1954 Cotton Bowl Classic

The1954Cotton Bowl Classic, part of the1953 bowl gameseason, took place on January 1, 1954, at theCotton BowlinDallas,Texas. The competing teams were theAlabama Crimson Tide, representing theSoutheastern Conference(SEC) as conference champions, and theRice Owls, representing theSouthwest Conference(SWC) as conference co-champions. Rice won the game 28–6, but its victory was overshadowed by Alabama'sTommy Lewisand his "12th man tackle" of Rice running backDicky Maeglein the second quarter.
The 1953 Alabama squad won only six games all year, and only four of seven conference games. However, the other three conference games were ties, and a 4–0–3 record was good enough to win Alabama the SEC title. It was 'Bama's first conference championship since1945and last until1961. Following their victory overAuburnin theIron Bowlto clinch the conference championship, Alabama accepted an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day.The appearance was the second for Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, as they defeatedTexas A&M29–21 in the 1942 game.
Rice accepted a bid for the Cotton Bowl following their 41–19 victory overBaylorto clinch a share of the conference championship withTexas.The appearance marked the third for Rice in the Cotton Bowl, as they defeatedColorado28–14 in the 1938 game andNorth Carolina27–13 in the 1950 game.
After tradingpuntson the opening pair of offensive possessions, midway through the first quarter Alabama'sBart Starrintercepted a LeRoy Fenstemaker pass and returned it to the Rice 48-yard line.On the ensuing possession, Alabama scored its only points of the contest afterTommy Lewiscapped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run and a 6–0 lead.Rice responded with a trio of long touchdown runs byDicky Moegleto take a 21–6 lead into the fourth quarter. Moegle's first score came on a 79-yard run on the first play of the second quarter.
Midway through the second, Moegle was awarded a touchdown on one of the more infamous plays in college football history. After taking thehandofffrom quarterback LeRoy Fenstemaker, Moegle broke free for what was to be a deemed 95-yard touchdown run.In what was dubbed the "12th man tackle," Alabamarunning backTommy Lewis left the Alabama bench, entered the field of play andtackledMoegle at the Alabama 42-yard line, apparently believing that even if the 5-yard penalty forillegal participationwere enforced, his illegal move would have still stopped the score. However,refereeCliff Shaw instead awarded Moegle a 95-yard touchdown on the play under thepalpably unfair actrule, which accounts for situations when a flagrant rule violation prevents a player from scoring by awarding the score anyway.  As humorously reported in theReading Eagle,"The incident became the first in bowl game history where a man on the bench tackled a runner, and also the first where a runner received credit for a touchdown while flat on his back 38[sic]yards from the goal line."
Moegle's final touchdown came in the third quarter on a 37-yard run to cap a 67-yard drive for the Owls.For the game, Moegle rushed for 265 yards on 11 carries for an average of 24.1 yards per attempt.Rice scored the final points of the game early in the fourth quarter when Buddy Grantham rushed 7-yards for a touchdown to cap a 75-yard drive and bring the final score to 28–6.
Lewis later explained his tackle by saying that he "was just too full of Alabama."Lewis and Moegle later appeared together onThe Ed Sullivan Show.
Rice returned to the Cotton Bowl Classicfour years laterbut did not win a bowl game again until the2008 Texas Bowl.
Alabama's next Cotton Bowl Classic appearance was14 years later, its first of four under legendary coachBear Bryant. The Crimson Tide did not win the Cotton Bowl untilJanuary 1981.