COLLEGE FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT : THEY DIDN’T COTTON TO COTTON IN DALLAS

For the first time in the bowl’s rich 60-year history, a Southwest Conference team did not compete in the Cotton Bowl. It showed Monday.

Although 58,214 tickets were sold, about 30,000 were on hand for the start. Late in the game, only about a third of those remained to brave cold, rainy weather.

Ten of the last 11 Cotton Bowls were sellouts, but the Colorado-Oregon matchup simply did not have much interest outside of Boulder, Colo., and Eugene, Ore.

John Crawford, Cotton Bowl president, said the empty seats for the nationally televised game hurt the event’s image.

But it might take more than a full stadium for the Cotton Bowl to rejoin the ranks of major postseason games.

“The weather and the facilities certainly make a difference in terms of where they play Tier I football,” Crawford said.

Considering the freezing day at the rundown stadium in south Dallas, it might be some time before the Cotton moves up.