Cotton Bowl
1946
Texas 40
Missouri 27
By FRED MALY
San Antonio Express
COTTON
BOWL, Dallas, Tex., Jan. 1.- Touchdown splattered all over the gridiron
here this afternoon in the Southwest's classic Cotton Bowl grid
attraction with Texas University Longhorns, the host team of the
occasion finally gaining a 40 to 27 decision over the Missouri Tiger
champions of the Big Six.
Defensive football was smashed to smithereens as touchdowns bombed the goal lines, Texas getting six and Missouri four, and a crowd of 46,000 had its fill of scoring sensations.
In the opening quarter Texas scored every time it got its hands on the ball but once. Missouri's game Tigers did almost as well, crushing the vaunted Longhorn lines with wild runs and slashing tackle breaks; it just took them longer with a running game.
The Longhorns went the aerial way for their counters, actually completing thirteen of fourteen attempted passes. Bobby Layne, Ralph Ellsworth, Joe Baumgardner and Ransom Jackson had a dizzy afternoon for the Steers, if that counted for anything in evaluating the Texas stars.
Leonard Brown, William Dellastatious, Loyd.Brinkman, Bob Hopkins represented their repressible rushing urge of the Missouri Tigers, who piled up 408 yards through ground plays alone.
Texas' thirteen successful passes amassed a total of 264 yards and figured in all of the touchdowns made by the Steers.
The Longhorns scored after seven minute's-of the first quarter. After thwarting a Tiger drive, Layne took Kekeris' punt and six plays later Baumgardner finished off a touchdown move by taking a 35-yard pass and running the rest of the way for score.
Within two minutes, the Tigers evened the score, oddly enough by a pass, when Deliastatious chunked a weird pass to Roland Oakes, who made the 67 necessary yards good for score
Bobby Layne put over Texas’ second touchdown just a few plays later, a combination of passes and Ellsworth's weaving running helping to mould the score.
Missouri executed a 62-yard march to tie the score at 14-all in the second period, gaining power on Texas' second team with such impetus that not even the Longhorns' first could stem the tide, Dellastatious scoring.
But Texas, surged' ahead, on the following kickoff, when Jackson, faking off a Statue of Liberty play, heaved a long one to Bechtol, which culminated 57 yards to the Tiger 13-yard line, with Bobby Layne on the final business end. The first half ended with Texas leading Missouri, 21 to 14.
Oddly" enough, the ball had changed hands only twice in the first half, and only one punt by Missouri, was forced, with Texas completing six straight passes.
Texas recovered a fumble early in the third period on Missouri's 19-yard line to put together its fourth touchdown, Layne passing to Baumgardner for the count.
Missouri roared back with a burning 93-yard march to narrow, the score, Hopkins' 26 yard jaunt around Bechtol's end, and Jonnett's 21-yard run to the goal line keynoting the event.
But,
taking the subsequent kickoff on its own 20, Texas blithely produced its
fifth touchdown, a spectacular 51 yard pass by Ellsworth to Layne making
the kill.
Then Missouri came again. In 13 plays the Tigers covered 80 yards, and put themselves very much in the ball game with the score now Texas 33 and Missouri 27.
Hopkins broke loose for 4 yards to Texas' 30 to launch the Tigers' fourth touchdown, and it was still Hopkins who in the final analysis finished it off with the touchdown .marker.
The game was drawing near its end when Texas fully decided the issue. Layne got over another pass to Bechtol, this time for 21 yards, and a lateral Ellsworth to Layne, put the latter into the scoring spot for the sixth Texas touchdown and the game's 10th.
Such unprecedented scoring of course, as dashed off by the Texas and Missouri elevens was almost a burlesque of the good game of football. But, if it was scoring that fans wanted, they got it; yet it was highly noticeable that towards the end a touchdown brought only slight applausive response.
Hub Bechtol catches pass form Bobby Layne and carries to the Missouri one yard line in the fourth quarter. Texas scored two plays later.
Missouri Halfback William Dellastatious scores in the second period.
Bobby Layne was the MVP
Bobby Layne (33) and Joe Baumgardner (11) break up a Missouri pass.
Hub Bechtol carries for Texas.
Although there wasn't much defense in this game, Missouri's defense stops Texas here.
Attendance- 46,000
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
UT- Baumgardner 48 yard pass from Layne (Layne kick)
MU- Oakes 51 yard pass from Dellastatious (Kekeris kick)
UT- Layne 1 run (Layne kick)
Second Quarter
MU- Dellastatious 3 run (Kekeris kick)
UT- Layne 10 run (Layne kick)
Third Quarter
UT- Baumgardner 15 yard pass from Layne (Layne kick blocked)
Fourth Quarter
MU- Bennett 21 run (Kekeris kick)
UT- Layne 50 yard pass from Ellsworth (Rooster Andrews pass failed)
MU- Hopkins 1 run (Kekeris kick blocked)
UT- Layne 2 run (Layne kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
MU- Hopkins 16-125, Brown 18-121
Passing
UT- Layne 11-12-158
Receiving
UT- Bechtol 8-138, Layne 1-50
