1979 Cotton Bowl

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=1979 Cotton Bowl Classic
Date=January 1, 1979
Year=1978
Visitor School=University of Houston
Visitor Name Short=Houston
Visitor Nickname=Cougars
Visitor Record=9-2
Visitor

Visitor Coaches=
Visitor Coach=Jack Pardee
Visitor1=7
Visitor2=13
Visitor3=14
Visitor4=0
Visitor Total=34
Home School=University of Notre Dame
Home Name Short=Notre Dame
Home Nickname=Fighting Irish
Home Record=8-3
Home

Home Coaches=
Home Coach=Dan Devine
Home1=12
Home2=0
Home3=0
Home4=23
Home Total=35
Type=bg
Stadium=Cotton Bowl
City=Dallas, Texas, USA
Odds=
Attendance=32,500
MVP=
Anthem=
Halftime=
Referee=
US Network=
US Announcers=

The 1979 Cotton Bowl, popularly called the Chicken Soup Game, was a football game played between the University of Notre Dame and the University of Houston. The game took place on an unusually cold day in Dallas, Texas, and quarterback Joe Montana, who had the flu, led Notre Dame to a come-from-behind victory in the second half after eating a bowl of chicken soup. [Dave Anderson, "Joe Cool Has Coped With Cold." "New York Times", January 18, 1994, http://www.proquest.com/ (accessed November 26, 2007).]

The game

In the first quarter, Notre Dame scored the first 12 points of the game and ended 12-0. In the second quarter, aided by the direction of the wind, Houston responded with 20 consecutive points. When the teams returned to the field to start the second half, Joe Montana remained in the locker room.cite web|title=Greatest Bowl Games |work=espn.com |url=http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/bestbowls.html |accessdate=2007-07-22]

During the game, Montana's body temperature had dipped to 96 degrees and he had to fight off hypothermia. He was forced to retire to the locker room where the ND medical staff warmed Montana by feeding him chicken bouillon, and by covering him with warm blankets.cite web|title=Born to be a quarterback |work=cnnsi.com |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/centurys_best/news/1999/08/13/flashback_montana2/ |accessdate=2007-07-22]

By the fourth quarter, Houston had built a 34-12 lead over Notre Dame. Montana returned to the field with 7:37 remaining on the game clock and was cheered actively by the Notre Dame fans. In the last seconds of the game, Notre Dame was behind, but had possession of the ball. With six seconds left, Montana threw the ball out of bounds, which stopped the game clock and just two seconds remained.

The final play was a touchdown pass to receiver Kris Haines after the clock had stopped; placekicker Joe Unis was forced to kick the extra point twice after a Notre Dame penalty, but was successful both times, and Notre Dame won the game 35-34. [Mike Jones, "Irish windfall thaws UH lead, 35-34," "Dallas Morning News", January 2, 1979, http://www.whas11.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/cottonbowl/history/1979.html (accessed November 26, 2007).]

Aftermath

The game is one of the most notable games in Montana's entire football career (both collegiate and professional). It was his final game for Notre Dame and helped to reinforce his image with football fans as "The Comeback Kid." Six-months after the game, Notre Dame put out a promotional film called "Seven and a Half Minutes to Destiny." Dan Devine, Notre Dame's then head coach, called the movie a "Joe Montana film."

Years later, the game has been recognized as an important game in bowl game history.

References

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nd/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/FBRecSuppBowlRecaps.pdf

External links

* [http://www.irishlegends.com/Pages/reflections/reflections4.html Irishlegends.com] - Review of the game