Ohio State will return to the Cotton Bowl for the fourth time in program history on Friday with a trip to the College Football Playoff national championship game on the line.
As the Buckeyes battle fifth-seeded Texas in the semi-final matchup at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, it will not be the first time Ohio State competed in hostile territory at the Cotton Bowl.
On Jan. 1, 1987, Ohio State became the first Big Ten team to compete at the prestigious Cotton Bowl after going 9-3 in a regular season capped off by a disappointing 26-24 loss to Michigan, which granted the Wolverines a co-championship with the Buckeyes. While Michigan was awarded a trip to the Rose Bowl, the Buckeyes trekked to the Lone Star State for a meeting with the Southwest Conference champion Texas A&M Aggies.
Led by head coach Earle Bruce, standout wide receiver Cris Carter and All-American linebacker Chris Spielman, the Buckeyes marched into the iconic Cotton Bowl Stadium with something to prove against their southern foe.
Bruce donning a full suit and fedora, a far cry from his typical sideline look, wasn’t the only thing different about the Buckeyes. Ohio State also came out of the locker room wearing gaudy red cleats, displaying a new kind of swagger previously unseen from the squad throughout the regular season.
The team’s new look wasn’t the only change the Buckeyes made prior to the Cotton Bowl, but Ohio State employed a previously unseen defense scheme — in which it stacked the box before dropping its linebackers into coverage — that baffled Aggie quarterback Kevin Murray into five second-half interceptions, which allowed the Buckeyes to bring home a 28-12 victory in front of a crowd filled with Texas A&M fans.
"We played against the 12th man, the waving white towels and in Texas,” Spielman said after the game. "We adapted… we improvised… we won.”
Things started slow for both teams, as the lone touchdown of the first half – a three-yard scamper from Ohio State quarterback Jim Karsatos – allowed the Buckeyes to take a 7-6 lead into the half.
Texas A&M’s turnover woes started during its first possession of the second half, as Murray was picked off by Spielman, who took it 24 yards to the house to give the Buckeyes a 14-6 lead early in the third quarter. It was Spielman’s first of two interceptions on the day, as he also tallied 11 tackles en route to earning defensive player of the game honors.
Ohio State padded their lead later in the frame on an 8-yard touchdown run from running back Vince Workman, taking a 21-6 advantage into the game’s final quarter.
Texas A&M cut into the lead with 9:10 remaining in regulation, as a two-yard touchdown plunge from running back Roger Vick cut the Ohio State lead to 21-12 after a failed two-point conversion.
But, Murray’s turnover woes would deal the final blow for the Aggies. The quarterback threw another interception to Spielman with 5:50 remaining, just one possession before tossing a game-sealing 49-yard pick-six to linebacker Michael Kee, which secured Ohio State’s 28-12 victory.
The victory was Bruce's final bowl win at Ohio State and the Buckeyes' first at the historic Cotton Bowl. With this win and several surprise returners — including Carter — expectations for a dominant season from the Buckeyes in 1987 were high.
After the victory over Texas A&M, Ohio State did not return to the Cotton Bowl until 2017, when it dispatched USC 24-7. The Buckeyes made another trip to Dallas in 2024, falling to Missouri 14-3.
