1957 Cotton Bowl Classic


The 1957 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 21st edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the 1956–57 bowl game season, it matched the independent and eighth-ranked Syracuse Orangemen and #14 TCU Horned Frogs of the Southwest Conference. Favored TCU held on to win by a point, 28–27.

Teams

Syracuse

The Orangemen had just one loss, but they were ranked eighth, led by senior running back Jim Brown, a consensus All-American. This was the second bowl appearance for Syracuse; their first was four years earlier in the Orange Bowl.

TCU

TCU was runner-up in the Southwest Conference, but was invited due to first place Texas A&M being under NCAA sanctions. This was the Horned Frogs' fifth Cotton Bowl appearance; they won their first in 1937, but dropped their next three.

Game summary

TCU had two 14-point leads, both near the end of the halves. John Nikkel started the scoring for TCU with a touchdown catch from Chuck Curtis, and in the second quarter, Jim Shofner caught a touchdown to make it 14–0. But Jim Brown ran for two touchdowns in a span of 6:52 to tie the game at halftime. Late in the third quarter after Brown fumbled the ball back to TCU, Curtis scored on a touchdown run to give TCU the lead back. After another Brown fumble in the fourth quarter, Jim Swink ran in for a touchdown to give TCU a 28–14 lead with 11:44 to go. But Brown would not be stopped as Syracuse went 49 yards in 13 plays and scored on a Brown run. Brown went up for his third PAT attempt of the day to try and narrow the lead to 7.
But TCU's Chico Mendoza blocked the extra point, keeping the lead at eight points. But Syracuse had one last drive in them, going 43 yards in 3 plays and with 1:17 left, Jim Ridlon caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Charles Zimmerman; Brown's kick narrowed the lead to 28–27. Syracuse opted to kick it deep, but TCU held on and did not let give up the ball, in what was TCU's last bowl win until 1998. Brown and Norman Hamilton were named the outstanding players of the game.

Scoring

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter