Two of the nation's most powerful offensive teams met in the 1949 Cotton Bowl. Doak Walker and Kyle Rote led the Mustangs to their second consecutive Southwest Conference championship in 1948 while Oregon rode the right arm of quarterback Norm Van Brocklin to the Pacific Coast Conference co-championship.

The difference in the game was the use of the quick kick by SMU. Walker booted one 79 yards and Rote launched an 84-yard kick to pin the Ducks deep in their own territory. In addition to their quick kicks, the Mustangs' star running backs each scored touchdowns to give SMU a 14-0 lead. Answering the call for the Ducks, Van Brocklin threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dick Wilkins early in the fourth quarter. SMU put the game away just three minutes later when Chicken Roberts scored on an eight-yard run to push the lead to 21-6.