1977 Cotton Bowl Classic

1977 Cotton Bowl Classic
1977 Cotton Bowl Classic
41st Cotton Bowl Classic
Maryland Terrapins	Houston Cougars
(11–0)	(9–2)
ACC	SWC
21	30
Head coach: ; Jerry Claiborne	Head coach: ; Bill Yeoman
AP	Coaches
4	5
AP	Coaches
6	7
Date	January 1, 1977
Season	1976
Stadium	Cotton Bowl
Location	Dallas, Texas
MVP	RB Alois Blackwell (Houston) ; CB Mark Mohr (Houston)
Referee	James Artley (SEC)
Attendance	58,500
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS

The 1977 Cotton Bowl Classic matched the Maryland Terrapins and the Houston Cougars.

Background

This was the Terps' fourth consecutive bowl appearance and their first Cotton Bowl Classic. They had finished with a perfect regular season in what was their most wins since the 1955 season, and won the Atlantic Coast Conference title for the third straight year. The Cougars were co-champions of the Southwest Conference in their first season with the SWC, their first conference title since the 1959 Missouri Valley Conference title. Both teams were making their first Cotton Bowl Classic appearance.

Game summary

Houston jumped out to a 21–0 lead in the first quarter with rushing touchdowns from Dyral Thomas and two from Alois Blackwell, all three coming on Maryland mistakes, such as a missed 20 yard field goal, a blocked punt, and a fumble at their own 24. Maryland drove 49 yards and scored on a Mark Manges run to narrow it to 21–7 with nine minutes in the second quarter. But with the quarter about to end, Houston scored on a Don Bass catch from Danny Davis with 55 seconds remaining to have a 27–7 lead at halftime. Manges gave the Terps life when he threw a touchdown pass to Eric Sievers to narrow the lead late in the third quarter. Tim Wilson made it 27–21 with a touchdown run with 8:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. But Houston would hold on and not allow Maryland to score again, adding in a Lennard Coplin field goal with :18 remaining to seal the Terps' fate.^[1]

Aftermath

The Cougars won three more SWC titles and appear in three more Cotton Bowl Classics in an 9-year span. The Terps did not win another ACC title until after Claiborne left for his alma mater, Kentucky, following the 1981 season. This remains the Terrapins' only Cotton Bowl Classic appearance, and Maryland did not play in another major bowl until the Orange Bowl following the 2001 season, the Terrapins' first under Ralph Friedgen.

Statistics

Statistics	Maryland	Houston
First Downs	17	20
Yards Rushing	120	320
Yards Passing	179	108
Total Yards	299	428
Punts-Average	6-43.7	4-35.8
Fumbles-Lost	1-1	4-3
Interceptions	0	0
Penalties-Yards	8-80	5-22

References

↑ "50-61.pmd (PDF)" (PDF). Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "50-61.pmd (PDF)" (PDF). Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.

[1]

Cotton Bowl Classic
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 2023 (January) 2023 (December)
Notes	There was a Cotton Bowl Classic in January and December in 1966, 2015, 2017. The 2015 (December), 2018, and 2021 editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.