2013 Cotton Bowl Classic The 2013 AT & T Cotton Bowl Classic was a post - season American college football bowl game held on January 4 , 2013 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington , Texas in the United States . The 77th edition of the Cotton Bowl Classic began at 7 : 00 p . m . CST and aired on FOX . It featured the Texas A & M Aggies from the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) against the Big 12 Conference co - champion Oklahoma Sooners and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams . Both the Aggies and the Sooners accepted their invitations after finishing the regular season 10 – 2 . The pre - game buildup was primarily focused on the two high - powered offenses , both of whom were led by strong passing attacks led by quarterbacks Johnny Manziel and Landry Jones respectively . Both teams also had several quality wide receivers , but both were average to below average defensively . Experts were split in their prognostications , but most predicted a high - scoring game . Texas A & M defeated Oklahoma 41 – 13 to win the Cotton Bowl Classic and to finish the season with a 11 – 2 record . Manziel rushed for 229 yards during the game , a bowl record , rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for two more . Though the halftime score was 14 - 13 Texas A & M , the Aggies went on to score 27 unanswered second half points to win the game . Teams . Oklahoma . With an 8 – 1 conference record , the Sooners once again won a share of the Big 12 Championship ; however , their loss to the Kansas State Wildcats prevented them from reaching the 2013 Fiesta Bowl spot . In addition , the non - AQ Northern Illinois Huskies completed the qualifications to go to the 2013 Orange Bowl , leaving the Sooners out of the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) . This was the Sooners ' second Cotton Bowl ; they had previously won the 2002 game , defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks by a score of 10 – 3 . The Sooners were the first team since Florida in 1993 to play against the teams with the top 3 Heisman vote - getters for that season ( having played against 3rd place finisher Collin Klein from Kansas State , runner - up Manti Te ' o from Notre Dame , and Heisman winner Manziel from Texas A & M ) ; they lost to all three . Texas A & M . The Aggies ' first season as members of the SEC was led by freshman quarterback and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Manziel , the Aggies posted a 6 – 2 conference record ( 10 – 2 overall ) , good for a second - place tie in the SEC West Division ( tied with the LSU Tigers ) . In perhaps their biggest game of the season , the Aggies defeated defending national champions and 2013 BCS National Championship Game participants the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa 29 – 24 . This was the Aggies ' thirteenth Cotton Bowl appearance ; with the win they hold a 5 – 8 record in the game . Pre - game buildup . Coming into the game , much of the buildup surrounded the matchup of two top - flight quarterbacks , senior Landry Jones for Oklahoma and Heisman Trophy winner freshman Johnny Manziel for Texas A & M , both of whom ranked in the top - 15 nationally in passing yards . In the all - time series between the two schools , Oklahoma had won 19 games to Texas A & M ' s 11 . This was the teams ' first meeting since Texas A & M left the Big 12 for the SEC . Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin previously was an assistant under Bob Stoops ; coming into the game Stoops was 13 - 4 against his former assistants . Oklahoma . Oklahoma compiled a 10 win , 2 loss record during the regular season and was left out of the BCS for the second consecutive year . Offense . Oklahoma ' s offense was led by their senior quarterback Jones who was primarily responsible for the Sooners ' 224 passing first downs , which was best in the country , and their 52 . 2 third down conversion success rate , which was fourth - best in the country . Jones , a senior who was ranked by ESPN as the number five quarterback prospect for the 2013 NFL Draft , completed 66 % of his 555 passes totaling 4267 yards , which was second - best in the country , and 30 touchdowns . Jones threw primarily to a trio of upperclassmen wide receivers each of whom ended the season with more than 800 receiving yards , junior Kenny Stills , junior Jalen Saunders , who transferred in the offseason from Fresno State , and senior Justin Brown , who transferred to the Sooners in the offseason amid sanctions from the NCAA in wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal . Oklahoma ' s rushing attack , which was second - worst in the Big 12 in terms of total yards , was led by juniors Damien Williams and Brennan Clay , who amassed 946 yards and 11 touchdowns and 555 yards and 6 touchdowns respectively . Defense . Oklahoma ' s defense improved after head coach Bob Stoops ' brother , former Sooners co - defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Mike Stoops , returned to Oklahoma as the defensive coordinator after having served the previous seven and a half seasons as head coach of the Arizona Wildcats where he totaled 41 wins and 50 losses and was fired mid way through the 2011 season . Oklahoma ' s defense was led in tackles by safety Tony Jefferson , who recorded 113 becoming just the sixth Sooner defensive back ever to amass more than 100 . In addition to Jefferson , Oklahoma was represented by defensive back Aaron Colvin on the All - Big 12 first team and defensive lineman David King and defensive back Demontre Hurst on the second team . Texas A & M . It was announced on December 12 , 2012 that Texas A & M ' s offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury had left the university for the head coaching position at his alma mater , Texas Tech . Consequently , coach Kevin Sumlin announced that running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Clarence McKinney would call plays during the bowl . Offense . The Aggies ' offense averaged 44 . 8 points per game , third in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) . A & M ' s offense was led in both passing and rushing by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel . Manziel threw primarily to two receivers , fellow redshirt freshman Mike Evans , who totaled 82 receptions for 1105 yards and 5 touchdowns , and senior Ryan Swope , who totaled 72 receptions for 913 yards and 8 touchdowns . Together , the duo combined for 45 percent of the Aggies ' targets , catching 139 of 199 passes for 1 , 845 yards and 12 touchdowns . Aside from Manziel , junior Ben Malena amassed 808 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns , while senior Christine Michael scored 8 rushing touchdowns to go along with 417 rushing yards . The Aggies also had two projected first - round draft picks on their offensive line , junior tackles Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews . Defense . The Aggies ' defense was led by first - year defensive coordinator Mark Snyder , who previously was a head coach at Marshall and defensive coordinator for Ohio State . Their leading tackler was junior defensive lineman Damontre Moore , who achieved first - team All - SEC accolades during the regular season and declared early to enter the 2013 NFL Draft , where he is considered one of the top prospects , and was the second overall pick in Todd McShay ' s initial mock draft . Game summary . First quarter . Texas A & M got the ball to start the game and marched down the field on an 8 - play , 75 - yard drive that culminated in the first of Manziel ' s two rushing touchdowns , the first of which went for 23 yards . Oklahoma took over at their own 25 yardline after a touchback on the kickoff . Jones was 6 / 8 for 43 yards passing on the drive . The Sooners got as far as second and goal at the one yardline prior to two failed plays and a false start penalty that set up a 23 yard field goal to make the score 7 – 3 Texas A & M . The drive totaled 16 plays and 69 yards in 5 : 43 . On the ensuing drive , Texas A & M was forced to punt after achieving only one first down . Second quarter . Oklahoma ' s next drive ran 18 plays and 87 yards taking up 7 : 26 . Once again , the Sooners stalled in the red zone and were again forced to settle for a field goal , this time a 24 - yarder by Michael Hunnicutt . The next two drives by Texas A & M and Oklahoma both ended in interceptions thrown by Manziel and Jones respectively . Texas A & M took over at the Oklahoma 48 yardline following Jones ' interception . A trick play to start the drive resulted in senior wide receiver Kenric McNeal throwing a 20 - yard pass to Mike Evans . On the next play , running back Ben Malena running the ball 23 yards to the five yardline . Manziel ran for a 5 - yard touchdown on the next play to make the score 14 – 6 . Oklahoma ' s next drive lasted 13 plays and 83 yards that culminated in a 6 - yard touchdown pass from Jones to Justin Brown . Third quarter . Oklahoma ' s first second - half drive resulted in a quick three - and - out . After a 58 - yard punt by Tress Way which was downed at the Texas A & M 9 - yard line . Despite the poor field position , the Aggies put together a 7 - play , 91 - yard drive highlighted by a 35 - yard pass from Manziel to Uzoma Nwachukwu and finished with a 7 - yard touchdown run by Malena . Oklahoma had another three - and - out on their next drive . Texas A & M subsequently established a 7 - play , 89 - yard drive that featured three consecutive completed passes from Manziel to Malcome Kennedy and concluded with a 30 - yard rushing touchdown by Trey Williams . Oklahoma ' s next drive was their third consecutive three - and - out . Texas A & M then scored their third consecutive touchdown , this time on a 33 - yard pass from Manziel to Ryan Swope making the score 34 – 13 . Oklahoma then ran a 7 - play , 31 - yard drive before punting to end the quarter . Fourth quarter . Texas A & M had their first three - and - out of the game to begin the fourth quarter . Oklahoma achieved one first down on their subsequent drive before turning the ball over on downs . Texas A & M scored for the final time of the game on their ensuing drive via a 34 - yard touchdown pass from Manziel to Nwachukwu to make the score 41 – 13 . Oklahoma and Texas A & M then exchanged punts before the final drive of the game by Oklahoma which lasted four plays prior to time running out . Scoring summary . Statistics . Individual statistics . Rushing . Manziel ' s 229 - yard performance set an FBS record for most rushing yards in a bowl game .