1976 Cotton Bowl Classic

1976 Cotton Bowl Classic
1 2 3 4 Total
Arkansas 0 10 0 21 31
Georgia 10 0 0 0 10
Date January 1, 1976
Season 1975
Stadium Cotton Bowl
Location Dallas, Texas
MVP HB Ike Forte (Arkansas)
LB Hal McAfee (Arkansas)
Favorite Arkansas by 6
Attendance 77,500
United States TV coverage
Network CBS
Cotton Bowl Classic
 < 1975  1977 > 

The 1976 Cotton Bowl Classic was a post-season college football bowl game between the co-Southwest Conference champion #18 Arkansas Razorbacks[1] and the #12 Georgia Bulldogs. Arkansas defeated Georgia, 31-10 in front of 77,500 spectators.[2]

Setting

Arkansas

Arkansas finished the regular season 9-2, came into the game on a five-game winning streak. The Hogs were part of a three-way tie for the Southwest Conference Championship with Texas and Texas A&M. The Hogs lost to Texas, 18-24, but gave #2 Texas A&M its first loss in the regular season finale. The 31-6 upset of the Aggies in War Memorial Stadium is one of the most memorable games in Razorback football history.

Georgia

Georgia was 9-2 entering the game, tied for second in the Southeastern Conference.

Game summary

The Bulldogs took an early 10-3 lead. Arkansas wouldn't score a touchdown until Georgia's QB Ray Goff tried a 'shoestring' play. He bent as if to tie his shoe and flipped the ball to Gene Washington, a legal play as long as in one motion, but Razorback Hal McAfee scooped up the ball at the 13 yardline.[3] Ike Forte scored for the Hogs, knotting the game at 10. The two teams skirmished to a 0-0 tie in the third period, with Arkansas missing three field goals, before the Hogs exploded for 21 unanswered to close the game.


References

  1. "Major Conference Champions." 1975 SWC Champions. Infoplease.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2010.
  2. "Arkansas 31, Georgia 10-Past Classics." History. The official site of the 2011 Cotton Bowl Classic. Retrieved on April 11, 2010
  3. Jones, Mike. "Porkers 'string up' Georgia, 31-10." The Dallas Morning News. 1/2/1976. Article. Retrieved on April 11, 2010.