Sports Illustrated cover jinx didn't help.

Game was moved to first week in December for ABC.Texas A&M methodically moved up to #2 in '75 after a good run in 1974 (where they oddly enough turned down a Bluebonnet Bowl bid holding out for Cotton or bust. Well, Texas 'busted' them 32-3 and Baylor went to their first Cotton.)

Nebraska was crushed by Oklahoma, 35-10 the weekend A&M beat Texas for the first time since '67 as the Aggies moved to #2. Ohio State finished the regular season 11-0-0 and #1 and would face UCLA in the Rose Bowl--in a dreaded rematch of a regular season game Ohio State had won 41-20.

But even with A&M 10-0-0 and #2 and Arkansas #18 and 8-2, the winner would go to the Cotton. The SWC was long still tied to the Cotton. A&M was in a real perilous spot as the Aggies weren't a national brand and the Orange and Sugar passed on the SWC backup.

Arkansas destroyed Texas A&M, 31-6. Not only did the Aggies miss out on the National Title and Cotton Bowl, they fell all the way to the Liberty Bowl.It got worse. After eons of stodginess by the Big 10 and Pac 8 , both conferences would allow a team other than the Rose Bowl representative to go to a bowl. Southern Cal would go to the Liberty bowl. The Trojans even at 7-4 were arguably as talented as any team and had been ranked #1 in early November before rumors leaked out that John McKay would leave Los Angeles to be the head coach of the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL. The Trojans lost their last four games after words.

Now had Texas A&M defeated Arkansas they would have gone to the Cotton to face Georgia. A solid,rugged 9-2 team,but not unstoppable. Later on New Year's afternoon, UCLA upset #1 Ohio State, 23-10. An Aggie win over Georgia would have put them at #1.

Unfortunately,Southern Cal came together one last time and creamed A&M 20-0 as the Aggies finished out of the top 10.