Texas Bowl

After a tumultuous start to the 2009 season, the BCS rankings are finally out and there are few surprises on the list.  Florida, Alabama and Texas continue to dominate the top ranks, and Boise State and TCU are hanging on as potential BCS busters.  One thing to note is AP Top 25 ranked Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas Tech are all absent from the BCS rankings.

Those of you that saw the Red River Shootout in Dallas witnessed a defensive battle and a complete 360 from last year’s game.  The 2008 matchup saw Texas post 438 yards, 5 touchdowns and 45 points and Oklahoma produce an equally impressive 435 yards, 5 touchdowns and 35 points.  This year’s rivalry featured a total of 2 touchdowns and 29 points at Fair Park in Dallas.  While some of the reduced offense can be attributed to Sam Bradford leaving the game early, it simply came down to each team’s defense.

Navy squeezed by SMU in OT for their 5th win on the season.  The Midshipmen only need 2 more wins to become bowl eligible and make their 2nd trip to Houston this year for the Texas Bowl.

As we pass the midpoint of the season and inch toward team selections, we are going to be looking at teams much closer across the board.  Things are also starting to fall together for the Texas Bowl and we are excited about this year’s game.  Email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit us online at http://www.texasbowl.org if you have questions or comments about the college football landscape or the Texas Bowl.  It should be a good one!

Also, if you missed the BIG news, the Texas Bowl has adjusted conference alignments for the 2010-2013 bowl cycle.  Starting next year, the Texas Bowl will feature the Big 12 (#5 after BCS) vs. Big Ten (#5 after BCS). 

See you at the game!
The Texas Bowl Team

Conference Football Updates

This was a highly anticipated weekend of Big 12 football that produced unexpected results.  Sam Bradford and the #20 Oklahoma Sooners rolled into the Cotton Bowl to take on Colt McCoy and the #3 Texas Longhorns, but the Oklahoma QB’s day lasted only eight plays.  Bradford fell hard on a sack reinjuring his right shoulder and never returned to the field.  Colt McCoy managed only 127 yards and 1 TD in the defensive struggle.  Longhorn Earl Thomas intercepted a pass from Landry Jones, Bradford’s replacement, with 2:32 left in the game to preserve the 16-13 victory.  Texas Tech went into Lincoln to take on the 15th ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers and managed only 259 yards of offense, 263 under their average, but came away with a 31-10 upset win.  Colorado pulled off an upset of their own at home by jumping ahead 24-3 over #17 Kansas in the first half, and held on for a 34-30 win.  Iowa State broke an eleven game conference losing streak defeating Baylor 24-10.  #16 Oklahoma State defeated Missouri 33-17 and Kansas State rolled Texas A&M 62-14.

Navy improved to 5-2 with an overtime win at SMU.  The Midshipmen rallied from a 21-7 halftime deficit to mount touchdown drives of 75 and 70 yards on back to back possessions in the 3rd quarter.  The Mustangs sent the game into overtime with a touchdown with 1:35 left on the clock.  SMU missed a field goal in their first possession of the OT, but Navy K Joe Buckley’s field goal gave Navy the 38-35 (OT) win.

In Conference USA action, #23 Houston improved to 5-1 on the season with a 44-16 win at Tulane.  Cougar QB Case Keenum eclipsed the 300 yard mark for the 6th consecutive time this season.  Southern Miss improved to 4-3 with a 36-16 win over Memphis.  East Carolina earned its 4th win of the season with a 49-13 over Rice.  UAB, Marshall, UCF and SMU all suffered non-conference losses.

The BCS standings are finally out and the Big 12 has 3 teams ranked nationally, and Conference USA has 1.  See this week’s complete rankings.

Games to Watch

• Tulsa @ UTEP, October 21, 7:00 PM CST, ESPN
• Iowa St. @ Nebraska, October 24, 11:30 AM CST, FSN
• Wake Forest @ Navy, October 24, 2:30 PM CST, CBS-CS

Bowl Outlook

After a surreal week in the Big 12, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach now predicts Kansas State and Bruce Feldman now predicts Iowa State to take on Navy in the 2009 Texas Bowl.  See the full list.

Announcements

The Texas Bowl Competition Committee will visit 2 games this weekend.  Skip Wagner will visit Missouri as they host #3 Texas and Steve Peterson will be in Lubbock to see the Red Raiders take on the Texas A&M Aggies.

Thank you to everyone that came out to our Volunteer Kick-off last Thursday at Sammy’s!  We hope you had a great time and are looking forward to the bowl.  We will follow up with you soon and deliver further details.

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