hit a 32-yard field goal with 2:22 left to take the lead and the game, 24-21. Many felt a Notre Dame win could net them a split of the national championship with Florida State, but it didn't happen that way. 

This game had everything; a successful Hail Mary, a 72-yard catch and run for a touchdown, and otherwise stout defense. Trailing 15-5 in the fourth quarter, BYU's Steve Sarkisian threw two TD passes, including the go-ahead pass to K.O. Kealaluhi with 1:34 left in the game. K-State would quickly move down the field and had two great looks at scoring its own game-winner, but great defensive efforts, including pushing the receiver out of bounds as he made a catch, sealed the 19-15 victory for the Cougars. 

This was a matchup of Alabama's top-ranked defense against Texas Tech's high-octane offense. Both teams' defenses were on display as scoring was at a premium. The Red Raiders would break through and tie the game at 10-10 with three minutes remaining. The Crimson Tide methodically marched down the field and set up Jamie Christensen's 45-yard field goal as time expired. Alabama won the game 13-10, but the victory would later be vacated. 

The Cotton Bowl Classic is one of the oldest and tradition-rich bowls in all of college football, but in the 1990s and 2000s it fell down the pecking order a bit. It wasn't included as part of the BCS system due to Dallas' unpredictable weather and the lack of amenities at the Cotton Bowl stadium. In 2010, the game moved to AT&T Stadium (or "Jerry World") so it could regain its status as one of the biggest bowl games. It worked. In 2014, the Cotton Bowl was included in the rotation of six bowls that are included in the College Football Playoff and plays host to one of the semifinal games this year.

This classic is the highest-scoring game in Cotton Bowl history and featured a dramatic comeback. Big 12 co-champs Baylor pulled out to a 20-point lead at the half and held on to a 41-21 in the fourth quarter. Connor Cook and the Spartans made a furious comeback, topped off with a touchdown pass from Cook to Keith Mumphery with 17 seconds remaining in the game and the 42-41 victory.