SWC75
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(This is a reprint form a couple of eyars back. Orangeyes' article on the histyory of the Cotton Bowl brought it to mind.)
There was some discussion in an earlier post on the way New Years was in the old days and which bowl seemed to get the best match-ups. I decided to see which of the traditional four New Year’s Day bowl games had drawn the best match-ups in the years before the BCS, and its immediate predecessor, the Bowl Alliance (1995-97 when the Cotton Bowl was first excluded). The Rose Bowl began in 1901, the Orange and Sugar in 1935 and the Cotton in 1937. The AP, (writer’s), Poll began in 1936, the UPI, (coach’s) poll in 1950. I‘ll look at 1/1/37-1/1/95 and rank the teams according to their highest ranking in either pool. The “champion” bowl is the one with the lowest combined rankings. Any unranked team is given #26.
In the Beginning
1/1/37: Orange- Duquesne (#14) 13 Mississippi St. (UR) 12; Sugar- Santa Clara (#6) 21 LSU (#2) 14; Cotton- TCU (#16) 16 Marquette (#20) 6; Rose- Pittsburgh (#3) 21 Washington (#5) 0. THE WINNER: Rose and Sugar are tied.
1/1/38: Orange- Auburn (UR) 6 Michigan St. (UR) 0; Sugar- Santa Clara (#8) 6 LSU (#4) 0; Cotton- Rice (#18) 28 Colorado (#17) 14; Rose- California (#2) 13 Alabama (#4) 0. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/39: Orange- Tennessee (#2) 17 Oklahoma (#4) 0; Sugar- TCU (#1) 15 Carnegie Tech (UR) 7; Cotton- St. Mary’s (UR) 20 Texas Tech (#11) 13; Rose- USC (#7) 7 Duke (#3) 3. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/40: Orange- Georgia Tech (#16) 21 Missouri (#6) 7; Sugar- Texas A&M (#1) 14 Tulane (#5) 13; Cotton: Clemson (#12) 6 Boston College (#11) 3; Rose- USC (#3) 14 Tennessee (#2) 0. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/41: Orange- Mississippi St. (#9) 14 Georgetown (#13) 7; Sugar- Boston College (#5) 19 Tennessee (#4) 13; Cotton: Texas A&M (#6) 13 Fordham (#12) 12; Rose- Stanford 21 (#2 Nebraska (#7) 13. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/42: Orange- Georgia (#14) 40 TCU (UR) 26; Sugar- Fordham (#6) 2 Missouri (#7) 0; Cotton: Alabama (#20) 29 Duke (#9) 26; Rose- Oregon State (#12) 20 Duke (#2) 16. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/43: Orange- Alabama (#10) 37 Boston College (#8) 21; Sugar- Tennessee (#6) 14 Tulsa (#7) 7; Cotton: Texas (#14) 14 Georgia Tech (#13) 7; Rose- Georgia (#2) 9 UCLA (#13) 0. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/44: Orange- LSU (UR) 19 Texas A&M (UR) 14; Sugar- Georgia Tech (#13) 20 Tulsa (#15) 14; Cotton: Randolph Field (UR) 7 Texas (#14) 7; Rose- USC (UR) Washington (UR) 0. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl (Note: during the war, many of the ranked teams were service teams so there were more unranked teams in college bowl games.)
1/1/45: Orange- Tulsa (UR) 26 Georgia Tech (#13) 12; Sugar- Duke (#11) 29 Alabama (UR) 26; Cotton: Oklahoma A&M (“State”-UR) 34 TCU (UR) 0; Rose- USC (#11) 25 Tennessee (#14) 0. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/46: Orange- Miami (UR) 13 Holy Cross (#16) 6; Sugar- Oklahoma A&M (#5) 33 St. Mary’s 13 (#7) 13; Cotton: Texas (#10) 40 Missouri (UR) 27; Rose- Alabama (#2) 34 USC (#11) 14. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/47: Orange- Rice (#10) 8 Tennessee (#7) 0; Sugar- Georgia (#3) 20 North Carolina (#9) 10; Cotton: LSU (#8) 0 Arkansas (#16) 0; Rose- Illinois (#5) 45 UCLA (#4) 14 THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/48: Orange- Georgia Tech (#10) 20 Kansas (#12) 14; Sugar- Texas (#5) 27 Alabama (#6) 7; Cotton: SMU (#3)13 Penn State (#4) 13; Rose- Michigan (#1) 49 USC (#8) 0. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/49: Orange- Texas 41 (UR) Georgia (#8) 28; Sugar- Oklahoma 14 (#5) 14 North Carolina (#3) 6; Cotton: SMU (#10) 21 Oregon (#9) 13; Rose- Northwestern (#7) 20 California (#4) 14. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
Summary: The Orange Bowl was kind of a backwater in this period. Only in 1939 did they have the best match-up. The Cotton Bowl was no better with a sole win in 1948. It’s interesting that the #1 ranked TCU and Texas A&M teams of 1938-39 went to the Sugar Bowl, rather than the Cotton Bowl. New Orleans even won the period from the much more ancient and renowned Rose Bowl, 7-5
1950’s
1/1/50 Orange- Santa Clara (#15) 21 Kentucky (#11) 13; Sugar- Oklahoma (#2) 35 LSU (#9) 0; Cotton: Rice (#5) 27 North Carolina (#16) 13; Rose- Ohio State (#6) 17 California (#3) 14. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/51: Orange- Clemson (#10) 15 Miami (#13) 14; Sugar- Kentucky (#7) 13 Oklahoma (#1) 7; Cotton: Tennessee (#3) 20 Texas (#2) 14; Rose- Michigan (#6) 14 California (#4) 6. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/52: Orange- Georgia Tech (#5) 17 Baylor (#9) 14; Sugar- Maryland (#3) 28 Tennessee (#1) 13; Cotton: Kentucky (#15) 20 TCU (#10) 7; Rose- Illinois (#3) 40 Stanford (#7) 7. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/53: Orange- Alabama (#9) 61 Syracuse (#14) 6 Sugar- Georgia Tech (#2) 24 Mississippi (#7) 7; Cotton: Texas (#10) 16 Tennessee (#8) 0; Rose- USC (#4) Wisconsin (#10) 0. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/54: Orange- Oklahoma (#4) 7 Maryland (#1) 0; Sugar- Georgia Tech (#8) 42 West Virginia (#10) 19; Cotton: Rice (#6) 28 Alabama (#11) 6; Rose- Michigan St. (#3) 28 UCLA (#4) 20. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/55: Orange- Duke (#14) 34 Nebraska (NR) 7; Sugar- Navy (#5) 21 Mississippi (#6) 0; Cotton: Georgia Tech (#11) 14 Arkansas (#8) 6; Rose- Ohio State (#1) 20 USC (#11) 7 THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/56: Orange- Oklahoma (#1) 20 Maryland (#3) 6; Sugar- Georgia Tech (#7) 7 Pittsburgh (#11) 0; Cotton: Mississippi (#9) TCU (#6) 13; Rose- Michigan State (#2) 17 UCLA #4) 14. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/57: Orange- Colorado (#18) 27 Clemson (#19) 21; Sugar- Baylor (#11) 13 Tennessee (#2) 7 ; Cotton: TCU (#14) 28 Syracuse (#8) 27; Rose- Iowa (#3) 35 Oregon St. (#10) 19 THE WINNER: Sugar and Rose are tied
1/1/58: Orange- Oklahoma (#4) 48 Duke (#14) 21; Sugar- Mississippi (#7) 39 Texas (#11) 7; Cotton: Navy (#5) 20 (Rice #7) 7; Rose- Ohio State (#1) 10 Oregon (#17) 7. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/59: Orange- Oklahoma (#5) 21 (Syracuse (#9) 6; Sugar- LSU (#1) 7 Clemson (#12) 0; Cotton: Air Force (#6) 0 TCU (#8) 0; Rose- Iowa (#2) 38 California (#16) 12. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
Summary: The Sugar Bowl dominated the decade with 5 wins. The other bowls had two each.
1960’s
1/1/60: Orange- Georgia (#5) 14 Missouri (#18) 0; Sugar- Mississippi (#2) 21 LSU (#3) 0; Cotton: Syracuse (#1) 23 Texas (#4) 14; Rose- Washington (#7) 44 Wisconsin (#6) 8. THE WINNER: Sugar and Cotton are tied.
1/1/61: Orange- Missouri (#4) 21 Navy (#4) 14 Sugar- Mississippi (#2) 14 Rice (UR) 6; Cotton: Arkansas (#7) 7 Duke (#10) 6; Rose- Washington (#5) 17 Minnesota (#1) 7. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/62: Orange- LSU (#3) 25 Colorado (7) 7; Sugar- Alabama (#1) 10 Arkansas (#8) 3; Cotton: Texas (#3) 12 Mississippi, (#5) 7; Rose- Minnesota (#6) 21 UCLA, (#16) 3. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/63: Orange- Alabama (#5) 17 Oklahoma (#8) 0; Sugar- Mississippi (#2) 17 Arkansas (#6) 13; Cotton: LSU (#7) Texas (#4) 0; Rose- USC (#1) 42 Wisconsin (#2) 37 0. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/64: Orange- Nebraska (#5) 13 Auburn (#5) 7; Sugar- Alabama (#8) 12 Mississippi (#7) 7; Cotton: Texas (#1) 28 Navy (#2) 6; Rose- Illinois (#3) 17 Washington (#15) 7. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/65: Orange- Texas (#5) 21 Alabama (#1) 17; Sugar- LSU (#7) 13 Syracuse (#12) 10: Cotton: Arkansas (#2) 10 Nebraska (#6) 7; Rose- Michigan (#4) 24 Oregon St. (#8) 7. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/66: Orange- Alabama (#4) 39 Nebraska (#3) 28; Sugar- Missouri (#6) 20 Florida (#12) 18: Cotton: LSU (#14) 14 Arkansas (#2) 7; Rose- UCLA (#5) 14 Michigan State (#1) 12. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl (Note: The AP did a post bowl vote so I used the UPI rankings)
1/1/67: Orange- Florida (#11) 27 Georgia Tech (#8) 12; Sugar- Alabama (#3) 34 Nebraska (#6) 7: Cotton: Georgia (#4) 24 SMU (#9) 9; Rose- Purdue (#6) 14 USC (#18) 13. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/68: Orange- Oklahoma (#3) 26 Tennessee (#2) 24; Sugar- LSU (UR) 20 Wyoming (#5) 13: Cotton: Texas A&M (UR) 20 Alabama (#7) 16; Rose- USC (#1) 14 Indiana (#4) 3. THE WINNER: Orange and Rose tied
1/1/69: Orange- Penn State (#2) 15 Kansas (#6) 14; Sugar- Arkansas (#9) 16 Georgia (#4) 2: Cotton: Texas (#5) 36 Tennessee (#7) 13; Rose- Ohio State (#1) 27 USC (#2) 16. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl (From 1968-74 the AP had a post bowl poll: the UPI did not. I’m using the UPI rankings for this period).
Summary: The Rose Bowl was the main focus of the decade with 5 wins but the Cotton Bowl also did well with 3.
1970’s
1/1/70: Orange- Penn State (#2) 10 Missouri (#6) 3; Sugar- Mississippi (#13) 27 Arkansas (#3) 22: Cotton: Texas (#1) 21 Notre Dame (#9) 17; Rose- USC , (#4) 10 Michigan (#8) 3. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/71: Orange- Nebraska (#3) 17 LSU (#6) 12; Sugar- Tennessee (#4) 34 Air Force (#11) 13: Cotton: Notre Dame (#5) 24 Texas (#1) 11; Rose- Stanford (#10) 27 Ohio State (#2) 17. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/72: Orange- Nebraska (#1) 38 Alabama (#2) 6; Sugar- Oklahoma (#3) 40 Auburn (#5) 22: Cotton: Penn State (#11) 30 Texas (#12) 6; Rose- Stanford (#16) 13 Michigan #4) 12. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/73: Orange- Nebraska (#9) 40 Notre Dame ( #12) 6; Sugar- Oklahoma (#2) 14 Penn State (#8) 0: Cotton: Texas (#5) 17 Alabama #4) 13; Rose- USC (#1) 42 Ohio State #3) 17. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/74: Orange- Penn State (#5) 16 LSU (#14) 9; Sugar- Notre Dame (#4) 24 Alabama (#1) 23: Cotton: Nebraska (#11) 16 Texas (#9) 3; Rose- Ohio St. (#3) 42 USC (#7) 21. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/75: Orange- Notre Dame (#4) 13 Alabama (#2) 11; Sugar- Nebraska (#8) 13 Florida (#12) 10: Cotton: Penn State (#7) 41 Baylor (#14) 20; Rose- USC, (#1) 18 Ohio St. (#3) 17. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/76: Orange- Oklahoma (#1) 14 Michigan (#8) 6; Sugar-Alabama (#3) 13 Penn State (#10) 6: Cotton: Arkansas (#6) 31 Georgia (#19) 10; Rose- UCLA (#5) 23 Ohio State (#4) 10. THE WINNER: Orange and Rose tied (From 1975 onward both polls did votes after the bowls and that’s all the NCAA Guide shows so the rankings are not the ones the schools had at the time the match-up was made. I’m assuming that the winner went up about as much as the loser went down in most cases but there may be few years in 1976-98 in which a different match-up other than the “winner” was the best one going in.)
1/1/77: Orange- Ohio State (#5) 27 Colorado (#16) 10 ; Sugar- Pittsburgh (#1) 27 Georgia (#10) 3: Cotton: Houston (#4) 30 Maryland (#8) 21; Rose- USC (#2) 14 Michigan (#3) 6. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/78: Orange- Arkansas (#3) 31 Oklahoma (6) 6; Sugar- Alabama (#2) 35 Ohio State (#11) 6: Cotton: Notre Dame (#1) 38 Texas (#4) 10; Rose- Washington (#8) 27 Michigan (#9) 20. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/79: Orange- Oklahoma (#3) 31 Nebraska (#8) 24; Sugar- Alabama (#1) 14 Penn State (#4) 7: Cotton: Notre Dame (#6) 35 Houston (#10) 34; Rose- USC (#1) 17 Michigan (#5) 10. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
Summary: The Rose Bowl won the decade with 4 bests but there was good balance as each Bowl had the best match-up at least twice.
1980’s
1/1/80: Orange- Oklahoma (#3) 24 Florida State, (#5) 7; Sugar- Alabama (#1) 24 Arkansas (#8) 9: Cotton: Houston (#5) 17 Nebraska (#7) 14; Rose- USC (#2) 17 Ohio State (#4) 16. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/81: Orange- Oklahoma (#3) 18 Florida St. (#5) 17; Sugar- Georgia (#1) 17 Notre Dame (#9) 10: Cotton: Alabama, ((#6) 30 Baylor (#14) 2; Rose- Michigan (#4) 23 Washington (#16) 6. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/82: Orange- Clemson (#1) 22 Nebraska (#9) 15; Sugar- Pittsburgh (#2) 24 Georgia (#5) 20: Cotton: Texas (2) 14 Alabama (#6) 12; Rose- Washington (#7) 28 Iowa, (#15) 0. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/83: Orange- Nebraska (#3) 21 LSU (#11) 20; Sugar- Penn St. (#1) 27 Georgia (#4) 23: Cotton: SMU (#2) 7 Pittsburgh (#9) 3; Rose- UCLA (#5) 24 Michigan (#15) 14. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/84: Orange- Miami (#1) 31 Nebraska (2) 30; Sugar- Auburn (#3) 9 Michigan (#9) 7: Cotton: Georgia (#4) 10 Texas #5) 9; Rose- UCLA (#13) 45 Illinois (#10) 9. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/85: Orange- Washington (#2) 28 Oklahoma (#6) 17; Sugar- Nebraska (#3) 28 LSU (#15) 10: Cotton: Boston College (#4) 45 Houston (NR) 28; Rose- USC (#9) 20 Ohio State (#12) 17. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/86: Orange- Oklahoma (#1) 25 Penn State (#3) 10; Sugar- Tennessee (#4) 35 Maimi (#8) 7: Cotton: Texas A&M (#6) 36 Auburn (NR) 16; Rose- UCLA (#6) 45 Iowa (#9) 28. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/87: Orange- Oklahoma (#3) 42 Arkansas (#15) 9; Sugar- Nebraska (#10) 30 LSU (#20) 15: Cotton: Ohio St. (#6) 28 Texas A&M (#12) 12; Rose- Arizona St. (#4) 22 Michigan (#7) 15. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/88: Orange- Miami (#1) 20 Oklahoma (#3) 14; Sugar- Syracuse (#4) 16 Auburn (#7) 16: Cotton: Texas A&M (#9) 35 Notre Dame (#17) 10; Rose- Michigan St. (#8) 20 USC (#17) 17 THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/89: Orange- Miami (#2) 23 Nebraska (#10) 3; Sugar- Florida St. (#3) 13 Auburn (#7) 7: Cotton: UCLA (#6) 17 Arkansas (#12) 3; Rose- Michigan (#4) 22 USC (#7) 15. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
Summary: The Orange Bowl reached the top with 4 winners to two each for the Sugar and Rose Bowls. The Cotton Bowl was shut out in the 80’s. The Southwest Conference was in decline in this period as all the teams were getting on probation trying to compete with eachother, whcih ultimately led to the demise of the conferecne and the reduction in importance of the Cotton Bowl.
1990’s
1/1/90: Orange- Notre Dame (#2) 21 Colorado (#4) 6; Sugar- Miami (#1) 33 Alabama (#7) 25: Cotton: Tennessee, (#5) 31 Arkansas (#13) 27; Rose- USC (#8) 17 Michigan (#7) 10. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/91: Orange Colorado (#1) 10 Notre Dame (#6) 9; Sugar- Tennessee (#78) 23 Virginia (#15) 22: Cotton: Miami (#3) 46 Texas (#11) 3; Rose- Washington (#5) 46 Iowa (#16) 34. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/92: Orange- Miami (#1) 22 Nebraska (#15) 0; Sugar- Notre Dame (#12) 39 Florida (#7) 28: Cotton: Florida St. (#4) 10 Texas A&M (#12) 2; Rose- Washington (#1) 34 Michigan (#6) 14. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/93: Orange- Florida St (#2) 27 Nebraska (#14) 14; Sugar- Alabama (#1) 34 Miami (#3) 13: Cotton: Notre Dame (#4) 28 Texas A&M (#7) 3; Rose- Michigan (#5) 38 Washington (#11) 31. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/94: Orange- Florida St. (#1) 18 Nebraska (#3) 16; Sugar- Florida (#5) 41 West Virginia (#7) 7: Cotton: Notre Dame (#2) 24 Texas A&M (#9) 21; Rose- Wisconsin (#6) 21 UCLA (#18) 16. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/95: Orange- Nebraska (#1) 24 Miami (#6) 17; Sugar- Florida St (#4) 23 Florida (#7) 17: Cotton: USC (#13) 55 Texas Tech (NR) 14; Rose- Penn State (#2) 38 Oregon (#11) 20. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
Summary: The Orange Bowl was dominant in the 90’s with 4 wins. The Sugar Bowl never had the best match-up once between 1984-95. The Cotton Bowl’s 1993 win was their only one from 1979-95. In the end, the Rose Bowl had 19 years when they were the best match-up, the Sugar 18, the Orange 16 and the Cotton 9.
There was some discussion in an earlier post on the way New Years was in the old days and which bowl seemed to get the best match-ups. I decided to see which of the traditional four New Year’s Day bowl games had drawn the best match-ups in the years before the BCS, and its immediate predecessor, the Bowl Alliance (1995-97 when the Cotton Bowl was first excluded). The Rose Bowl began in 1901, the Orange and Sugar in 1935 and the Cotton in 1937. The AP, (writer’s), Poll began in 1936, the UPI, (coach’s) poll in 1950. I‘ll look at 1/1/37-1/1/95 and rank the teams according to their highest ranking in either pool. The “champion” bowl is the one with the lowest combined rankings. Any unranked team is given #26.
In the Beginning
1/1/37: Orange- Duquesne (#14) 13 Mississippi St. (UR) 12; Sugar- Santa Clara (#6) 21 LSU (#2) 14; Cotton- TCU (#16) 16 Marquette (#20) 6; Rose- Pittsburgh (#3) 21 Washington (#5) 0. THE WINNER: Rose and Sugar are tied.
1/1/38: Orange- Auburn (UR) 6 Michigan St. (UR) 0; Sugar- Santa Clara (#8) 6 LSU (#4) 0; Cotton- Rice (#18) 28 Colorado (#17) 14; Rose- California (#2) 13 Alabama (#4) 0. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/39: Orange- Tennessee (#2) 17 Oklahoma (#4) 0; Sugar- TCU (#1) 15 Carnegie Tech (UR) 7; Cotton- St. Mary’s (UR) 20 Texas Tech (#11) 13; Rose- USC (#7) 7 Duke (#3) 3. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/40: Orange- Georgia Tech (#16) 21 Missouri (#6) 7; Sugar- Texas A&M (#1) 14 Tulane (#5) 13; Cotton: Clemson (#12) 6 Boston College (#11) 3; Rose- USC (#3) 14 Tennessee (#2) 0. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/41: Orange- Mississippi St. (#9) 14 Georgetown (#13) 7; Sugar- Boston College (#5) 19 Tennessee (#4) 13; Cotton: Texas A&M (#6) 13 Fordham (#12) 12; Rose- Stanford 21 (#2 Nebraska (#7) 13. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/42: Orange- Georgia (#14) 40 TCU (UR) 26; Sugar- Fordham (#6) 2 Missouri (#7) 0; Cotton: Alabama (#20) 29 Duke (#9) 26; Rose- Oregon State (#12) 20 Duke (#2) 16. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/43: Orange- Alabama (#10) 37 Boston College (#8) 21; Sugar- Tennessee (#6) 14 Tulsa (#7) 7; Cotton: Texas (#14) 14 Georgia Tech (#13) 7; Rose- Georgia (#2) 9 UCLA (#13) 0. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/44: Orange- LSU (UR) 19 Texas A&M (UR) 14; Sugar- Georgia Tech (#13) 20 Tulsa (#15) 14; Cotton: Randolph Field (UR) 7 Texas (#14) 7; Rose- USC (UR) Washington (UR) 0. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl (Note: during the war, many of the ranked teams were service teams so there were more unranked teams in college bowl games.)
1/1/45: Orange- Tulsa (UR) 26 Georgia Tech (#13) 12; Sugar- Duke (#11) 29 Alabama (UR) 26; Cotton: Oklahoma A&M (“State”-UR) 34 TCU (UR) 0; Rose- USC (#11) 25 Tennessee (#14) 0. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/46: Orange- Miami (UR) 13 Holy Cross (#16) 6; Sugar- Oklahoma A&M (#5) 33 St. Mary’s 13 (#7) 13; Cotton: Texas (#10) 40 Missouri (UR) 27; Rose- Alabama (#2) 34 USC (#11) 14. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/47: Orange- Rice (#10) 8 Tennessee (#7) 0; Sugar- Georgia (#3) 20 North Carolina (#9) 10; Cotton: LSU (#8) 0 Arkansas (#16) 0; Rose- Illinois (#5) 45 UCLA (#4) 14 THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/48: Orange- Georgia Tech (#10) 20 Kansas (#12) 14; Sugar- Texas (#5) 27 Alabama (#6) 7; Cotton: SMU (#3)13 Penn State (#4) 13; Rose- Michigan (#1) 49 USC (#8) 0. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/49: Orange- Texas 41 (UR) Georgia (#8) 28; Sugar- Oklahoma 14 (#5) 14 North Carolina (#3) 6; Cotton: SMU (#10) 21 Oregon (#9) 13; Rose- Northwestern (#7) 20 California (#4) 14. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
Summary: The Orange Bowl was kind of a backwater in this period. Only in 1939 did they have the best match-up. The Cotton Bowl was no better with a sole win in 1948. It’s interesting that the #1 ranked TCU and Texas A&M teams of 1938-39 went to the Sugar Bowl, rather than the Cotton Bowl. New Orleans even won the period from the much more ancient and renowned Rose Bowl, 7-5
1950’s
1/1/50 Orange- Santa Clara (#15) 21 Kentucky (#11) 13; Sugar- Oklahoma (#2) 35 LSU (#9) 0; Cotton: Rice (#5) 27 North Carolina (#16) 13; Rose- Ohio State (#6) 17 California (#3) 14. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/51: Orange- Clemson (#10) 15 Miami (#13) 14; Sugar- Kentucky (#7) 13 Oklahoma (#1) 7; Cotton: Tennessee (#3) 20 Texas (#2) 14; Rose- Michigan (#6) 14 California (#4) 6. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/52: Orange- Georgia Tech (#5) 17 Baylor (#9) 14; Sugar- Maryland (#3) 28 Tennessee (#1) 13; Cotton: Kentucky (#15) 20 TCU (#10) 7; Rose- Illinois (#3) 40 Stanford (#7) 7. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/53: Orange- Alabama (#9) 61 Syracuse (#14) 6 Sugar- Georgia Tech (#2) 24 Mississippi (#7) 7; Cotton: Texas (#10) 16 Tennessee (#8) 0; Rose- USC (#4) Wisconsin (#10) 0. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/54: Orange- Oklahoma (#4) 7 Maryland (#1) 0; Sugar- Georgia Tech (#8) 42 West Virginia (#10) 19; Cotton: Rice (#6) 28 Alabama (#11) 6; Rose- Michigan St. (#3) 28 UCLA (#4) 20. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/55: Orange- Duke (#14) 34 Nebraska (NR) 7; Sugar- Navy (#5) 21 Mississippi (#6) 0; Cotton: Georgia Tech (#11) 14 Arkansas (#8) 6; Rose- Ohio State (#1) 20 USC (#11) 7 THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/56: Orange- Oklahoma (#1) 20 Maryland (#3) 6; Sugar- Georgia Tech (#7) 7 Pittsburgh (#11) 0; Cotton: Mississippi (#9) TCU (#6) 13; Rose- Michigan State (#2) 17 UCLA #4) 14. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/57: Orange- Colorado (#18) 27 Clemson (#19) 21; Sugar- Baylor (#11) 13 Tennessee (#2) 7 ; Cotton: TCU (#14) 28 Syracuse (#8) 27; Rose- Iowa (#3) 35 Oregon St. (#10) 19 THE WINNER: Sugar and Rose are tied
1/1/58: Orange- Oklahoma (#4) 48 Duke (#14) 21; Sugar- Mississippi (#7) 39 Texas (#11) 7; Cotton: Navy (#5) 20 (Rice #7) 7; Rose- Ohio State (#1) 10 Oregon (#17) 7. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/59: Orange- Oklahoma (#5) 21 (Syracuse (#9) 6; Sugar- LSU (#1) 7 Clemson (#12) 0; Cotton: Air Force (#6) 0 TCU (#8) 0; Rose- Iowa (#2) 38 California (#16) 12. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
Summary: The Sugar Bowl dominated the decade with 5 wins. The other bowls had two each.
1960’s
1/1/60: Orange- Georgia (#5) 14 Missouri (#18) 0; Sugar- Mississippi (#2) 21 LSU (#3) 0; Cotton: Syracuse (#1) 23 Texas (#4) 14; Rose- Washington (#7) 44 Wisconsin (#6) 8. THE WINNER: Sugar and Cotton are tied.
1/1/61: Orange- Missouri (#4) 21 Navy (#4) 14 Sugar- Mississippi (#2) 14 Rice (UR) 6; Cotton: Arkansas (#7) 7 Duke (#10) 6; Rose- Washington (#5) 17 Minnesota (#1) 7. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/62: Orange- LSU (#3) 25 Colorado (7) 7; Sugar- Alabama (#1) 10 Arkansas (#8) 3; Cotton: Texas (#3) 12 Mississippi, (#5) 7; Rose- Minnesota (#6) 21 UCLA, (#16) 3. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/63: Orange- Alabama (#5) 17 Oklahoma (#8) 0; Sugar- Mississippi (#2) 17 Arkansas (#6) 13; Cotton: LSU (#7) Texas (#4) 0; Rose- USC (#1) 42 Wisconsin (#2) 37 0. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/64: Orange- Nebraska (#5) 13 Auburn (#5) 7; Sugar- Alabama (#8) 12 Mississippi (#7) 7; Cotton: Texas (#1) 28 Navy (#2) 6; Rose- Illinois (#3) 17 Washington (#15) 7. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/65: Orange- Texas (#5) 21 Alabama (#1) 17; Sugar- LSU (#7) 13 Syracuse (#12) 10: Cotton: Arkansas (#2) 10 Nebraska (#6) 7; Rose- Michigan (#4) 24 Oregon St. (#8) 7. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/66: Orange- Alabama (#4) 39 Nebraska (#3) 28; Sugar- Missouri (#6) 20 Florida (#12) 18: Cotton: LSU (#14) 14 Arkansas (#2) 7; Rose- UCLA (#5) 14 Michigan State (#1) 12. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl (Note: The AP did a post bowl vote so I used the UPI rankings)
1/1/67: Orange- Florida (#11) 27 Georgia Tech (#8) 12; Sugar- Alabama (#3) 34 Nebraska (#6) 7: Cotton: Georgia (#4) 24 SMU (#9) 9; Rose- Purdue (#6) 14 USC (#18) 13. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/68: Orange- Oklahoma (#3) 26 Tennessee (#2) 24; Sugar- LSU (UR) 20 Wyoming (#5) 13: Cotton: Texas A&M (UR) 20 Alabama (#7) 16; Rose- USC (#1) 14 Indiana (#4) 3. THE WINNER: Orange and Rose tied
1/1/69: Orange- Penn State (#2) 15 Kansas (#6) 14; Sugar- Arkansas (#9) 16 Georgia (#4) 2: Cotton: Texas (#5) 36 Tennessee (#7) 13; Rose- Ohio State (#1) 27 USC (#2) 16. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl (From 1968-74 the AP had a post bowl poll: the UPI did not. I’m using the UPI rankings for this period).
Summary: The Rose Bowl was the main focus of the decade with 5 wins but the Cotton Bowl also did well with 3.
1970’s
1/1/70: Orange- Penn State (#2) 10 Missouri (#6) 3; Sugar- Mississippi (#13) 27 Arkansas (#3) 22: Cotton: Texas (#1) 21 Notre Dame (#9) 17; Rose- USC , (#4) 10 Michigan (#8) 3. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/71: Orange- Nebraska (#3) 17 LSU (#6) 12; Sugar- Tennessee (#4) 34 Air Force (#11) 13: Cotton: Notre Dame (#5) 24 Texas (#1) 11; Rose- Stanford (#10) 27 Ohio State (#2) 17. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/72: Orange- Nebraska (#1) 38 Alabama (#2) 6; Sugar- Oklahoma (#3) 40 Auburn (#5) 22: Cotton: Penn State (#11) 30 Texas (#12) 6; Rose- Stanford (#16) 13 Michigan #4) 12. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/73: Orange- Nebraska (#9) 40 Notre Dame ( #12) 6; Sugar- Oklahoma (#2) 14 Penn State (#8) 0: Cotton: Texas (#5) 17 Alabama #4) 13; Rose- USC (#1) 42 Ohio State #3) 17. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/74: Orange- Penn State (#5) 16 LSU (#14) 9; Sugar- Notre Dame (#4) 24 Alabama (#1) 23: Cotton: Nebraska (#11) 16 Texas (#9) 3; Rose- Ohio St. (#3) 42 USC (#7) 21. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/75: Orange- Notre Dame (#4) 13 Alabama (#2) 11; Sugar- Nebraska (#8) 13 Florida (#12) 10: Cotton: Penn State (#7) 41 Baylor (#14) 20; Rose- USC, (#1) 18 Ohio St. (#3) 17. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/76: Orange- Oklahoma (#1) 14 Michigan (#8) 6; Sugar-Alabama (#3) 13 Penn State (#10) 6: Cotton: Arkansas (#6) 31 Georgia (#19) 10; Rose- UCLA (#5) 23 Ohio State (#4) 10. THE WINNER: Orange and Rose tied (From 1975 onward both polls did votes after the bowls and that’s all the NCAA Guide shows so the rankings are not the ones the schools had at the time the match-up was made. I’m assuming that the winner went up about as much as the loser went down in most cases but there may be few years in 1976-98 in which a different match-up other than the “winner” was the best one going in.)
1/1/77: Orange- Ohio State (#5) 27 Colorado (#16) 10 ; Sugar- Pittsburgh (#1) 27 Georgia (#10) 3: Cotton: Houston (#4) 30 Maryland (#8) 21; Rose- USC (#2) 14 Michigan (#3) 6. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/78: Orange- Arkansas (#3) 31 Oklahoma (6) 6; Sugar- Alabama (#2) 35 Ohio State (#11) 6: Cotton: Notre Dame (#1) 38 Texas (#4) 10; Rose- Washington (#8) 27 Michigan (#9) 20. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/79: Orange- Oklahoma (#3) 31 Nebraska (#8) 24; Sugar- Alabama (#1) 14 Penn State (#4) 7: Cotton: Notre Dame (#6) 35 Houston (#10) 34; Rose- USC (#1) 17 Michigan (#5) 10. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
Summary: The Rose Bowl won the decade with 4 bests but there was good balance as each Bowl had the best match-up at least twice.
1980’s
1/1/80: Orange- Oklahoma (#3) 24 Florida State, (#5) 7; Sugar- Alabama (#1) 24 Arkansas (#8) 9: Cotton: Houston (#5) 17 Nebraska (#7) 14; Rose- USC (#2) 17 Ohio State (#4) 16. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/81: Orange- Oklahoma (#3) 18 Florida St. (#5) 17; Sugar- Georgia (#1) 17 Notre Dame (#9) 10: Cotton: Alabama, ((#6) 30 Baylor (#14) 2; Rose- Michigan (#4) 23 Washington (#16) 6. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/82: Orange- Clemson (#1) 22 Nebraska (#9) 15; Sugar- Pittsburgh (#2) 24 Georgia (#5) 20: Cotton: Texas (2) 14 Alabama (#6) 12; Rose- Washington (#7) 28 Iowa, (#15) 0. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/83: Orange- Nebraska (#3) 21 LSU (#11) 20; Sugar- Penn St. (#1) 27 Georgia (#4) 23: Cotton: SMU (#2) 7 Pittsburgh (#9) 3; Rose- UCLA (#5) 24 Michigan (#15) 14. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
1/1/84: Orange- Miami (#1) 31 Nebraska (2) 30; Sugar- Auburn (#3) 9 Michigan (#9) 7: Cotton: Georgia (#4) 10 Texas #5) 9; Rose- UCLA (#13) 45 Illinois (#10) 9. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/85: Orange- Washington (#2) 28 Oklahoma (#6) 17; Sugar- Nebraska (#3) 28 LSU (#15) 10: Cotton: Boston College (#4) 45 Houston (NR) 28; Rose- USC (#9) 20 Ohio State (#12) 17. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/86: Orange- Oklahoma (#1) 25 Penn State (#3) 10; Sugar- Tennessee (#4) 35 Maimi (#8) 7: Cotton: Texas A&M (#6) 36 Auburn (NR) 16; Rose- UCLA (#6) 45 Iowa (#9) 28. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/87: Orange- Oklahoma (#3) 42 Arkansas (#15) 9; Sugar- Nebraska (#10) 30 LSU (#20) 15: Cotton: Ohio St. (#6) 28 Texas A&M (#12) 12; Rose- Arizona St. (#4) 22 Michigan (#7) 15. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/88: Orange- Miami (#1) 20 Oklahoma (#3) 14; Sugar- Syracuse (#4) 16 Auburn (#7) 16: Cotton: Texas A&M (#9) 35 Notre Dame (#17) 10; Rose- Michigan St. (#8) 20 USC (#17) 17 THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/89: Orange- Miami (#2) 23 Nebraska (#10) 3; Sugar- Florida St. (#3) 13 Auburn (#7) 7: Cotton: UCLA (#6) 17 Arkansas (#12) 3; Rose- Michigan (#4) 22 USC (#7) 15. THE WINNER: The Sugar Bowl
Summary: The Orange Bowl reached the top with 4 winners to two each for the Sugar and Rose Bowls. The Cotton Bowl was shut out in the 80’s. The Southwest Conference was in decline in this period as all the teams were getting on probation trying to compete with eachother, whcih ultimately led to the demise of the conferecne and the reduction in importance of the Cotton Bowl.
1990’s
1/1/90: Orange- Notre Dame (#2) 21 Colorado (#4) 6; Sugar- Miami (#1) 33 Alabama (#7) 25: Cotton: Tennessee, (#5) 31 Arkansas (#13) 27; Rose- USC (#8) 17 Michigan (#7) 10. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/91: Orange Colorado (#1) 10 Notre Dame (#6) 9; Sugar- Tennessee (#78) 23 Virginia (#15) 22: Cotton: Miami (#3) 46 Texas (#11) 3; Rose- Washington (#5) 46 Iowa (#16) 34. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/92: Orange- Miami (#1) 22 Nebraska (#15) 0; Sugar- Notre Dame (#12) 39 Florida (#7) 28: Cotton: Florida St. (#4) 10 Texas A&M (#12) 2; Rose- Washington (#1) 34 Michigan (#6) 14. THE WINNER: The Rose Bowl
1/1/93: Orange- Florida St (#2) 27 Nebraska (#14) 14; Sugar- Alabama (#1) 34 Miami (#3) 13: Cotton: Notre Dame (#4) 28 Texas A&M (#7) 3; Rose- Michigan (#5) 38 Washington (#11) 31. THE WINNER: The Cotton Bowl
1/1/94: Orange- Florida St. (#1) 18 Nebraska (#3) 16; Sugar- Florida (#5) 41 West Virginia (#7) 7: Cotton: Notre Dame (#2) 24 Texas A&M (#9) 21; Rose- Wisconsin (#6) 21 UCLA (#18) 16. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
1/1/95: Orange- Nebraska (#1) 24 Miami (#6) 17; Sugar- Florida St (#4) 23 Florida (#7) 17: Cotton: USC (#13) 55 Texas Tech (NR) 14; Rose- Penn State (#2) 38 Oregon (#11) 20. THE WINNER: The Orange Bowl
Summary: The Orange Bowl was dominant in the 90’s with 4 wins. The Sugar Bowl never had the best match-up once between 1984-95. The Cotton Bowl’s 1993 win was their only one from 1979-95. In the end, the Rose Bowl had 19 years when they were the best match-up, the Sugar 18, the Orange 16 and the Cotton 9.
