1989 Cotton Bowl

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=1989 Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic


Date=January 2, 1989
Year=1988
Visitor School=UCLA
Visitor Name Short=UCLA
Visitor Nickname=Bruins
Visitor Record=9-2
Visitor

Visitor Coaches=
Visitor BCS=
Visitor Coach=Terry Donahue
Visitor1=0
Visitor2=14
Visitor3=0
Visitor4=3
Visitor Total=17
Home School=University of Arkansas
Home Name Short=Arkansas
Home Nickname=Razorbacks
Home Record=10-1
Home

Home Coaches=
Home BCS=
Home Coach=Ken Hatfield
Home1=0
Home2=0
Home3=3
Home4=0
Home Total=3
Type=bg
Stadium=Cotton Bowl
City=Dallas, Texas, USA
Odds=
Attendance=74,304
MVP=Troy Aikman (UCLA) offense
LaSalle Harber (Arkansas) defense
Anthem=
Halftime=UCLA Band, University of Arkansas Razorback Marching Band, Kilgore Rangerettes, U.S. Marine Band
Referee=
US Network=CBS
US Announcers=Verne Lundquist and Pat Haden

The 1989 Mobil Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1989, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, USA. The game was played on January 2, the day after New Year's Day, since New Year's day fell on a Sunday. The bowl game featured the Arkansas Razorbacks from the Southwest Conference and the UCLA Bruins from the Pacific-10 Conference and was televised in the United States on CBS. Troy Aikman, the UCLA Quarterback and LaSalle Harper, an Arkansas Linebacker were named the Most Valuable Players of the game.

Game invitation

Arkansas Razorbacks

The 1988 Arkansas Razorbacks football team was undefeated through Southwest Conference play. In the final regular season game, the #3 Miami Hurricanes defeated the Razorbacks 16-18. Arkansas was invited to the Cotton Bowl as the winner of the Southwest Conference.

UCLA Bruins

Going into the UCLA-USC rivalry game, UCLA was 9-1 and had been ranked #1 for a couple of weeks earlier. Eric Ball, the 1986 Rose Bowl MVP had a crucial fumble in the UCLA vs Washington State game, when the #1 ranked Bruins were upset at home by the Cougars 34-30. [JAY HOVDEY. Unbeaten U.C.L.A. Is Upset. New York Times. October 30. 1988 Quote:"U.C.L.A.'s best running play ended when the tailback Eric Ball fumbled at the Bruin 37 after a gain of 17 yards. The fumble occurred midway through the third quarter, when U.C.L.A. led, 27-13. Five plays later, Washington State scored the second of four successive touchdowns. The fumble was typical of the seesaw nature of the game."] The game was one of the notable ones in the UCLA-USC rivalry in that it was for the PAC-10 championship, a possible Heisman Trophy for either Troy Aikman of UCLA or Rodney Peete of USC. It was also for the Rose Bowl berth. Rodney Peete was found to have measles in the days before the game. USC used a strong ground game and "bend but don't break" defense, in front of the largest Rose Bowl Stadium regular season crowd in history, to beat the Bruins 31-22. The Cotton Bowl agreed to take the team that would not be going to the 1989 Rose Bowl.

Pre-game buildup

Game summary

First quarter

No Score

econd quarter

*UCLA — Mark Estwick, one-yard run. Alfredo Velasco converts.
*UCLA — Corwin Anthony, one-yard pass from Troy Aikman. Velasco converts.

Third quarter

*Arkansas — Kendall Trainor, 49-yard field goal.

Fourth quarter

*UCLA — Velasco, 32-yard field goal.

References

Bibliography

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE6D9133AF930A35752C0A96F948260 Bruins, Led by Aikman, Win 7th Bowl in a Row.] Associated Press, January 3, 1989
*McNabb, David - [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/cottonbowl/history/1989.html Arkansas finds nowhere to roam UCLA yields 42 yards, wins Cotton, 17-3] . Dallas Morning News, January 3, 1989
*UCLA Bruins football media guide (PDF copy available at [http://www.uclabruins.com www.uclabruins.com] )

External links

* [http://www.attcottonbowl.com/main/ AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic official site]