Introducing, our first installment of Charlie's Classic Rewind. Cotton Bowl Classic historian Charlie Fiss takes us back in time to enjoy these moments in history that make the Cotton Bowl what it is today.

There are big games and then there is The Game. The 1970 Cotton Bowl that paired No. 1 Texas with No. 9 Notre Dame was just that. College football's centennial season was coming to an end and for the grand finale the nation's eyes turned toward Dallas for the 34th annual New Year's Day Classic. 

It was an historic matchup for many reasons. Texas was a perfect 10-0-0, while Notre Dame was 8-1-1. The Longhorns had been proclaimed national champions four weeks earlier by President Richard Nixon in Fayetteville, Ark., after a 15-14 come-from-behind victory over No. 2 Arkansas, a game christened as "The Big Shootout," and in some circles as "The Game of the Century."  

The Fighting Irish were making their first post-season appearance in 45 years. The only other time Notre Dame had gone bowling was at the 1925 Rose Bowl when the famed Four Horsemen led the Irish to a 27-10 victory over Stanford. Now, nearly a half-century later, three of the surviving Four Horsemen traveled to North Texas to spread Irish lore for the bowl-starved Notre Dame fan base. 

"It was one of the classiest games to ever be a part of," said Joe Theismann as he reflected back in time to his junior season as the Notre Dame quarterback. "Ara Parseghian vs. Darrell Royal. A conventional offense vs. The Wishbone. Two powerhouse teams going at it. It had all the subplots." 

However, as to why the university leadership made the decision to break from tradition and allow the Irish to participate in postseason play after a 45-year absence, Theismann summed it up this way. 

"As players, we never got a chance to be a part of those kinds of decisions," he explained. "But we really had no other choice. We were not a member of a conference and didn't have a chance to play for a conference title. However, Texas was No. 1 and the Cotton Bowl presented us with the opportunity to go down there to play for the national championship. Why not play the No. 1 team in the country?" 

NOTRE DAME JUMPS IN FRONT
The Irish had plenty of incentive to keep its perfect bowl record intact, and when Notre Dame jumped to an early lead, the game looked to have the makings of the centennial season's most colossal upset. 

The Longhorns won the toss and elected to kickoff. In trotted Theismann to direct the Irish on a 72-yard march that led to a 26-yard field goal by Scott Hempel. Notre Dame's 3-0 lead held up for the remainder of the opening quarter. Then, 12 seconds into the second period, Theismann unloaded the bomb. As he turned to throw, receiver Thom Gatewood slipped behind Longhorn defender Danny Lester. The pass was on target and Gatewood went in for an easy 54-yard score. 

Down 10-0, Texas roared back. James Street, the Longhorns' nimble Wishbone quarterback who was undefeated in 19 games as a starter, took control and in nine plays guided Texas 74-yards to the end zone just before halftime. 

A 17-yard pass to split end Cotton Speyrer, another completion of 16 yards to tight end Randy Peschel, and a 17-yard sprint by halfback Jim Bertelsen moved the Horns to the Notre Dame 10. Three plays later, Bertelsen crashed over the goal line from the one to cut the Irish lead back to three, 10-7. 

SCORELESS THIRD QUARTER LEADS TO FOURTH QUARTER DRAMA
That's the way the game stood as the Irish and Longhorns changed ends of the field 15 minutes later to begin the fourth quarter. However, by then, Texas was on a roll, moving from its 23. Street and company continued to grind out the yardage with 18 straight running plays. Fullback Steve Worster, the game's Outstanding Offensive Player, shouldered most of the load on the 77-yard drive carrying seven times for 34 yards. Halfback Ted Koy picked up the last three yards for the go-ahead touchdown on the counter-option that put Texas in the lead for the first time at 14-10.  

Now, it was Notre Dame's turn to move. Theismann started at his own 20 and methodically drove the Irish 80 yards to pay dirt, pounding the Texas defense with six rushing plays and two passes. 

Fullback Bill Barz picked up 12 yards on a draw play. Halfback Jim Yoder gained two on a reverse. Theismann then hit halfback Denny Allan with a pass for 11 yards, followed by a quarterback keeper around the left side for 14. Theismann kept again on the next play and gained 11 yards around right end for another Irish first down.  

Notre Dame was now at the Texas 30. Another draw play to Barz pushed the ball to the 26 and then Yoder went over left tackle for a gain of two. Facing third-and-four, Theismann rolled out to his right looking to throw, but he was forced to scramble back to his left. Evading two tacklers and picking up a crunching block from tight end Tom Lawson on Texas defensive end David Arledge, Theismann pulled up on the run and delivered a perfect 24-yard strike to Yoder who was wide open in the end zone for the touchdown. 

The Irish were back in front, 17-14. The scoreboard clock was down to 6:47, yet there was plenty of time for one last drive. The Longhorns had to make it count...and it turned out to be a classic. 

DRIVING TOWARD A CHAMPIONSHIP
The Texas march chewed up 76 yards in 17 plays behind the blocking of All-America tackles Bob McKay and Bobby Wuench, along with center Forrest Wiegand, and guards Bobby Mitchell and Mike Dean.  

Other than a 17-yard pass to Speyrer on the second play of the drive, Street stuck to the ground as he guided Texas up the field and deep into Notre Dame territory. Twice the Longhorns needed conversions on fourth down to keep the drive alive. Koy converted the first one gaining two yards to the 18. 

Three plays later, Texas faced another fourth-and-two situation after Bertelsen picked up five yards to the Irish 10. The clock was ticking, down to 2:26, and the Horns called timeout. Street went to the sideline for the all-or-nothing strategy session with his head coach, Darrell Royal. 

Royal elected to pass for the first down and the target would be Speyrer at the goal line. 

Street rolled to his left and had to hurry his throw under duress. The pass was short, but Speyrer stopped, turned and made a diving catch at the two. On third down, halfback Billy Dale plunged over from the one and Texas was back in the lead, 21-17, with 1:08 to play. 

PRESSURE-PACKED FINISH
The chess match continued although time was of the essence. The Irish had to score quickly…a field goal wouldn't be enough.  

"I told myself not to take a sack and avoid negative plays," said Theismann about the final Notre Dame drive. "I instructed our guys to get out of bounds quickly because we were not just playing the Texas defense, we were also playing the clock. It was a matter of how much time you could preserve. With two or three completions, you could move down the field quickly."  

Starting at the Irish 23, Theismann went to the air and hit on back-to-back passes, a 16-yarder to Allan, and a 22-yard completion to tight end Dewey Poskon. Notre Dame stopped the clock after each reception with a timeout. In two plays, Theismann had guided the Irish into Texas territory reaching the 39. 

"They got too many yards too fast," said Texas defensive back Tom Campbell. "But, that's the nature of the passing game. We were doing what we needed to do like in any other game. We were willing to let them catch a 10-yard pass and then immediately tackle them. The fact they had to score a touchdown made a big difference. They had to throw. They couldn't run the football." 

THE INTERCEPTION
When action resumed with 38 seconds on the clock, Theismann looked for Poskon again and Campbell was ready.  

"On this play, I knew that our linebackers were going to get a lot deeper off the line of scrimmage than they normally would," Campbell vividly recalled a half-century later. "Linebacker Scott Henderson and our rover back were there, so I wasn't playing tight. Joe (Theismann) rolled out and I bet he had to throw it at least 35 to 40 yards across the field. And, he had to throw it hard. 

"But, as soon as he let go of the football it sailed on him," said Campbell. "I could see it was going high and was not going to come down. The receiver jumped up, but the ball went over his head by about three inches. From the time the ball left Theismann's hand, I never moved a step and he hit me right between the 8 and 4 (his jersey number). When it does that, you're supposed to catch it, which I did." 

Campbell made the interception at the Texas 14 and he returned it nine yards to the 23. At that point, all Street had to do was fall on the ground twice and the game was over…Texas 21, Notre Dame 17. 

With that, college football's first 100 years came to a spectacular end as Texas went home with its second national championship in six seasons. 

Walter Robertson of the Dallas Morning News may have summed it up best when he wrote, "The initial temptation would be to rank the Texas-Arkansas game as tops for the first 100 years of college football, and then start the second centennial running with this one."