Texas has played in Sugar Bowls before, but none as big as this one
Throughout the program’s 100-plus year history, the Texas Longhorns have played in some big January 1 bowl games.
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New Years Day is when the big postseason games are played, and Texas is no stranger to playing in the most respected contests that kick off the new year. The Longhorns have made 22 appearances in the Cotton Bowl, two trips to the Rose Bowl for the Rose Bowl game, and two trips to the Orange Bowl.
UT has also made four previous appearances in the Sugar Bowl, two in Tulane Stadium and two in what’s now called the Caesars Superdome. While the Sugar Bowl has been an important game in the college football landscape, no previous appearance in New Orleans will be as important as the upcoming one for Steve Sarkisian’s program.
Ahead of the most pivotal game of the past 14 years for the Longhorns, Inside Texas takes a look at how the Horns have fared in the Big Easy on New Years Day.
1947 season
In the program’s first year under head coach Blair Cherry, the Longhorns went 9-1 and finished behind SMU to place second in the Southwest Conference. The Mustangs headed to the Cotton Bowl, while the Longhorns were selected to play in the Sugar Bowl against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Texas recorded 14 first downs to Alabama’s seven, with Bobby Layne passing for the opening touchdown and rushing for the game-sealing score. In addition, the Longhorns added a blocked punt returned for a touchdown and a pick-six as part of a 27-7 win over the Crimson Tide.
Texas finished fifth in the final AP poll to record the second top five finish in program history. The Longhorns ended the campaign 10-1 with a one-point loss to SMU on November 1 as the only blemish. Cherry’s team scored 30 or more points five times that season thanks to a Layne-led offense and held opponents to single digits seven times, including four shutout.
1957 season
A first-year head coach from Washington by the name of Darrell Royal led the Longhorns to a 6-4-1 record in 1957. That included a second-place finish to Rice in the SWC, who was 5-1 and untied while the Longhorns were 4-1-1. The Longhorns topped No. 4 Texas A&M and eventual Heisman winner John David Crow in College Station 9-7 to earn win No. 6, limiting the Aggies to 218 yards while forcing five turnovers.
Rice went to the Cotton Bowl to fall to Navy while Texas A&M went to the Gator Bowl to lose to the Tennessee Volunteers. The Sugar Bowl selected the Longhorns to play Johnny Vaught’s Ole Miss Rebels, who finished second in the SEC behind the national champion Auburn Tigers.
The Longhorns fell 39-7 to the Rebels. While statistics aren’t available for the game, the score tells most of the tale.
1995 season
The Southwest Conference champion traditionally played in the Cotton Bowl. And while Texas was undefeated in league play to take home the final SWC title, the Horns were sent to New Orleans to face Big East champion Virginia Tech as part of the inaugural season of the Bowl Alliance.
Texas had completed a 10-1-1 regular season, with an early season loss at Notre Dame by 28 points and a tie versus Oklahoma in the last edition of the Red River Shootout that would be a non-conference game.
The Hokies also won 10 games, and held the tiebreaker over the Miami Hurricanes for the Big East title thanks to a 13-7 win in the Orange Bowl stadium. VT deployed a stout defense under first-year defensive coordinator Bud Foster and Big East coach of the year Frank Beamer that surrendered just 12.9 points per game.
In New Orleans, the Longhorns jumped out to a 10-0 lead before VT scored 28 unanswered in the final 33 minutes. Ricky Williams and Shon Mitchell combined to rush for 126 yards, and James Brown threw three interceptions as part of a four-turnover day for the Longhorns in a 28-10 defeat. The Hokies outgained Texas 371-226.
2018 season
While Texas failed to win a conference title in 2018, the fact the Longhorns played for the Big 12 Championship and Oklahoma was selected to play in the College Football Playoff sent the Longhorns to the Sugar Bowl to play the Georgia Bulldogs, who had lost to the Alabama Crimson Tide with a spot in the CFP on the line.
The Longhorns outplayed the Jake Fromm-led Bulldogs, with Texas’ Sam Ehlinger rushing for three touchdowns and Cameron Dicker hitting two field goals to help the Longhorns to their second Sugar Bowl win and first New Years Six win of the CFP era.
The Longhorns would finish the year ranked No. 9, the first top-10 finish for the program since 2009 and just the second ranked finish overall in that same span.
