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1960 Cotton Bowl Classic
24th Cotton Bowl Classic
Syracuse Orangemen Texas Longhorns (10–0) (9–1) Independent SWC 23 14 Head coach:  Ben Schwartzwalder Head coach:  Darrell Royal AP Coaches 1 1 AP Coaches 4 4
1 2 3 4 Total Syracuse 7 8 8 0 23 Texas 0 0 6 8 14
Date	January 1, 1960
Season	1959
Stadium	Cotton Bowl
Location	Dallas, Texas
MVP	Ernie Davis (Syracuse RB) Maurice Doke (Texas LB)
Favorite	Syracuse by 12½ points
Referee	Francis P. Brennan (ECAC; split crew: ECAC, SWC)
Attendance	75,504
Payout	US$175,000 per team
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS
Announcers	Jack Drees, Forest Evashevski
Cotton Bowl Classic  < 1959  1961 >

The 1960 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 24th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, on Friday, January 1. Part of the 1959–60 bowl game season, it matched the independent and top-ranked Syracuse Orangemen and No. 4 Texas Longhorns of the Southwest Conference (SWC). The favored Orangemen won, 23–14.

Teams

Syracuse

The Orangemen had just completed a perfect season for the first time in their history and were declared national champions by both major polls. They were looking for their first win in the Cotton Bowl, having lost previously three years earlier.

Texas

The Longhorns opened with eight wins and were co-champions of the Southwest Conference; after a late-season home loss to rival TCU, they dropped from second to fourth in the rankings. This was the first Cotton Bowl appearance for third-year head coach Darrell Royal and the first for the Longhorns in seven years.

Game summary

The longest touchdown pass in Cotton Bowl history happened in this game as Syracuse halfback Gerhard Schwedes threw an 87-yard pass to Ernie Davis to give the Orangemen an early lead 1:13 into the game. Davis added in a touchdown run midway through the second quarter to extend the lead to 15–0 at halftime.

Jack Collins caught a 69-yard pass from Bobby Lackey to narrow the lead 1:46 into the third quarter, but the conversion failed, making it only 15–6. While Texas was trying to narrow the lead, Davis intercepted a Lackey pass at the Texas 24. Three plays later Schwedes ran in for a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 23–6 after another conversion success. Lackey narrowed it to 23–14 on a touchdown run in the fourth quarter, but only 7:21 was left on the clock by then. From that point on, the two teams did not seriously threaten to score again as the game ended in a Syracuse win.

Scoring

First quarter

• SYR – Ernie Davis 87-yard pass from Gerhard Schwedes (Bob Yates kick)

Second quarter

• SYR – Davis 1-yard run (Davis pass from Dave Sarette)

Third quarter

• TEX – Jack Collins 69-yard pass from Bobby Lackey (Rene Ramirez run failed)
• SYR – Schwedes 3-yard run (Davis pass from Sarette)

Fourth quarter

• TEX – Lackey 1-yard run (Richard Shulte pass from Lackey)

Statistics

Statistics	Syracuse	Texas
First Downs	12	10
Yards Rushing	133	145
Yards Passing	181	99
Total Yards	314	244
Punts-Average	6–33.3	5–42.4
Fumbles-Lost	4–3	1–1
Interceptions	1	1
Penalties-Yards	6–67	7–61.5

Source:

References

1. "Prospects of muddy gridiron loom for Orange-Texas clash". Schenectady Gazette. (New York). Associated Press. January 1, 1960. p. 15.
2. "Underdog Texas meets mighty Syracuse Orange". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 1, 1960. p. 27.
3. ^ "Syracuse tops Texas, 23-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1960. p. 5.
4. "Bowl Schedule". The Item. Sumter, South Carolina. AP. December 31, 1959. p. 8. Retrieved June 10, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Syracuse remains bitter after Cotton win". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 2, 1960. p. 6.
6. "38-49.pmd" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 11, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.

External links

• Cotton Bowl Classic – January 1, 1960

• 1959–60 NCAA football bowl games
• Cotton Bowl Classic
• Syracuse Orange football bowl games
• Texas Longhorns football bowl games
• January 1960 sports events in the United States
• 1960 in sports in Texas