ARLINGTON -- The fourth Cowboys Classic game was the biggest and best yet as 90,413 watched No.2 Alabama destroy No. 8 Michigan, 41-14 in the highest attended college football game ever at Cowboys Stadium. The teams combined to set 48 Cowboys Classic records including Alabama's most points scored in a quarter (21), half (31) and game (41) and the largest margin of victory (27). The past editions of the annual game saw BYU beating Oklahoma (14-13 in 2009), TCU defeating Oregon State (30-21 in 2010) and LSU over Oregon (40-27 in 2011).
The game may have kicked off after 7 p.m., but the action on the stadium's grounds was a day-long affair. ESPN's College Gameday broadcast began at 9 a.m. from Arlington with thousands of fans on hand with signs, banners and Fatheads supporting their schools (among other things) and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on set to predict the winners of the day's games. The crew of Chris Fowler, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso take their show on the road every week to the site of the biggest game with the best scene. They have previously been at TCU in 2009 when the Horned Frogs hosted Utah and will be heading to College Station next week for Texas A&M's SEC debut when they host Florida.
Tailgaters were out in full force getting the party started with ribs, chicken and burgers on the grill and every type of liquor one could imagine or fit under a tent. In addition to the tailgating that enveloped the colossal stadium, Lot 5 was a hot spot to gather for fans that did not have tents and grills at their disposal. ESPN Radio's Gameday with Ryen Russillo was on the air until kickoff and the Sports Illustrated Heisman Tour presented by Nissan was open from noon to 7 p.m. The Heisman Tour featured SI's Dan Patrick along with Heisman winners from each school (Desmond Howard from Michigan and Mark Ingram from Alabama) signing autographs.
While it may have felt like an all day party, there was an actual game that turned out to be not much of a contest at all. Led by quarterback A.J. McCarron, freshman running back T.J. Yeldon and defensive back Dee Milliner, Alabama coasted to an easy victory that all but erased any Heisman hopes for Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson.
Upcoming college football games at Cowboys Stadium include Texas Tech vs. Baylor on November 24 and the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic on January 4, 2013.
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