2015 Cotton Bowl Classic ( December ) - wikipedia 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic ( December ) 2015 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic CFP Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl Classic 80th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Michigan State Spartans Alabama Crimson Tide ( 12 − 1 ) ( 12 − 1 ) Big Ten SEC 0 38 Head coach : Mark Dantonio Head coach : Nick Saban AP Coaches CFP AP Coaches CFP Total Michigan State 0 0 0 0 0 Alabama 0 10 21 7 38 Date December 31, 2015 Season 2015 Stadium AT&T Stadium Location Arlington, Texas MVP QB Jake Coker ( Alabama ) CB Cyrus Jones ( Alabama ) Referee Mike DeFee ( Big XII ) Attendance 82,812 United States TV coverage Network ESPN / ESPN Radio Announcers Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox, and Tom Rinaldi ( ESPN ) Brad Sham, Danny Kanell and Ian Fitzsimmons ( ESPN Radio ) Nielsen ratings ( 18.5 Million viewers ) Cotton Bowl Classic < 2015 ( Jan. ) 2017 > 2 vs. 3 Seed CFP Semifinal Game < 2015 Rose 2016 Fiesta > The 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2015 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The 80th Cotton Bowl Classic was a College Football Playoff semifinal between Alabama and Michigan State with the winner to compete in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship. It was one of the 2015 -- 16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. The game was broadcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio and XM Satellite Radio. It was sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and was officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Alabama defeated Michigan State 38 -- 0 and later won the National Championship by defeating Clemson in the National Championship game. Contents 1 Teams 2 Game summary 2.1 Scoring summary 2.2 Statistics 3 References Teams The Cotton Bowl acted as one of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games. The two teams selected for the game were No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Michigan State. Michigan State returned to the Cotton Bowl after defeating Baylor in a non-playoff version of the bowl game on January 1, 2015. Michigan State became just the third school in history to play in the same bowl twice in a calendar year, joining Auburn, which played in the Gator Bowl on January 1 and December 31, 1954, and Oklahoma, which played in the Sugar Bowl on January 1 and December 31, 1972. The game was a rematch of the 2011 Capital One Bowl, where Alabama easily beat Michigan State 49 -- 7. Game summary After Oklahoma lost to Clemson 17 -- 37 in the Orange Bowl Semifinal, Michigan State was throttled by Alabama 38 -- 0. A tight first half saw Alabama take a 10 -- 0 lead into half time. Near the end of the second quarter, Michigan State had its best drive of the night, but all - time winningest MSU quarterback, Connor Cook, was intercepted by Cyrus Jones. Alabama scored a touchdown on the opening possession of the second half and MSU turned the ball over on its first possession. Alabama could not capitalize on the turnover, but did return MSU 's next punt for a touchdown, putting the game out of reach at 24 -- 0 with a little over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. MSU 's offense could not muster any points and were held to a total of 249 yards. Cook finished the night with zero touchdowns and two interceptions. Alabama defeated Clemson 45 -- 40 for the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship. Scoring summary Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP MICH ST ALA 5 : 36 6 80 2 : 38 ALA Derrick Henry 1 - yard touchdown run, Adam Griffith kick good 0 7 1 : 25 7 43 2 : 39 ALA 47 - yard field goal by Adam Griffith 0 10 10 : 36 9 75 4 : 24 ALA Calvin Ridley 6 - yard touchdown reception from Jake Coker, Adam Griffith kick good 0 17 3 : 24 - - - ALA Punt returned 57 yards for touchdown by Cyrus Jones, Adam Griffith kick good 0 24 2 : 20 50 0 : 09 ALA Calvin Ridley 50 - yard touchdown reception from Jake Coker, Adam Griffith kick good 0 31 7 : 52 69 0 : 09 ALA Derrick Henry 11 - yard touchdown run, Adam Griffith kick good 0 38 `` TOP '' = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 0 38 Statistics Statistics Michigan State Alabama First Downs 16 21 Total offense, plays - yards 65 -- 239 66 -- 440 Rushes - yards ( net ) 26 -- 29 35 -- 154 Passing yards ( net ) 210 286 Passes, Comp - Att - Int 19 -- 39 -- 2 25 -- 31 -- 0 Time of Possession 27 : 04 32 : 56 References ^ Jump up to : `` 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic : Michigan State vs. Alabama Stats ''. Stat Broadcast. Retrieved 2015 - 12 - 31. Jump up ^ `` Alabama routs Michigan State to reach College Football Playoff final ''. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Playoff bound : MSU ranked No. 3 to play Alabama in Cotton Bowl ''. 2015 - 12 - 06. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 20. Jump up ^ `` No. 7 Michigan State stuns No. 4 Baylor 42 - 41 in Cotton Bowl ''. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Cotton Bowl History, Scores, Results ''. www.collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Cotton Bowl by the numbers : Alabama, Michigan State meet in CFP semifinals ''. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Michigan State vs. Alabama - Game Recap - December 31, 2015 - ESPN ''. ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Alabama vs. Clemson - Game Recap - January 11, 2016 - ESPN ''. ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 20. 2015 -- 16 NCAA football bowl game season New Mexico ( Dec. 19 ) Las Vegas ( Dec. 19 ) Camellia ( Dec. 19 ) Cure ( Dec. 19 ) New Orleans ( Dec. 19 ) Miami Beach ( Dec. 21 ) Famous Idaho Potato ( Dec. 22 ) Boca Raton ( Dec. 22 ) Poinsettia ( Dec. 23 ) GoDaddy ( Dec. 23 ) Bahamas ( Dec. 24 ) Hawaii ( Dec. 24 ) St. Petersburg ( Dec. 26 ) Sun ( Dec. 26 ) Heart of Dallas ( Dec. 26 ) Pinstripe ( Dec. 26 ) Independence ( Dec. 26 ) Foster Farms ( Dec. 26 ) Military ( Dec. 28 ) Quick Lane ( Dec. 28 ) Armed Forces ( Dec. 29 ) Russell Athletic ( Dec. 29 ) Arizona ( Dec. 29 ) Texas ( Dec. 29 ) Birmingham ( Dec. 30 ) Belk ( Dec. 30 ) Music City ( Dec. 30 ) Holiday ( Dec. 30 ) Peach ( Dec. 31 ) Outback ( Jan. 1 ) Citrus ( Jan. 1 ) Fiesta ( Jan. 1 ) Rose ( Jan. 1 ) Sugar ( Jan. 1 ) TaxSlayer ( Jan. 2 ) Liberty ( Jan. 2 ) Alamo ( Jan. 2 ) Cactus ( Jan. 2 ) College Football Playoff games : Orange ( semifinal ) ( Dec. 31 ) Cotton ( semifinal ) ( Dec. 31 ) National Championship Game ( Jan. 11 ) All - Star Games : East -- West Shrine Game ( Jan. 23 ) NFLPA Collegiate Bowl ( Jan. 23 ) Senior Bowl ( Jan. 30 ) Cotton Bowl Classic History & conference tie - ins History Cotton Bowl AT&T Stadium College Football Playoff Broadcasters Playoff At - Large Group of Five Games 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1966 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 2015 2017 2017 Notes There was a Cotton Bowl Classic in January and December in 1966, 2015 and 2017 There was no Cotton Bowl Classic in 1967 or 2016 The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its December 2015 edition College Football Playoff Championships Overview College Football Playoff National Championship Games 2014 -- 15 2015 -- 16 2016 -- 17 2017 -- 18 2018 -- 19 2019 -- 20 2020 -- 21 Semifinal Bowls Rose 2014 ( Jan 2015 ) 2017 ( Jan 2018 ) 2020 ( Jan 2021 ) Sugar 2014 ( Jan 2015 ) 2017 ( Jan 2018 ) 2020 ( Jan 2021 ) Orange 2015 ( Dec 2015 ) 2018 ( Dec 2018 ) Cotton 2015 ( Dec 2015 ) 2018 ( Dec 2018 ) Peach 2016 ( Dec 2016 ) 2019 ( Dec 2019 ) Fiesta 2016 ( Dec 2016 ) 2019 ( Dec 2019 ) Other List of College Football Playoff games New Year 's Six College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy NCAA Division I FBS champions Mythical national championship Plus - One system Power Five conferences Championship games for each season are played in January, while semifinal games are identified by season year, alternating between December and January Alabama Crimson Tide bowl games 1926 Rose Bowl 1927 Rose Bowl 1931 Rose Bowl 1935 Rose Bowl 1938 Rose Bowl 1942 Cotton Bowl Classic 1943 Orange Bowl 1945 Sugar Bowl 1946 Rose Bowl 1948 Sugar Bowl 1953 Orange Bowl 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic 1959 Liberty Bowl 1960 Bluebonnet Bowl 1962 Sugar Bowl 1963 Orange Bowl 1964 Sugar Bowl 1965 Orange Bowl 1966 Orange Bowl 1967 Sugar Bowl 1968 Cotton Bowl Classic 1968 Gator Bowl 1969 Liberty Bowl 1970 Astro - Bluebonnet Bowl 1972 Orange Bowl 1973 Cotton Bowl Classic 1973 Sugar Bowl 1975 Orange Bowl 1975 Sugar Bowl 1976 Liberty Bowl 1978 Sugar Bowl 1979 Sugar Bowl 1980 Sugar Bowl 1981 Cotton Bowl Classic 1982 Cotton Bowl Classic 1982 Liberty Bowl 1983 Sun Bowl 1985 Aloha Bowl 1986 Sun Bowl 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl 1988 Sun Bowl 1990 Sugar Bowl 1991 Fiesta Bowl 1991 Blockbuster Bowl 1993 Sugar Bowl # 1993 Gator Bowl 1995 Florida Citrus Bowl 1997 Outback Bowl 1998 Music City Bowl 2000 Orange Bowl 2001 Independence Bowl 2004 Music City Bowl 2006 Cotton Bowl Classic 2006 Independence Bowl 2007 Independence Bowl 2009 Sugar Bowl 2010 BCS National Championship Game # 2011 Capital One Bowl 2012 BCS National Championship Game # 2013 BCS National Championship Game # 2014 Sugar Bowl 2015 Sugar Bowl / 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic ( Dec ) / 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship # 2016 Peach Bowl / 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship # 2018 Sugar Bowl / 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship # # denotes national championship game / denotes College Football Playoff semifinal game Michigan State Spartans bowl games 1938 Orange Bowl 1954 Rose Bowl 1956 Rose Bowl 1966 Rose Bowl 1984 Cherry Bowl 1985 Hall of Fame Classic 1988 Rose Bowl 1989 Gator Bowl 1989 Aloha Bowl 1990 John Hancock Bowl 1993 Liberty Bowl 1995 Independence Bowl 1996 Sun Bowl 1997 Aloha Bowl 2000 Florida Citrus Bowl 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic 2003 Alamo Bowl 2007 Champs Sports Bowl 2009 Capital One Bowl 2010 Alamo Bowl 2011 Capital One Bowl 2012 Outback Bowl 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl 2014 Rose Bowl 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic ( Jan ) 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic ( Dec ) / 2017 Holiday Bowl Forward slash ( / ) denotes College Football Playoff semifinal game Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2015_Cotton_Bowl_Classic_(December)&oldid=837274651 '' Categories : 2015 -- 16 NCAA football bowl games 2015 -- 16 College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl Classic Alabama Crimson Tide football bowl games Michigan State Spartans football bowl games 2015 in sports in Texas 21st century in Arlington, Texas December 2015 sports events in the United States Hidden categories : Pages using deprecated image syntax Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 19 April 2018, at 20 : 11. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who did alabama play in 2015 bowl game
Answer: Michigan State