| 1945 Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 9th Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1945 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1944 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Cotton Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | End
Neill Armstrong (Oklahoma A&M) RB Bob Fenimore (Oklahoma A&M) DT Ralph Foster (Texas) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Harry Viner (
SWC; split crew: SWC, Missouri Valley) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 37,500 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1945 Cotton Bowl Classic featured the TCU Horned Frogs and the Oklahoma A&M Cowboys. [1]
Background
Oklahoma A&M won the Missouri Valley Conference and had only lost to Norman NAS (a naval team). TCU was lucky to be there, with a 7–2–1 record and 3–1–1 conference record. This was Oklahoma A&M's first bowl game. [2]
Game summary
The game started with and ended with an Oklahoma A&M touchdown. Bob Fenimore had two touchdown runs with additional touchdowns by Jim Spavital, Joe Thomas, and Mack Creage the game was dominated by A&M, who had long drives of 59, 61, 62, 40, and 66 all result in touchdowns while TCU turned the ball over twice and let Oklahoma A&M run the ball 60 times in one of the more lopsided Cotton Bowl games. [3] [4]
Aftermath
Oklahoma A&M would win the Sugar Bowl the year after, but they would not reach another Cotton Bowl until 2003 (now known as Oklahoma State) and has not won one since the 1945 game. TCU would reach the Cotton Bowl four more times from 1951 to 1958.
| Statistics | TCU | Oklahoma A&M |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 5 | 20 |
| Yards Rushing | 74 | 295 |
| Yards Passing | 31 | 199 |
| Total Yards | 105 | 494 |
| Punts-Average | 8-34.3 | 6-26.3 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 5-25 | 7-75 |
References
- ^ "9th Classic, 1945 - 2023-24 - Cotton Bowl Classics History". Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ Cox, Kyle (July 3, 2019). "Wayback Wednesday: OSU's First Bowl Game, the 1945 Cotton Bowl". Pistols Firing. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ "14-25.pmd (PDF)" (PDF). Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ "1945 Cotton Bowl Classic Recap". Oklahoma State University Athletics. Retrieved July 30, 2023.