The second annual Texas Bowl features a match up between two Texas teams: the University of Houston Cougars (8-4) and the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs (7-5) from Houston's Reliant Stadium. The Texas Bowl airs live in high definition Friday, December 28 at 8:00 p.m. ET on NFL Network.
NFL Network's broadcast team for the Texas Bowl includes analysts Charles Davis and Mike Mayock alongside play-by-play announcer Brad Sham. Kim Jones reports from the sidelines.
The Texas Bowl is the first of three live games in a four-day span on NFL Network and is followed by the final game of NFL Network's Thursday and Saturday Night Football (New England Patriots vs. New York Giants) at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 29 and the 2007 Insight Bowl (Indiana vs. Oklahoma State) at 6:00 p.m. ET on Monday, December 31.
The Cougars will be led by interim head coach Chris Thurmond (former head coach Art Briles was hired as Baylor University's head coach in November). After the Texas Bowl, former University of Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Kevin Sumlin takes over head coaching duties at Houston.
After redshirt freshman Case Keenum tops the quarterback depth chart vs. TCU after splitting time with sophomore Blake Joseph. Keenum's best performance this season came against Colorado State Sept. 29 when he passed for 197 yards and two TDs, leading the Cougars to a 38-27 win. The Cougar rushing attack is led by senior running back Anthony Alridge, who ranks second in yards per carry among football bowl subdivision (FBS) rushers with 7.37.
TCU makes its ninth bowl appearance in the last 10 seasons. Redshirt freshman Adam Dalton leads the Horned Frog offense and holds the TCU freshman record for passing yards with 2,210. Sophomore tailback Joseph Turner looks to build on his regular-season finale performance of 226 rush yards and four touchdowns against San Diego State. On the defensive side of the ball, senior defensive ends Tommy Blake (fifth with 23.0 sacks) and Chase Ortiz (tied for 14th with 19.5 sacks) rank in the top 15 among active FBS sack leaders. TCU is the only team with two players in the top 16.
The 2007 Texas Bowl marks the 25th time Houston and TCU face each other with the Cougars holding a 13-11 advantage since the series began in 1976.
The Texas Bowl is part of NFL Networks' Path to the Draft coverage which includes the Insight Bowl, the Under Armour Senior Bowl and the 2007 Scouting Combine. Gavel-to-gavel live coverage of the 2008 NFL Draft airs April 26-27 on NFL Network. Earlier this season, NFL Network aired two regular season games, the Fountain City Classic matching Fort Valley State versus Albany State and the Circle City Classic between Winston-Salem State and Florida A&M.
In 2007, NFL Network will air nearly 200 football games, including eight regular season NFL games, 52 preseason games, 98 game replays, Super Bowl and NFL Classics, plus the Insight Bowl, Texas Bowl and Senior Bowl. NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the first television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. For more information, log onto www.nfl.com/nflnetwork. NFL.com is the exclusive internet home of NFL Network.
