After winning its first Southwest Conference crown in 18 seasons, SMU earned a trip to the Cotton Bowl to face Georgia. Kent Lawrence set the tone early for the Bulldogs when he raced 74 yards for a touchdown on the game's second play. The sophomore running back finished the day with 149 yards rushing on 16 carries, as the Mustangs were unable to contain the Georgia ground attack. SMU cut the lead
to 7-3 midway through the first quarter on Dennis Partee's 22- yard field goal.
Georgia responded by scoring 10 unanswered points before Mike Richardson scored the lone SMU touchdown on a one-yard dive with 1:14 left in the first half. Leading 17-9 at halftime, Georgia shut down the SMU offense and its outstanding sophomore receiver Jerry LeVias in the second half. The only score in the final two quarters came when Bulldog fullback Ronnie Jenkins, who rushed for 88 yards on 23 carries in the game, scored on a four-yard touchdown run with 14:33 left in the game.
| SMU | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | 9 |
| Georgia | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | - | 24 |
| GAME STATISTICS |
Scoring Summary
Georgia - Kent Lawrence 74 run (Bob Etter kick)
SMU - Dennis Partee 22 FG
Georgia - Etter 28 FG
Georgia - Billy Payne 20 pass from Kirby Moore (Etter kick)
SMU - Mike Richardson 1 run (kick failed)
Georgia - Ronnie Jenkins 4 run (Etter kick)
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| Team Statistics | SMU | Georgia |
| First Downs | 11 | 17 |
| Yards Rushing | 40 | 284 |
| Yards Passing | 165 | 79 |
| TotalYards | 205 | 363 |
| Passes | 10-20 | 6-14 |
| Punts-Average | 4-36.5 | 4-28.5 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 3 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-45 | 3-37 |
| Attendance | | 75,504 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing: SMU - Jernigan 9-28; Georgia - Lawrence 16-149
Passing: SMU - White 9-17-160; Georgia - Moore 6-11-79
Receiving: SMU - LeVias 3-62; Georgia - Payne 3-49
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