Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

Bill Yeoman couldn't have asked for a better introduction to Southwest Conference football. After a 2-8-0 finish in Houston's final year as an independent, few expected the Cougars to do much in their first SWC season. So, all Yeoman did was lead Houston to a share of the conference title and thump undefeated Maryland in the 1977 Classic. Two years later, the Cougars were back in Dallas for the infamous "Ice Bowl" showdown with Notre Dame and one of college football's greatest thrillers. The following season, Houston won the SWC title again and landed in the Cotton Bowl for a third time. Now it was Houston's turn to deliver a knockout blow in the final minute, clipping Nebraska on a touchdown pass in the final 12 seconds. Three Cotton Bowl trips in four years proved to the rest of the SWC that Yeoman's Cougars had come to play.