1968 Cotton Bowl Classic


The 1968 Cotton Bowl Classic, part of the 1967 bowl game season, was the 32nd edition of the college football bowl game, held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Monday, January 1. It matched the eighth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference and the unranked Texas A&M Aggies, champions of the Southwest Conference. Underdog Texas A&M won the game 20–16.

Teams

Alabama

Alabama finished the regular season with an 8–1–1 record. The Crimson Tide were ranked second to start the season, but tied visiting Florida State in their opener and lost to eventual conference champion Tennessee a month later, also in Birmingham. Following their victory over South Carolina, Alabama accepted an invitation to the Cotton Bowl on November 20. The appearance marked the third for Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, and their 21st overall bowl game.

Texas A&M

Texas A&M finished the regular season with a 6–4 record, winning six straight after opening the season with consecutive losses to SMU, Purdue, LSU, and Florida State. With a 10–7 victory over rival Texas in the regular season finale, the Aggies secured their position in the Cotton Bowl as SWC champions.
Third-year head coach Gene Stallings, age 32, was a former Aggie player. The appearance marked the third for the Aggies in the Cotton Bowl, and their eighth overall bowl game.

Game summary

Alabama opened the game with a ten-play, 80-yard drive with quarterback Ken Stabler scoring on an three-yard run. The Aggies responded with a 13-yard Edd Hargett touchdown pass to Larry Stegent to tie the game at 7–7 at the end of the first quarter. After Steve Davis hit a 36-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter for Alabama, A&M responded late in the quarter with a 7-yard Tommy Maxwell touchdown reception from Hargett. After the ensuing extra point failed, the Aggies took a 13–10 lead at the half.
A&M extended their lead to 20–10 early in the third after Wendell Housley scored on a 20-yard touchdown run. The final points of the game came later in the third when Stabler scored his second touchdown of the game, and with a failed two-point conversion attempt and a scoreless fourth, the Aggies won 20–16. For his performance, Texas A&M quarterback Edd Hargett was named the Most Valuable Player of the game. As A&M head coach Stallings was both a former player and assistant coach under him, Bryant carried him off the field to celebrate the victory.