Cotton Bowl
1986
Texas A&M 36
Auburn 16
Fifty years of history, a Heisman Trophy winner and a team making its first New Year’s Day appearance in Dallas in 18 years presented the Cotton Bowl a unique twist for its Golden Anniversary game (video). Texas A&M, a school rich in tradition but absent from the Cotton Bowl since 1968, brought a sparkling 9-2 record to Dallas to face Auburn. At 8-3, the Tigers had finished fifth in the Southeastern Conference. However, with the presence of running back Bo Jackson, Auburn was very much in the nation’s eye. Jackson gave the Cotton Bowl its second consecutive Heisman winner. And, true to the 50’s theme, Jackson was the 50th player to win the coveted award as college football’s outstanding player.
As for Auburn, the Tigers were playing in their second golden anniversary game. In 1984, Auburn had participated in the 50th Sugar Bowl Classic. As for the two coaches, A&M’s Jackie Sherrill had once played under Auburn’s Pat Dye when Dye was an assistant coach at Alabama. It seemed the ironies of coincidence were endless.
While Auburn
relied primarily on its Heisman winner, A&M was more balanced.
Offensively, the Aggies were averaging 419.3 yards per contest.
Defensively, the numbers were just as impressive, yielding just 281.9
yards per game. A&M dominated the SWC in both categories. Still, Jackson
gained the lion’s share of the media attention during Cotton Bowl week.
But, waiting in the wings for the spotlight to shine was A&M quarterback
Kevin Murray. Murray virtually robbed the Auburn defense blind, passing
for a record 292 yards. By halftime, his passing total of 184 yards was
good enough to place ninth in the bowl’s record book. But, at that
point, he barely had gotten started. The first two quarters saw the lead
change hands four times, Auburn scored first, followed by a pair of A&M
touchdowns. With the Aggies holding a 12-7 lead, Jackson then turned a
routine screen pass into a 73-yard scoring play to move the Tigers back
in front, 13-12. A Scott Slater field goal just before the half gave A&M
a 15-13 advantage heading into the third quarter. By the time the fourth
period rolled around, A&M still was clinging to a slim 21-16 lead.
But, Auburn was ready to challenge. Moving from their own six-yard line,
the Tigers chewed almost eight minutes off the clock. As the third
quarter came to an end, Auburn had driven to the A&M six. It took the
Tigers 14 plays to move 88 yards. Now, with a first-and-goal situation
on the Aggies’ doorstep, Auburn was primed to regain the lead. However,
that’s when A&M erected its brick wall. Three consecutive bursts by
Jackson netted only four yards. With fourth down at the two, the
decision was to go with Jackson one more time. It may have been the
game’s biggest play. The Heisman winner drove into the middle of the
line only to come face-to-face with A&M’s freshman linebacker Basil
Jackson. The play lost a yard, and maybe more for Auburn. A&M’s goal
line stand was short-lived, however.
Auburn held the Aggies to one first down and soon was threatening again, moving to the A&M 27. But, another fourth down situation left the Tigers two yards short. Jackson again got the call, and the A&M defense broke up the play.
With Auburn’s scoring threats put to rest, Murray took charge. It took the Aggie sophomore just nine plays to seal the A&M victory. Two long pass plays moved the Aggies into scoring position. On second down at the Auburn nine, Murray connected with running back Keith Woodside for the touchdown with 2:22 left to play. A two-point conversion pushed A&M to a 29-16 lead. Seconds later, strong safety Domingo Bryant snagged his second pass interception of the day to set the Aggies up for one last score. It came with just three seconds left when Anthony Toney powered over from the one, wrapping up a hard-earned Aggie victory, 36-16.
The "Wrecking Crew" buries Bo
Bo carries in Cotton Bowl
Woodside carries for A&M
Attendance- 73,137
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
AU- Jackson 5 run (Johnson kick)
A&M- Johnson 11 run (kick failed)
A&M- Woodside 22 run (pass failed)
Second Quarter
AU- Jackson 73 pass from Washington (run failed)
A&M- FG Slater 26
Third Quarter
A&M- Toney 21 run (pass failed)
AU- FG Johnson 26
Fourth Quarter
A&M- Woodside 9 pass from Murray (Bernstine run)
A&M- Toney 1 run (Slater kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
AU- Jackson 31-129, Agee 5-36, Ware 8-31, Fullwood 5-25
A&M- Toney 17-22, Vick 15-67, Woodside 3-32, Johnson 5-22
Passing
AU- Washington 2-7-82, Burger 5-10-72
A&M- Murray 16-26-292
Receiving
AU- Jackson 2-73, Parks 2-32, Waygand 1-31
A&M- Bernstine 6-108, Woodside 3-88, Walker 3-40
