1966 Cotton Bowl Classic (December)


The 1966 Cotton Bowl was the 31st edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, December 31. It matched the tenth-ranked SMU Mustangs of the Southwest Conference and the #4 Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference.
This "1967 game" was moved up two days to New Year's Eve; because New Year's Day was a Sunday in 1967, the other major bowls were played on Monday, January 2. The Dallas Cowboys hosted the NFL Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers at the Cotton Bowl on Sunday.

Teams

SMU

The #10 Mustangs had won the Southwest Conference championship for the first time since 1948, led by fifth-year head coach Hayden Fry. They won all five games at the Cotton Bowl, their home stadium through 1978.

Georgia

Fourth-ranked Georgia shared the Southeastern Conference title with #3 Alabama, with a one-point loss to Miami as their only blemish. They completed the regular season with a rivalry win over previously undefeated Georgia Tech. Led by Vince Dooley, in the third of his 25 seasons as head coach, the Bulldogs were a seven-point favorite. It was their first appearance in a major bowl in seven years.

Game summary

Kickoff for the Saturday game was 1:30 p.m. CST and it was televised by CBS. It is unclear when the decision to play on New Year's Eve was made, but the December 31 game date was in place by late November.
On the second play from scrimmage, Georgia's Kent Lawrence ran 74 yards for a touchdown. SMU responded with a field goal later in the quarter, but Georgia scored ten more points to lead 17–3. Mike Richardson of SMU scored a touchdown from a yard out to narrow the lead, but the kick was blocked, and it was 17–9 at halftime.
Those were SMU's last points, as Georgia held the Mustangs in check the rest of the game. The Bulldogs scored once more in the fourth quarter, on a four-yard Ronnie Jenkins touchdown run, to seal the game. Ultimately, it was Georgia's rushing attack that won the game for the Bulldogs, who had 244 more rushing yards than the Mustangs, who could only muster forty.

Scoring

First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter