Cotton Bowl Classic special airs Sunday on FOX Sports Detroit
Published 8:00 am Friday, January 16, 2015
EAST LANSING — A 30-minute special episode of “Spartan Football All-Access: Cotton Bowl Classic” debuts on FOX Sports Detroit Sunday at 10:30 p.m.
Michigan State capped off its 11-2 season with a dramatic comeback win over No. 5 Baylor in the 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic and ranked fifth in the final Associated Press and USA TODAY/Amway Coaches Polls. The Spartans finish ranked among the nation’s Top 10 for the second year in a row (No. 3 in both polls in 2013) — a program first since 1965-66.
Michigan State, which has posted a 24-3 record since 2013, is the only school in the nation to win a Bowl Championship Series game during the 2013 season (24-20 over Stanford in 2014 Rose Bowl Game) and a New Year’s Six bowl game (42-41 over Baylor in the Cotton Bowl Classic) this season.
MSU’s 20-point comeback win over Baylor (trailed 41-21 entering the fourth quarter) in the 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic was the biggest in Spartan postseason history (previous: down 16-0 at halftime to Georgia in the 2012 Outback Bowl). Connor Cook, who completed 9-of-15 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, hit Keith Mumphery with the game-winner from 10 yards out with 17 seconds remaining. In addition, it marked the second-largest comeback win in Cotton Bowl Classic history (22 points by Notre Dame in 1979; the Irish trailed 34-12 with 7:37 left in the fourth quarter and rallied to defeat Houston, 35-34).
With its one-point Cotton Bowl Classic victory over Baylor, MSU extended its school-record bowl winning streak to four games, tied for the longest in Big Ten history. Head coach Mark Dantonio has led the Spartans to a school-record eight consecutive postseason bowl appearances.
The 30-minute Cotton Bowl Classic special provides fans with a behind-the-scenes look inside the team’s final practices and media sessions leading up to the New Year’s Day showdown against No. 5 Baylor as well as the off-the-field activities, including visits to the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and Six Flags Over Texas. The episode also features complete game highlights and a trip inside the MSU locker room for a wild post-game celebration.
“Spartan Football All-Access: Cotton Bowl Classic” replays Tuesday at 5 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 24 at 11 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 25 at 5 p.m.; Monday, Jan. 26 at 2:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 2 at 10 p.m.; and Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m.