Nov 12, 1988; Pasadena, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; UCLA Bruins quarterback (8) Troy Aikman shakes hands with head coach Terry Donahue at they leave the field following their victory over the Stanford Cardinal 27-17 at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Imagn Images © Copyright Imagn Images RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Troy Aikman Says Goodbye, Revisiting the 1989 Cotton Bowl

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Brock Vierra | Last updated Jan 22, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Football is poetic. It is a story written as if the heartstrings had hands.

UCLA's Troy Aikman, a man who found his rightful home in Westwood after an ill-fated career at Oklahoma, a man who propelled UCLA to No. 1 in the polls was preparing to walk away from a historic collegiate career in the city he would one day call his NFL home and against a school who's most famous alumnus and his National Championship winning friend were about to transform the franchise he would soon call home.

Jan. 2, 1989. Dallas, Texas. The Cotton Bowl. UCLA, led by legendary head coach Terry Donahue and Heisman finalist quarterback Troy Aikman finished the 1988 season with a heartbreaking loss to USC, yielding the Pac-12 title and the 1989 Rose Bowl birth to the hated Trojans. In response, both men and the Bruins were looking for revenge.

Much was made of that week's practice as many expected Aikman to be selected number one overall to the Dallas Cowboys. Head coach Tom Landry watched his future quarterback at practice for what many expected to be the start of the rebirth of his once-feared Cowboys. The rebirth happened but by that time, Landry had been fired. The Cowboys would be sold to oil tycoon, Arkansas Razorback national champion, and the man who would revolutionize the NFL, Jerry Jones. Jones would bring along his teammate at Arkansas and national champion head coach at Miami, Jimmy Johnson, to replace Landry.

Arkansas would be the team Aikman and the Bruins would face and those would be the same Razorbacks the Bruins would displace in a 17-3 victory. Arkansas would need a heroic effort to have won as head coach Ken Hatfield suspended All-American guard Freddie Childress and All-American defensive end Wayne Martin for a rules violation. UCLA was able to be successful on both sides of the ball due to the loss of these men. Childress went on to have a career in the CFL and Martin was a first-round pick by the Saints, playing from 1989 to 1999. Two second quarter touchdowns, one tossed by Aikman and a field goal in the fourth put this contest to bed.

The win gave UCLA its seventh straight bowl win, making the mark the new NCAA record. UCLA would finish sixth in the AP Poll. Landry, who watched Aikman practice at Texas Stadium would never coach him. In fact, Landry watched Aikman get drafted on his couch most likely as between the Cotton Bowl and the NFL Draft, Jerry Jones finished buying the Cowboys and thus, a new sheriff was in town.

Jones, Johnson and Aikman would win Super Bowls in 1993, 1994, and Aikman and Barry Switzer, his old coach at Oklahoma and the man who paved Aikman's move to Los Angeles would win it in 1996.

This article first appeared on UCLA Bruins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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