From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1979 Cotton Bowl, popularly called the Chicken Soup Game, was a football game played between the University of Notre Dame and the University of Houston. The game took place on an unusually cold day in Dallas, Texas, and quarterback Joe Montana, who had the flu, led Notre Dame to a come-from-behind victory in the second half after eating a bowl of chicken soup.[1]
[edit] The game
In the first quarter, Notre Dame scored the first 12 points of the game and ended 12-0. In the second quarter, aided by the direction of the wind, Houston responded with 20 consecutive points. When the teams returned to the field to start the second half, Joe Montana remained in the locker room.[2]
During the game, Montana's body temperature had dipped to 96 degrees and he had to fight off hypothermia. He was forced to retire to the locker room where the ND medical staff warmed Montana by feeding him chicken bouillon, and by covering him with warm blankets.[3]
By the fourth quarter, Houston had built a 34-12 lead over Notre Dame. Montana returned to the field with 7:37 remaining on the game clock and was cheered actively by the Notre Dame fans.[3] In the last seconds of the game, Notre Dame was behind, but had possession of the ball. With six seconds left, Montana threw the ball out of bounds, which stopped the game clock and just two seconds remained.[3]
The final play was a touchdown pass to receiver Kris Haines after the clock had stopped; placekicker Joe Unis was forced to kick the extra point twice after a Notre Dame penalty, but was successful both times, and Notre Dame won the game 35-34.[4]
[edit] Aftermath
The game is one of the most notable games in Montana's entire football career (both collegiate and professional).[3] It was his final game for Notre Dame and helped to reinforce his image with football fans as "The Comeback Kid." Six-months after the game, Notre Dame put out a promotional film called Seven and a Half Minutes to Destiny. Dan Devine, Notre Dame's then head coach, called the movie a "Joe Montana film."[3]
Years later, the game has been recognized as an important game in bowl game history. As such, ESPN.com named the game the third greatest bowl game of all-time.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Dave Anderson, "Joe Cool Has Coped With Cold." New York Times, January 18, 1994, http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed November 26, 2007).
- ^ a b Greatest Bowl Games. espn.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.
- ^ a b c d e Born to be a quarterback. cnnsi.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.
- ^ Mike Jones, "Irish windfall thaws UH lead, 35-34," Dallas Morning News, January 2, 1979, http://www.whas11.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/cottonbowl/history/1979.html (accessed November 26, 2007).
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nd/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/FBRecSuppBowlRecaps.pdf
[edit] External links
|
Cotton Bowl |
|
|
|
|
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 (Jan) | 1966 (Dec) | 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
|
|
|
Houston bowl games |
|
1952 Salad Bowl • 1962 Tangerine Bowl • 1969 Bluebonnet Bowl • 1971 Bluebonnet Bowl • 1973 Bluebonnet Bowl • 1974 Bluebonnet Bowl • 1977 Cotton Bowl • 1979 Cotton Bowl • 1980 Cotton Bowl • 1980 Garden State Bowl • 1981 Sun Bowl • 1985 Cotton Bowl • 1988 Aloha Bowl • 1996 Liberty Bowl • 2003 Hawaii Bowl • 2005 Forth Worth Bowl • 2006 Liberty Bowl • 2007 Texas Bowl
|
|
