| 1983 Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 47th Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Cotton Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Wes Hopkins (SMU SS) Lance McIlhenny (SMU QB) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Pittsburgh by 2½ points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Jimmy Harper (SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 60,359 [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Lindsey Nelson, Pat Haden, and Pat O'Brien | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1983 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 47th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, January 1.[3] Part of the 1982–83 bowl game season, it matched the fourth-ranked SMU Mustangs of the Southwest Conference (SWC) and the #6 Pittsburgh Panthers, an independent.[2][4][5] A slight underdog, SMU rallied in the fourth quarter to win, 7–3.[6]
The game featured SMU running back Eric Dickerson and Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino; both were first round picks in the 1983 NFL draft and are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Despite the two teams combining for 622 yards, only ten points were scored in the game as there were four turnovers, and the final one decided the game.
- ^ "The latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1983. p. 13.
- ^ a b "Mustangs (11-0-1) cotton to No. 1". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1983. p. 4D.
- ^ "Cotton Bowl". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services reports. January 1, 1983. p. 3B.
- ^ Putnam, Pat (January 10, 1983). "Cottoning on to No. 2, it's SMWho". Sports Illustrated: 21.
- ^ Smizik, Bob (January 2, 1983). "Punchless Pitt kayoed by SMU in Cotton, 7-3". Pittsburgh Press. p. C1.
- ^ "SMU stakes claim to No. 1 ranking". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. January 2, 1983. p. F2.