BCS verdict puts TCU in Houston
The uncertainty surrounding the bowl season after a poll-altering Saturday didn't affect only the BCS on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Texas Bowl director David Brady can attest to that.
But all was well by mid- afternoon Sunday as a sleep-deprived Brady got the best situation for his game -- TCU vs. Houston.
"For everything that's happened, this is a perfect scenario for us," Brady said. "It's been a lot of fun."
The Horned Frogs will be playing in their ninth bowl game in the past 10 seasons when they take on Houston on Dec. 28 at Reliant Stadium (7 p.m., NFL Network). Their fate was determined when the BCS selected Kansas for an at-large spot in the Orange Bowl.
With two Big 12 teams in the BCS, the conference was unable to send a team to fill its tie-in in Houston. Had that not happened, TCU probably would have gone to the New Mexico Bowl.
"We had two things that were going to happen for us," Brady said. "We were going to have a Big 12 team, or we were going to have TCU. We were in a no-lose situation."
With Houston filling the Conference USA tie-in, the bowl has one of its dream matchups: two Texas teams that were Southwest Conference rivals. TCU also has several players -- including all-conference defensive end Chase Ortiz (League City) and starting quarterback Andy Dalton (Katy) -- from the Houston area.
"The Horned Frogs are a good football team," Brady said. "Their team is loaded with kids from Houston. We couldn't be happier."
Frogs coach Gary Patterson echoed those sentiments.
"I'm really excited about it," he said. "I think the players knew where we were going. I think a lot of them feel very fortunate to be in a bowl."
TCU (7-5) won three of its final four games to enter the postseason mix, a run that ended with a 45-33 victory over San Diego State on Nov. 24.
Patterson said the Frogs are also excited to be heading back to Houston for the second time in the past three years. TCU beat Iowa State 27-24 in 2005 in the now-defunct EV1.net Houston Bowl.
"The last time we were in Houston was great," said Patterson, who is 3-3 in bowl games. "Reliant Stadium is a just a great venue, and we're glad to be a part of it."
Texas Bowl
TCU vs. Houston
7 p.m. Dec. 28, Reliant Stadium, Houston
Records: TCU 7-5, 4-4 Mountain West; Houston 8-4, 6-2 Conference USA
Tickets: $75, $50, $30, $25 at gofrogs.com, or go to texasbowl.org. Call 817-257-7967 for information.
TV: NFL Network. Most cable TV subscribers in
the Fort Worth area don't receive the NFL Network. TCU athletic director
Danny Morrison said whether the game would be made available to more viewers is an NFL Network decision "and right now we don't know." Last year Texas Tech's bowl game
on the NFL Network was made available to some cable systems on a "Freeview."
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