The Cotton Bowl used to be one of the Big Four (Rose, Sugar, Cotton, Orange) Rose matched Pac 10 and Big 10, Sugar had SEC, Cotton had SWC, and the Orange had Big 8. That was the top 5 conferences against the other best 3 in the country. Much better than the current setup.
Two things killed the Cotton Bowl when the BCS was set up - the SMU death penalty which resulted in the breakup of the SWC, and the twin economic crises in Dallas - the collapse of the oil patch and the collapse of the banks.The Cotton bowl lost its base conference and the money needed to compete. It's only been very recently that they have reinstituted the Cotton Bowl parade.
Former mayor Kirk blocked a planned renovation of the Cotton Bowl stadium, ensuring that the game itself will flee Dallas for Jerry Jones Stadium in Tarrant County.
Cap One Bowl - TEBOW 7 Michigan 7. I say Tebow because the announcers are convinced that there are no other players on the field for Florida other than Tim Tebow. He throws, runs, passes, kicks, makes all the tackles, saves young children from burning buildings, has brought about world peace, ended hunger and is singlehandedly working on an alternative fuel solution and free enrergy for all.