Who says the old Cotton Bowl has gone away?
Credit the TicketCity Bowl for reviving an old New Year’s tradition in Fair Park.
Technically, it’s not the old Cotton Bowl game, which has been moved to Jerry Jones’ new Cowboys palace in Arlington. But the venerable old Cotton Bowl itself, which has been spruced up and expanded in the past few years, is once again a New Year’s – or January 2 this year – college football destination thanks to the TicketCity Bowl, which made its debut a year ago when Texas Tech outlasted Northwestern in a real shootout, 45-38.
Matchups like the one a year ago and this coming Monday’s between Penn State (9-3 straight up, 3-8-1 against the spread) and Houston (12-1 SU, 10-3 ATS; No. 21 Don Best Linemakers Poll) don’t quite recall some of the great memories of past New Year’s games in Dallas. But Nittany Lions-Cougars does kick off gridiron action in a now-thinner New Year’s college card, with the start in Dallas set for 12 noon (ET). TV coverage will be provided by ESPNU.
A quick check of the Don Best odds screen shows that Houston is priced as a 6½-point favorite at the vast majority of Las Vegas wagering outlets, with the total between 56½-57½ points.
Cotton Bowl stadium history on New Year’s includes some of college football’s memorable games and greatest players. For years, it was the site of New Year’s battles in which the old Southwest Conference champion was the host team. It was the site of Rice’s Dicky Maegle being tackled by Alabama’s Tommy Lewis, who came off of the bench to stop the Owl speedster, speeding unimpeded toward the end zone. Maegle was credited with a 95-yard TD run by the officials, en route to a Cotton Bowl game record of 265 rush yards that stood for 54 years, or until Missouri’s Tony Temple gained 281 against Arkansas in 2008.
All-time greats such as Syracuse’s Jim Brown (1957) and Ernie Davis (1960) participated on New Year’s Day in Big D, as did Navy’s Roger Staubach in the 1964 battle vs. Texas for the national title (won by the Longhorns, 28-6). Notre Dame returned to bowl action after a 44-year absence in the 1970 Cotton Bowl against Texas, a game in which the 'Horns scored late and claimed the national crown thanks to a pulsating 21-17 win. The next year, Joe Theismann and the Irish got their revenge and denied Texas back-to-back national titles in a 24-11 upset.
So much for Dallas history on New Year’s. The present is rather intriguing as well with this curious matchup between Penn State and Houston.
We don’t have to amplify much further on what has transpired lately within both of these programs. Especially Penn State; for those just returning from a two-month around-the-world cruise or an extended African safari, consult the internet for loads of info regarding the Jerry Sandusky scandal and Joe Paterno ouster at State College, Pa.
As for Houston, things haven’t been quite as dramatic, although the then-unbeaten Cougars did blow a clear shot at a BCS bowl when being humbled at home, 49-28, in the C-USA title game vs. Southern Mississippi. Subsequently (and to no one’s surprise), head coach Kevin Sumlin departed the program, taking the top job at Texas A&M Then, just before Christmas, special teams coordinator Tony Levine was promoted to the top spot after being given an interim HC designation for the bowl game.
More off-field news was to follow, as the Nittany Lion situation became even more outrageous when QB Matt McGloin suffered a mild concussion and seizure after a recent locker-room brawl with WR Curtis Drake. What next, Hulk Hogan becoming Paterno’s successor as the new Penn State coach? For the moment, defensive coordinator and interim head coach Tom Bradley remains in charge and is one of several candidates in the mix for the full-time assignment.
These are also two of the most contrasting bowl entrants in this postseason slate, with the Nittany Lions’ neanderthal “O” scoring less than 20 ppg and the video game UH spread, piloted by prolific 6th-year QB Case Keenum, tallying a nation’s-best 51 ppg.
We’re not necessarily buying into any arguments that suggest Penn State merits consideration simply because of a tougher schedule. The fact is that the Nittany Lions were roundly outclassed by the best teams they faced (outscored 72-18 by Alabama & Wisconsin) and mostly struggled vs. marginal foes, fortunate to escape with wins over the likes of Temple, Indiana and Purdue.
Neither Penn State QB, McGloin nor Rob Bolden, performed with much sparkle (just 9 TD passes between them), and McGloin’s iffy status for the bowl opens the possibility that red-shirt frosh Paul Jones might even take his first snaps of his career in Dallas. The only reliable component on the attack side for the Nittany Lions has been punishing RB Silas Redd (1,188 rush yards).
Granted, the Nittany Lion stop unit was typically stingy, ranking fifth overall and against the pass, suggesting a good potential matchup vs. Keenum. But Penn State saw nothing resembling the Houston spread and the 51 TD passes (45 by Keenum) the Cougs produced.
Also, don’t forget that UH (which posted a solid 9-3 spread mark) has been waiting 24 months for another bowl opportunity since an ugly loss to Air Force in the 2009 Armed Forces Bowl. Especially Keenum, guilty of an uncharacteristic six picks in that stunning 47-20 loss to the Falcons, who had been beaten by the Cougs in the same bowl a year earlier.
The bottom line is that even before all of the late-season Sandusky and Paterno distractions, this was hardly a vintage Penn State edition, and we suspect its 9-3 mark is misleading. Rather, its subpar 3-8-1 spread mark is a better indicator of the relative value it provided in 2011. This Nittany Lion edition was nothing special, and as long as Houston has recovered emotionally from the Southern Miss loss (as CUSA sources suggest), the Cougs at least figure to have an easier time moving the football and scoring than Penn State will in Dallas.
We would advise those who still might fancy a flier on the Nittany Lions to proceed very carefully.