Texas Bowl

Once again, college football has lived up to the hype and brought us a great weekend of games.  #1 Florida flew past in-state rival Florida State, but #2 Alabama and #3 Texas were a bit shaky in their victories over Auburn and Texas A&M, respectively.  Probable BCS at-larges #4 TCU and #6 Boise State remained perfect on the season along with #5 Cincinnati.  West Virginia knocked off #9 Pittsburgh with a field goal with 3 seconds left on the clock, South Carolina upset #18 Clemson, and #20 USC continued their dominance over cross-town rival UCLA despite a near on-field brawl in the final minute.  Also of note, RB Toby Gerhart put on a Heisman-worthy performance as he ran for 205 yards and three scores, threw an 18-yard touchdown pass and scored the game-winning touchdown in Stanford’s 45-38 victory over Notre Dame.

#12 Oklahoma State fell to unranked Oklahoma in Norman, now have 3 losses this year, and are essentially out of the BCS picture.  While this is unfortunate for the Cowboys, the Texas Bowl should get a team from the Big 12 Conference this year provided #3 Texas defeats Nebraska in the conference championship.  Predictions and opinions vary but the Texas Bowl is likely to host the Texas A&M Aggies or the Iowa State Cyclones.  The official decision will be made this Sunday, December 6.

The first Texas Bowl Gridiron Legends Golf Tournament Presented by OfficeMax will take place this Wednesday, December 2 at Kingwood Country Club.  We are happy to report that the event is sold out and we have a great list of Legends joining us for the day.  Thanks to all of you who are slotted to play or have contributed to this event, and we look forward to seeing you on Wednesday!

The Texas Bowl is hosting its inaugural Texas Bowl Team Luncheon on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 11:30 a.m. at the JW Marriott and will benefit the Touchdown Club of Houston.  Guests will hear from head coaches and players as they detail their path to the Texas Bowl and the keys to victory in this year’s game.  In addition, many special appearances are in store for our newest Bowl Week event.  Go to http://www.texasbowl.org/events to secure your seats today!
See you at the game!
The Texas Bowl Team

Conference Football Updates

Rivalry weekend brought more exciting Big 12 action.  With BCS at-large hopes still alive, the #12 Oklahoma State Cowboys were shutout in Norman by the Oklahoma Sooners.  Sooner QB Zac Robinson threw for only 44 yards and an interception before being replaced by last week’s hero Brandon Weeden.  The Sooner defense allowed only 109 total yards and did not allow a Cowboy third down conversion.  The 118th installment of the Border War ended Kansas’s turbulent season with a dramatic loss.  With a three point lead and 3 minutes to play, Kansas allowed a safety and then a field goal as time expired to drop a 41-39 heartbreaker to rival Missouri. Kansas QB Todd Reesing threw for 4 touchdowns and 498 yards in the losing effort.  After securing bowl eligibility the week prior against Baylor, the Texas A&M Aggies entered Saturday with hopes of spoiling the National Championship bid of rival #3 University of Texas.  Aggie QB Jerrod Johnson passed for 342 yards and four touchdowns, but Heisman hopeful Colt McCoy matched him with four touchdowns of his own to lead the Longhorns to a 49-39 win.  Texas has won eight of the last ten meetings in the 116-game series.  Texas Tech scored 17 point in the second half to beat Baylor 20-13 at Cowboys Stadium.  Nebraska beat Colorado 28-20.  Colorado totaled 403 yards to the Husker’s 217, but Colorado could not overcome a 21-7 halftime deficit.

The Navy Midshipmen lost at Hawaii 24-17.  Navy QB Ricky Dobbs ran for one touchdown for the Midshipmen, tying the college football record with Chance Harridge of Air Force and Tim Tebow of Florida for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback at 23. Hawaii broke a 17-17 tie with a third quarter touchdown from Bryant Moniz to Alex Green.  The win keeps the postseason hopes alive for the Warriors. 

In C-USA action, East Carolina clinched the East Division with a win over Southern Miss.  A blocked extra point and field goal in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference in the 25-20 win.  #23 Houston clinched the Conference USA West Division with a 73-14 win over Rice.  The Cougars took a 59-0 win into half time and went on to score more points than any major college team this season.  SMU guaranteed a bowl-berth with a 26-21 over Tulane and will appear in a bowl game for the first time since the 1984 Aloha Bowl.  As a result, head coach June Jones was given a two year extension, guaranteeing him through 2014.  Central Florida kept UAB from becoming bowl eligible with a 34-27 win.  UTEP beat Marshall 52-21 in El Paso.  Blazers QB Joe Webb threw for 322 yards and 3 TD in the loss.  Tulsa won its fifth game of the year on an overtime victory 33-30 over Memphis.

After week thirteen, the Big 12 has 3 teams ranked nationally, and Conference USA has 1.  See this week’s complete rankings.

Games to Watch

• #3 Texas vs. #22 Nebraska, December 5 7:00 PM CST, ABC
• #21 Houston at East Carolina, December 5, 11:00 AM CST, ESPN2

Bowl Outlook

With conference play coming to an end and only the conference championship games remaining, the bowl picture is almost clear.  After week 13, ESPN bowl projectors Mark Schlabach and Bruce Feldman both predict the Iowa State Cyclones to take on the Navy Midshipmen in the 2009 Texas Bowl.  See the full list.

Texas Bowl Updates

Reserve your spot at the inaugural Texas Bowl Team Luncheon on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 11:30 a.m. at the JW Marriott.  Proceeds will benefit the Touchdown Club of Houston.  Go to http://www.texasbowl.org/events to secure your seats today!

Texas country band Reckless Kelly will perform on the Bud Light Stage at TexFest at the Texas Bowl.  Stay tuned for further information on the Texas Bowl website.

The Texas Bowl Competition Committee will visit 1 game this weekend as Don Faust and Jamey Rootes will be in Dallas at Cowboys Stadium to see #3 Texas Tech take on #22 Nebraska for the Big 12 Championship.

Don’t forget to follow the Texas Bowl on Facebook and Twitter for additional updates and inside information.