1960 Cotton Bowl
Syracuse 23, Texas 14
Jan. 1, 1960
Dallas, Texas
Syracuse waited until it really counted to win its first bowl game, knocking off Texas in the 24th Cotton Bowl to win the national championship. This was the “Dream Game” of the season with top-ranked, undefeated Syracuse pitted against fourth-ranked, once-beaten Texas.
On the Orange’s third play from scrimmage, Ernie Davis caught a pass from Gerhard Schwedes and went the distance for a scoring play that covered 87 yards. Davis went into the end zone from four yards out and caught a pass for the two-point conversion to up SU’s lead to 15-0. Texas scored on the opening drive of the second half, but on the Longhorns’ next possession, Davis intercepted a pass and returned it six yards to the Texas 24-yard line. Schwedes scored from three yards out and Davis caught his second two-pointer from Dave Sarette. Texas scored once more in the fourth quarter, but the Orange cruised to its first and only national championship.
| Score By Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Syracuse | 7 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 23 |
| Texas | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| Scoring Summary | ||
| Team | Play | Score |
| SU | E. Davis 87 pass from Schwedes (Yates kick) | 7-0 |
| SU | E. Davis 1 run (E. Davis pass from Sarette) | 15-0 |
| UT | Collins 69 pass from Lackey (run failed) | 15-6 |
| SU | Schwedes 3 run (E. Davis pass from Sarette) | 23-6 |
| UT | Lackey 1 run (Schulte pass from Lackey) | 23-14 |
| Team Stats | SU | UT |
| First Downs | 12 | 10 |
| Rushing Yardage | 133 | 145 |
| Passing Yardage | 181 | 99 |
| Total Offense (Plays-Yds) | 54-314 | 71-244 |
| Passes | 9-12 | 4-15 |
| Passes Had Intercepted | 1 | 1 |
| Punts/Avg. | 6/33.3 | 5/42.4 |
| Punt Returns | 1-9 | 3-31 |
| Kickoff Returns | 4-51 | 4-100 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 4-3 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-67 | 7-62 |
RUSHING: Syracuse - E. Davis 8-57, A. Baker 6-26, Schwedes 8-25, Sarette 10-19, Easterly 3-3, Weber 3-2, Nichols 3-2, Hart 1-minus 1. Texas - Branch 11-71, Ramirez 9-36, Gurwitz 6-9, Cotten 5-8, Dowdle 4-8, Russell 2-4, Lackey 3-3, Collins 9-3, Blanch 1-3, Saxton 6-0.
PASSING : Syracuse - Schwedes 2-2-0-97, Easterly 2-2-0-49, Sarette 5-8-1-45. Texas - Lackey 3-9-0-92, Saxton 1-3-0-7, Collins 0-3-1-0.
RECEIVING : Syracuse - E. Davis 1-87, Ericson 2-49, Mautino 2-22, Skonieczki 2-19, Bartlett 1-8, Brokaw 1-6. Texas - Collins 1-69, Ramirez 2-23, Gurwitz 1-7.
