1953 Cotton Bowl Classic

1953 Cotton Bowl Classic
1953 Cotton Bowl Classic
17th Cotton Bowl Classic
Tennessee Volunteers	Texas Longhorns
(8–1–1)	(8–2)
SEC	SWC
0	16
Head coach: ; Robert Neyland	Head coach: ; Ed Price
AP	Coaches
8	8
AP	Coaches
10	11
Date	January 1, 1953
Season	1952
Stadium	Cotton Bowl
Location	Dallas, Texas
MVP	HB Richard Ochoa (Texas) ; G Harley Sewell (Texas); LB Bob Griesbach (Tennessee)
Attendance	75,500
United States TV coverage
Network	NBC
Cotton Bowl Classic
< 1952	1954 >

The 1953 Cotton Bowl Classic featured the Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas Longhorns. This was the first Cotton Bowl Classic to be broadcast on television.

Background[]

The Longhorns were in their first Bowl appearance under Price, in his second season with the team. They had won the Southwest Conference for the first time since 1950. The Volunteers finished 2nd in the Southeastern Conference in Neyland's final season.

Game summary[]

Midway through the first quarter, was tackled by Carlton Massey for a safety after trying to do a fake punt...on first down. After a fumble by was recovered by early in the second quarter, Gib Dawson scored on a 4-yard touchdown run 7 plays later to give Texas a 9-0 lead at halftime. Midway through the fourth quarter, recovered a Vols fumble and seven plays later, scored on a touchdown run seal Tennessee's fate as the Longhorns got revenge on what happened two Cotton Bowls earlier. Despite both teams losing three fumbles, Tennessee cost them more dearly and led to 14 points for Texas.^[1]

Aftermath[]

Price would win the SWC again, but a 1-9 season in 1956 led to Price's resignation, leading the way for Darrell Royal to be hired. Harvey Robinson took over for the Vols after Neyland's retirement, but it would take him being fired before the Vols returned to a bowl game under his replacement.

Statistics[]

Statistics	Texas	Tennessee
First Downs	20	6
Yards Rushing	269	-14
Yards Passing	32	46
Total Yards	301	32
Punts-Average	5-35.4	7-40.9
Fumbles-Lost	5-3	5-3
Interceptions	1	0
Penalties-Yards	5-55	3-30

References[]

^ "26-37.pmd" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

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[1] "26-37.pmd" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

[1]

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History & conference tie-ins	History Cotton Bowl AT&T Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Playoff At-Large Group of Five
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 (January) 1966 (December) 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 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (January) 2015 (December) 2017 (January) 2017 (December) 2018 2019 2020 2021
Notes	There was a Cotton Bowl Classic in January and December in 1966, 2015, and 2017 The 2015 (December), 2018, and 2021 editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.