1975 Cotton Bowl Classic

1975 Cotton Bowl Classic
1975 Cotton Bowl Classic
39th Cotton Bowl Classic
Penn State Nittany Lions	Baylor Bears
(9–2)	(8–3)
Independent	SWC
41	20
Head coach: ; Joe Paterno	Head coach: ; Grant Teaff
AP	Coaches
7	6
AP	Coaches
12	12
Date	January 1, 1975
Season	1974
Stadium	Cotton Bowl
Location	Dallas, Texas
MVP	QB Tom Shuman (Penn State); S Ken Quesenberry (Baylor)
Referee	McDuff Simpson (SWC;; split crew: SWC, ECAC)
Attendance	68,500
United States TV coverage
Network	CBS

The 1975 Cotton Bowl Classic was played between the Baylor Bears and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Background

Baylor did the Miracle on the Brazos, winning the Southwest Conference championship for the first time since 1924, doing so after starting the season 0–2 by going 8–1 the rest of the way. They only lost one conference game (to A&M, who had two), but their most memorable win was against Texas, in which they came back from a 24–7 halftime deficit and beat the Longhorns for the first time in 17 years. This was Baylor's first Cotton Bowl Classic. The Nittany Lions were making their third appearance and second in the decade.

Game summary

Steve Beaird gave the Bears the lead when he scored on a 4-yard touchdown run as the first quarter ended. Penn State retaliated with a Chris Bahr field goal with 1:09 left to narrow the lead to 7–3 at halftime. The Nittany Lions scored first with a Tom Donchez touchdown run. Baylor scored back with a Ricky Thompson touchdown catch from Neal Jeffrey. But Penn state scored on a Jimmy Cefalo catch from Tom Shuman as the Nittany Lions led 17–14 going into the fourth quarter. Things started to fall apart for the Bears in the fourth quarter. Jimmy Cefalo scored on a touchdown run to increase the lead. Bahr added in a field goal, and Mike Johnson intercepted a pass which led to a Shuman touchdown run. Running out of time, Thompson caught a touchdown pass from Mark Jackson with :14 left, missing the conversion. To add insult to injury, Joe Jackson returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, making it 41–20 as the final seconds ticked off, giving Penn State their second Cotton Bowl Classic win.^[1]

Statistics

Statistics	Penn State	Baylor
First Downs	23	20
Yards Rushing	265	138
Yards Passing	226	175
Total Yards	491	313
Punts-Average	2-36.5	6-34.0
Fumbles-Lost	3-2	4-0
Interceptions	0	2
Penalties-Yards	8-70	7-45

References

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

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