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1970 Retrospective

idahorn

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idahorn

idahorn 26

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The LHN produced excellent reviews of the 1963 and 1969 National Championship teams and their seasons. I watch them pretty often due to my attachment to UT.  (Went to the Navy vs. Texas Cotton Bowl as well as the Notre Dame du Lac game following the 1969 season.)

At some point last year I posted a query about whether the LHN and whether they were, following up on the 1963 production, working on one for 1969. (Thankfully, they did.)  

As some of us CoVid eligible old farts will recall, UT won a National Championship in 1970 as well.  Naturally, I am again wondering if a production honoring the 1970 National Champions is now in the works.  I am fully aware that the 1970 NC is under a type of cloud because the Horns lost to the Irish in the Cotton Bowl.  However, both the UPI and AP named Texas the National Champs prior to the Bowl Games--as they always did back in those days.

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Lidig8r

Lidig8r 1906

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45 minutes ago, mulletpelini said:

You're really only a National Champion if you go undefeated.  Sorry, moose out front should have told you.

So, there was no national champion in 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2003, 1996, 1993, 1990, 1989, 1985, 1983, 1982, 1978, 1977, 1975, 1974, 1970, etc etc.

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Laga4

Laga4 1270

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Texas has had so many great teams and players I don't see why a documentary has to be limited to a National Championship.  

I would love to see some of DKR's great teams like 1961,  the team that many said was his best,  on a 1 hour documentary.  

The LHN has missed out on many opportunities to showcase the Horns history,  not only in football but all sports. 

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RC Horn

RC Horn 164

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10 hours ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

I’d say there is strong evidence that if 1970 Texas and Nebraska played 10 times, Texas would win 9. 

The 1970 Texas team would have beaten 1970 Nebraska by at least 2 TDs. People forget that Nebraska struggled mightily with a 7-2-1 LSU team in the 1971 Orange Bowl.

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mulletpelini

mulletpelini 5225

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On 3/18/2020 at 10:44 AM, RC Horn said:

The 1970 Texas team would have beaten 1970 Nebraska by at least 2 TDs. People forget that Nebraska struggled mightily with a 7-2-1 LSU team in the 1971 Orange Bowl.

Is that the same 2 TD's that Texas got beat by ND with? SWC was brutal that year, 3 teams over .500 woohoo

SEC had twice that many.  LSU was 9-3 that year, not sure where the hell you pulled 7-2-1 from.  LSU lost by 3 to ND in SB that year, meanwhile Texas got railed at home by that same team.

good logic though.  Maybe Texas......just didn't want to be there?

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Steamboat1874

Steamboat1874 4391

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I can say that having lived it, breathed it, 1970 certainly did not feel like a national championship to me.

Losing like we did to Notre Dame really dampened that season that saw us crush Arkansas and escape UCLA.

It was a great season except for that last game.

One of the great images from that Arkansas game when it was early and I am pretty sure Arkansas had just tied the game and had us pinned deep....and this happened from inside our own 10. He did not score but it was a nice long run that got us out of the hole and from there we crushed them.spacer.png

 

Edited by Steamboat1874
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ImissWallyPryor

ImissWallyPryor 9046

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7 hours ago, mulletpelini said:

Is that the same 2 TD's that Texas got beat by ND with? SWC was brutal that year, 3 teams over .500 woohoo

SEC had twice that many.  LSU was 9-3 that year, not sure where the hell you pulled 7-2-1 from.  LSU lost by 3 to ND in SB that year, meanwhile Texas got railed at home by that same team.

good logic though.  Maybe Texas......just didn't want to be there?

1970 Texas throttled OU 41-9 on a neutral field while NU squeaked by OU 28-21 in Lincoln.
 

We can both play that game. Except my example is fewer degrees removed. 

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Tex Pete

Tex Pete 21518

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On 3/18/2020 at 5:43 AM, mulletpelini said:

You're probably right.

 

 

Still doesn't change the fact that you let the fucking Irish come into your house and push you around

Also doesn’t change the fact that we were awarded the national championship in 1970 and have the trophy to prove it. 

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mulletpelini

mulletpelini 5225

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That's never been questioned.  Who wouldn't want a NC trophy that they backed into?  All the fans that left the Cotton bowl that day surely thought, "Well, we got our asses kicked, but we're still National Champions!"

In '84, when Nebraska was undefeated and got beat by Miami, my uncle said "Miami and Nebraska have the same record!  They both should be champions!"

My dad looked at him and said "You don't get to claim a championship when you lose the last game dipshit."

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RC Horn

RC Horn 164

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Sorry about the mistake on LSU's record that year, I knew they went into the 1971 Orange Bowl with 2 losses(one of them being a loss to a 2 win aggy team). All I can say  is that the Coaches Poll(the ones who actually know the game of football)  gave us the MNC in 1970 while the jock sniffing AP Poll gave it to Nebraska.

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ImissWallyPryor

ImissWallyPryor 9046

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On 3/22/2020 at 6:31 AM, mulletpelini said:

That's never been questioned.  Who wouldn't want a NC trophy that they backed into?  All the fans that left the Cotton bowl that day surely thought, "Well, we got our asses kicked, but we're still National Champions!"

In '84, when Nebraska was undefeated and got beat by Miami, my uncle said "Miami and Nebraska have the same record!  They both should be champions!"

My dad looked at him and said "You don't get to claim a championship when you lose the last game dipshit."

That's because none of the polls' championships in 1984 were awarded until after the bowls.  I take it you mean the 1983 season, but Texas and Nebraska had a common opponent that year.  Guess who?  Texas won in fairly convincing fashion on a neutral field, and the score should have been worse.  Nebraska was one late 4th quarter forth-and-goal pass to Buster Rhymes away from losing to Oklahoma in Lincoln.  That pass was literally broken up by a fingertip.

I have had to listen to my Husker friends reminisce about how if Tom had only kicked the extra point against Miami, they would have won the MNC with a tie.  Well, if we could take away one coaching decision in our bowl game by not leaving the defense in for the punt when it was 4th-and-25, going for the 2-point conversion against Miami would have been mandatory for Saint Thomas, and Texas wins the MNC.

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n64ra

n64ra 1150

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On 3/22/2020 at 6:31 AM, mulletpelini said:

That's never been questioned.  Who wouldn't want a NC trophy that they backed into?  All the fans that left the Cotton bowl that day surely thought, "Well, we got our asses kicked, but we're still National Champions!"

In '84, when Nebraska was undefeated and got beat by Miami, my uncle said "Miami and Nebraska have the same record!  They both should be champions!"

My dad looked at him and said "You don't get to claim a championship when you lose the last game dipshit."

You know damn well there's a difference between 1970 and 1984, and that's when during the season the Coaches' Poll voted a champion. It'd be one thing if Texas claimed a NC after the second to last Coaches' Poll, but they aren't. Texas fans entering that Cotton Bowl already knew they were champions. Exiting they surely thought, "Sucks we lost our bowl game and the AP title."

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mulletpelini

mulletpelini 5225

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Yeah I'm sure they felt great.  Wooohooo.  Texas in '83 only wins if Nebraska loses.  If they tie that game with Miami, no way in hell Texas wins the MNC had they won their bowl game.

Either way, our teams fucked it all up, and let the fucking cheatin Hurricanes start a dynasty in the process.

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 50038

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speyer_cotton_001_UCLA.jpg?width=1128&he

11.24.2020 | Football

Late Game Heroics and a Miracle Play in Football’s 1970 Championship Season

As UT celebrates the 50th Anniversary of its 1970 National Championship season, we take a look back at a memorable play that kept the Longhorns’ back-to-back title hopes alive.

By BILL LITTLE

This week we honor the 50th Anniversary of Texas' 1970 National Championship team. It was a truly special year that was highlighted by Darrell Royal and the Longhorns' second-straight national title, extended a lengthy winning streak and provided many great memories. We all know one play does not make a season or a game, but with a critical top-25 contest in the balance, a miraculous pass connection managed to keep hope alive in the 1970 stampede to another title.

To get to that critical play, we'll begin by setting the scene. Coach Royal and Texas, which had claimed its second national title in six years in 1969, were the talk of college football. The innovative "Wishbone Offense," which was devised in 1968 and featured a triple-option attack, had won impressively against any and all competition. Texas entered 1970 with a 20-game winning streak from 1968-69, a stretch in which its ground-and-pound attack had averaged nearly 350 yards rushing per game. The Longhorns ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the national polls for 15-straight weeks, and the only close calls came in capping the 1969 National Championship season with dramatic come-from-behind victories over No. 2 Arkansas in the "Game of the Century" and No. 9 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Texas opened the 1970 season much like they had in the previous 20 games, by rushing for better than 400 yards in a pair of decisive victories over Cal (56-15) and at Texas Tech (35-13). So, there was little reason to think that Coach Royal's juggernaut could be slowed down, and more of the same was expected as the No. 2 Longhorns welcomed No. 13 UCLA to Austin and Texas Memorial Stadium on October 3, 1970. But an unbeaten Bruins team led by veteran coach Tommy Prothro, loaded with talent and a unique defensive scheme, was up for the challenge of the mighty Longhorns despite being 22-point underdog.

That was the scene as 66,000 fans filled Texas Memorial Stadium for a rare, early-season 4 p.m. kickoff. The typical early October night game timing had been altered due to the removal of lights and construction of the upper deck on the stadium's west side, which would dramatically increase the Horns capacity at its home game venue.

The pundits figured that the late afternoon Texas heat would affect the Bruins, and by the season of 1970, Royal had become one of the most respected coaches in the college game. On the other side, however, was Prothro. For most of two years, he and his staff had studied Royal's unique offensive system, and now they had the opportunity to see if they could stop it. It take didn't long to find out.

One of the staples of the "Wishbone" attack called for the quarterback to fake to the fullback, then ride down the line for a blind pitch back to a trailing halfback. In the 1969 National Championship season, Royal and his crew had used that formation with such success that they gained 611 yards rushing in a single game against SMU. Eighty of their 90 plays were runs in that game and the Horns averaged 7.6 yards per carry in a 45-14 win over the Mustangs.

This time, the quarterback was Eddie Phillips, who had taken over for the legendary and undefeated signal caller James Street and would go on to become one of the best to ever play the option quarterbacks in his own rights. He took the snap, faked to All-American fullback Steve Worster, then rolled down the line to his left. He turned loose the pitch to the trailing back, as he had done hundreds of times before. This time, the ball hit the crashing UCLA defender squarely in the back of his helmet as he leveled the UT running back, Billy Dale, who was on the ground before the ball even got to where he was supposed to be.

"That defense was well-conceived and well-executed," Royal would say later. "UCLA brought some good people to town and they came in a bad humor."

And then he added, in his famed folksy humor from his days growing up during the 'Dust Bowl' in Oklahoma: "Tommy Prothro didn't come in on a load of wood, either. He knows something about this game."

Prothro's innovative defense stymied the Longhorns and eventually would cause Royal and his staff to adjust their offensive attack. In the moment, however, the more pressing issue for Royal and the Longhorns was finding a way to win this critical football game.

Bruins quarterback Dennis Dummit was superb as his team overcame a 13-3 Texas halftime lead. The win streak, the dream of back-to-back national championships, and all that went with it hung in the balance as, with Texas trailing, 17-13, late in the game, halfback Jim Bertelsen slipped on a fourth-down play and failed to convert with only 2:27 left. The Longhorn defense held, but by the time Texas got the ball back at its own 49-yard line, only 52 seconds remained. Two plays later, including a fumble that rolled out of bounds, UT faced a third-and-19 with the ball at the UCLA 45-yard line.

Just a bit more than a year before, Royal was best known as one of the most conservative coaches in the game. He joined Ohio State's Woody Hayes in his joking about the forward pass, and the fact that, "When you pass, three things can happen, and two are bad."

But after the famed fourth-down pass that set up the game-winning touchdown against Arkansas, and an equally successful short pass on a fourth-down play that beat Notre Dame, a lone UT staffer was in the press box elevator at the historic Cotton Bowl stadium. He was accompanied by an elevator operator who had seen all of the "ups and downs" of the game of college football since the stadium had opened more than 40 years before.

"Man," mused the attendant. "I sure would not want to get into a poker game with that Darrell Royal. He's a real riverboat gambler."

And so, at approximately 6:30 p.m., on the field that at the time was called Texas Memorial Stadium, Phillips took the snap and dropped back to pass. The sun was sinking over the shadow of structure that would become the upper deck on the west side. A group of 99 sports writers and broadcasters — all that a makeshift plywood structure that served as a temporary press box could hold — watched as tight end Tommy Woodard cut across the middle. A UCLA defender swiped at the ball in Phillips' hands, but missed.

Back toward the south end zone, All-American receiver Cotton Speyrer ran a deep post pattern, and as he jumped for the ball at the 20-yard line, a UCLA defensive back was poised to make the tackle. In another time and place, our story could end that way. But as the members of the media and staff fought the sunset to see what happened, their view was suddenly obliterated by a sea of glisten. From the student section on the east side, suddenly everything that was loose — most of it was full of ice and water and whatever one might have carried with them — came sailing into the setting sun.

Speyrer caught the ball and landed on his right foot. And as the UCLA defender went for a tackle, Cotton spun like a ballet dancer, and his first step came from his left foot as he turned toward the south end zone and ran untouched for the game winning touchdown. A cryptic photo, shot from the Texas sideline, shows the UCLA bench in the background, with a tall, stunned assistant coach, frozen in time, his mouth wide open.

Twelve seconds remained.

Hammered by a UCLA defender just seconds after he released the pass, Phillips picked himself up off the turf, never seeing the play's conclusion, but assured of its success by the roar of the crowd. Royal's memory was not unlike those from other successes, when he almost magically came up with the right play, and the right people, at the right time.

"You've got to go for something big and something good has to happen down there," he said.

The thrilling victory was the 23rd-straight for Texas, setting a Southwest Conference record. Learning important lessons from the miraculous finish, Royal and his staff adjusted the offensive scheme to include accounting for changes in opponents' defenses after the UCLA game, and by the time Texas ended the regular season facing the Arkansas team which narrowly lost in 1969, the 'Horns won going away, 42-7.  In fact, Texas won its last three regular season games by scores of 58-0 (TCU), 52-14 (Texas A&M) and 42-7 (Arkansas). All totaled, that's Texas, 152, and those challengers, 21. Texas won a third-straight SWC Championship, and the Longhorns were ranked No. 1 in either The Associated Press or Coaches Poll for each of the final seven weeks of the season.

At the time, the coaches poll crowning of the national champions was awarded at the end of the regular season by United Press International, and bowl game results were not included in the vote. Ironically, that was how the polls worked partly because Notre Dame had not been a regular bowl game participant for more than 40 years prior to the 1970 Cotton Bowl classic where UT secured a 21-17 victory over the Irish to put the icing on a perfect 11-0 National Championship season in 1969.

So, with the winning streak reaching 30 games, the Longhorns were tabbed National Champions in the UPI Coaches Poll, their second-straight title. The streak was finally stopped in a rematch with No. 5 Notre Dame in the final game of that 1970 season at the Cotton Bowl, costing the Horns The AP national title, but national champs, nonetheless.

Six Longhorns from that 1970 squad were named All-American – consensus first-teamers defensive end Bill Atessis, fullback Steve Worster and offensive tackle Bob Wuensch, as well placekicker Happy Feller, linebacker Scott Henderson and the UCLA game hero, wide receiver Cotton Speyrer. Worster finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting, and in addition to the All-Americans, halfback Jim Bertelsen and offensive guard Bobby Mitchell were tabbed All-SWC.

Royal would be recognized by ABC Sports as the Coach of the Decade for the 1960s. During his 20 years at Texas, his teams won three National Championships, finished in the nation's top five nine times, claimed 11 SWC titles and accumulated an overall record 167-47-5. That includes a 21-1 mark during the consecutive national crowns of 1969 and 1970.

The Longhorns' back-to-back championship runs evoke visions of their overpowering Wishbone Offense, and rightfully so. However, the 1969 team was also remembered for a fourth-quarter comeback at Arkansas and the memorable fourth-down pass from Street to Randy Peschel that ignited it, as well as a Street to Speyrer fourth-down completion in the win over Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. Like those plays that capped the 1969 season and the 499th and 500th victories in Texas history, on a sunny day in Austin in 1970, it was Phillips' improbable connection with Speyrer that would be such a big part of the tale of the 1970 National Champions.

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SwanderedTalent

SwanderedTalent 5761

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On 3/22/2020 at 6:31 AM, mulletpelini said:

All the fans that left the Cotton bowl that day surely thought, "Well, we got our asses kicked, but we're still National Champions!"

all the fans walking into the stadium thought "we already won the UPI National Championship, let's kick Notre Dame's ass and keep the 30-game win streak alive". 

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bullet 1631

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On 3/20/2020 at 8:22 AM, Steamboat1874 said:

I can say that having lived it, breathed it, 1970 certainly did not feel like a national championship to me.

Losing like we did to Notre Dame really dampened that season that saw us crush Arkansas and escape UCLA.

It was a great season except for that last game.

One of the great images from that Arkansas game when it was early and I am pretty sure Arkansas had just tied the game and had us pinned deep....and this happened from inside our own 10. He did not score but it was a nice long run that got us out of the hole and from there we crushed them.spacer.png

 

We won by the standards of the time.  Just like Alabama claims they are undisputed 1965 national champs despite Arkansas, who beat us, going unbeaten, while we whipped Willie Joe and Bear in the Orange.  Bowls were still more of an exhibition in those days.

Absolutely counts and felt like one.  Would have been better if we won the Cotton Bowl, though.

Edited by bullet
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bullet 1631

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On 3/23/2020 at 8:13 PM, mulletpelini said:

Yeah I'm sure they felt great.  Wooohooo.  Texas in '83 only wins if Nebraska loses.  If they tie that game with Miami, no way in hell Texas wins the MNC had they won their bowl game.

Either way, our teams fucked it all up, and let the fucking cheatin Hurricanes start a dynasty in the process.

Texas would be virtually unanimous if they won and Nebraska tied in 1983.  That was the game everyone wanted but the bowl tie ins prevented.

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Bullneck

Bullneck 19582

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Posted (edited)
On 3/19/2020 at 10:30 AM, EastTexan said:

Does not matter. aggy claims many. NC champ in claiming NC's.

Quote

Texas A&M doesn't have a long history in the SEC, but the Aggies have long been one of the proudest programs in college football. Texas A&M claims three national championships, and though the Aggies haven't won it all since 1939, they have been a consistent winner.

Quote
3 (1919, 1927, 1939)

 

Holy shit, who writes this stuff? (Saturdays Down South).

Edited by Bullneck
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UTEX_ME

UTEX_ME 4288

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11 hours ago, markstanco said:

They do claim 3 now. And I think since joining the sec, so 9ish years ago they decided to do so.

Yep.. their crack team went to work and decided they needed to spruce up the resume to try and pull the wool over the eyes over their new conference mates. We could claim at least 9 total if we wanted to using the silly gymnastics some of these programs go through to seem like they belong at the adult table. 

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mulletpelini

mulletpelini 5225

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22 hours ago, bullet said:

Texas would be virtually unanimous if they won and Nebraska tied in 1983.  That was the game everyone wanted but the bowl tie ins prevented.

You coo be right but you're also using now logic vs. then logic.  Polls did not fluctuate then as they do now.  They were old stodgy dinosaur voters and it just didn't happen.

Miami jumping to #1 was more of a result of them beating the presumed best team as opposed to "we really think this is the best of the one loss teams"

They just won the last game even though losing the first.

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pch

pch 1264

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On 3/20/2020 at 10:59 AM, satyanash said:

RedditCFB did a very detailed retrospective of the 1970 season, for those interested.

And this is the iconic image from that year, IMO:

spacer.png

While growing up in Corpus, I was driving down the beach listening to the game  with a couple of friends bemoaning what would end a 22 game winning streak for Texas.  Connie Alexander was doing the broadcast of this game and when the pass was completed, and the three of us celebrated with copious amounts of alcohol.  One of the best days in my then 18 year old life.

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Steamboat1874

Steamboat1874 4391

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On 11/24/2020 at 8:39 PM, bullet said:

We won by the standards of the time.  Just like Alabama claims they are undisputed 1965 national champs despite Arkansas, who beat us, going unbeaten, while we whipped Willie Joe and Bear in the Orange.  Bowls were still more of an exhibition in those days.

Absolutely counts and felt like one.  Would have been better if we won the Cotton Bowl, though.

Were you alive in 1970?

We won the UPI National Championship but nothing about losing the last game of the season made it feel so.

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