1987 Cotton Bowl Classic

This was the first Cotton Bowl appearance by a team from the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State was co-champion of the Big Ten, sharing it with Michigan, to whom they lost 26–24 on November 22. Ohio State hadn't played a SWC team since 1982. Texas A&M won their second consecutive Southwest Conference championship under Sherrill. A&M hoped to be only the second team to win consecutive Cotton Bowl Classics (the first being Texas in 1969 and 1970).

Game Summary

It was a close first half that had Ohio State leading 7-6. Scott Slater kicked two field goals for the Aggies contrasted with Jim Karsatos's touchdown run. But the second half is where Ohio State and their defense shone, as on the third play of the half, Chris Spielman intercepted a Kevin Murray pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown. When the Aggies tried to drive again, Sonny Gordon intercepted the ball. Vince Workman cultivated Ohio State's drive with his 8-yard run midway through the 3rd quarter. Roger Vick narrowed the lead down with his touchdown run, but the conversion missed, making it only 21-12 with nine minutes to go. When A&M tried to drive with three minutes to go, Michael Kee intercepted the ball and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. Despite having less first downs, three passes picked off, and more penalties than A&M, it was Ohio State's defense that won the game for them, for they had five interceptions on the day, two of which that were returned for touchdowns, and one that led to a touchdown.^[1]

Aftermath

A&M would go to the Cotton Bowl the following year, and win in Sherill's second-to-last year as coach. Ohio State would go 6-4-1 the following year and fire Bruce. They have not played in the Cotton Bowl since — indeed, no Big Ten team would participate in the Cotton Bowl until Michigan State defeated Baylor in 2015.

Statistics

Statistics	Texas A&M	Ohio State
First Downs	18	16
Yards Rushing	160	85
Yards Passing	136	218
Total Yards	296	303
Punts-Average	6-42.2	6-35.2
Fumbles-Lost	1-0	1-0
Interceptions	5	3
Penalties-Yards	3-15	11-70

References

↑ http://media.attcottonbowl.com/resource/history/1987/rsrc/1987-Classic-Recap.pdf

1986–87 NCAA football bowl game season

California (Dec. 13) Independence (Dec. 20) Hall of Fame (Dec. 23) Sun (Dec. 25) Aloha (Dec. 27) Gator (Dec. 27) Liberty (Dec. 29) Holiday (Dec. 30) Freedom (Dec. 30) Bluebonnet (Dec. 31) All-American (Dec. 31) Peach (Dec. 31) Rose (Jan. 1) Florida Citrus (Jan. 1) Cotton (Jan. 1) Orange (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 1) Fiesta (Jan. 2)

Cotton Bowl Classic

History & conference tie-ins	History Cotton Bowl AT&T Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Playoff At-Large Group of Five

Games	1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1966 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2015 2017

Notes	There was a Cotton Bowl Classic in January and December in 1966 and 2015. There was no Cotton Bowl Classic in 1967. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its December 2015 edition.

Ohio State Buckeyes bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

Texas A&M Aggies bowl games

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