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'08 Bowl Game extra 'It was the bowl that
we wanted'
HOUSTON (Dec. 3) -- "It was the bowl that we wanted." That unequivocal comment of Rice head coach David Bailiff rang through the R Room during Wednesday afternoon’s press conference wherein university Athletic Director Chris DelConte and Texas Bowl officials jointly announced Rice's participation in the upcoming third annual version of the City of Houston's own hometown bowl game. "We are absolutely thrilled to be able to invite Rice to play in the Texas Bowl," said Texas Bowl manager Heather Houston. "Rice has had an amazing season and is one of the most exciting teams in the country. It will be a treat for football fans in Houston to see the Owls cap off this tremendous run right here at home." With the choice, Rice officials clearly chose to emphasize building the fan base by way of playing before a large local audience of non-Rice-affiliated attendees. "It's another opportunity for the people of Houston to come and see us," Coach Bailiff told a about 40 local press representatives gathered in the R Room, video cameras on. "It's a chance for Jarett and Chase to hook up one more time at home. There are nothing but positives." Naysayers have begged to differ, however, pointing out that the game will be televised on the NFL network instead of major network television, thus being available to only about 40 per cent of the viewership that a bowl game aired on ESPN would present. Local press trumped national coverage for Rice admin But Coach Bailiff and AD DelConte clearly were of the opinion that a large local attendance combined with liberal pre- and post- game publicity can best be calculated to inure to Rice's advantage in the struggle for fans and game attendance. Moreover, of the three apparently viable choices, the players themselves much preferred to stay home and play and celebrate here rather than, Fort Worth or Mobile. "This is a bowl that we are super excited about," CDC said. "The enthusiasm of our student athletes about playing a bowl at home in the city of Houston is absolutely phenomenal. To be able to come and have our student athletes, our fans, our faculty, staff and students to be able to participate in a bowl game right here in houston, you couldn’t ask for anything better." The game will kick of at 7 pm on Tuesday, December 30, smack dab in the middle of the bowl season. What's more, the next day, on New Year's Eve afternoon, the Owl basketballers will take on the Texas Aggies at newly-rebuilt Tudor Fieldhouse, and the AD's thoughts fairly obviously turned on taking advantage of the influx of out of town Rice fans to try and pump up attendance for that "showcase" game as well. But this is about staying on the pages of the local sports section and mentioned in evening TV news programs for the next month, much moreso than the Owls would be featured if they were, say, traveling to Mobile to play a bowl game on the 6th of January. And the players do insist that the Texas Bowl was team members' odds-on favorite. Bring on the friends and family, they say. Rice All-American wide receiver Jarett Dillard was particularly effusive in his commentary regarding Rice's bowl game selection. "After our eighth win I said, wouldn't it be nice to go to the Texas Bowl and stay right here in Houston?" he told press. "And that dream came true. Reliant Stadium is the place I watched my first college game, and it will be the place that I play my last college game." "We're excited about playing; we’re excited that a lot of our friends and familhy are going to be able to come to this game. We're going to go out and play our game no matter regardless of what city we're in. We're just excited that so many people are now going to have the chance to come out and watch us." All associated with the program unanimously dismissed the claimed essential nature of travel as part of the bowl game experience. Travel is overblown, Coach Bailiff insisted. Travel has its disadvantages, and its costs. The essence of bowl pageantry can be demonstrated to experienced by the Owls -- and their fans, too, for that matter -- by local bowl officials just as well as some committee members in New Orleans or, for that matter, Fort Worth or Mobile, or so the argument goes. 'This is just another home game for us' "We've nver worried about traveling," Coach Bailiff said. "This is just another home game for us in a great city that we love; it's going to be easy for our fans to attend. We may be located in Houston, but I can promise you this great bowl is going to give our kids the opportunity to do some things in this city that they've never done before -- and it will be a great experience." Rice linebacker and team leader Brian Raines echoed those sentiments. "The traveling's not a big part of the experience," he said. "We've enjoyed playing our home games this year; we're undefeated at home. So playing at home is very special to us." It appears that Brian's near-season-ending arm injury and his subsequent 'miracle' reappearance in the UH game just whetted his appetite for another chance to put on a show for the homefolks. "It means all the world to me to get another chance to suit up; to run down there and play with the guys; to see my high school friends who will now be able to come to the game," he said, smiling. "Everybody's coming back home for Christmas; family, coaches, everybody; to be able to play one more time in front of all of them is going to be special for me." But there's one small detail to the puzzle yet missing -- the Owls still don't know who they'll be playing. Speculation has floated towards and away, back and forth, regarding a 6-6 Notre Dame team. Speculation and rumors ran rampant at the press conference that Texas Bowl officials pledged to CDC that Rice will get a BCS school for an opponent, no matter what happens in the remaining few days of the regular season. But David Bailiff says he doesn't care who it is, just as long as he knows his opponent's identity ASAP so he can get back to work. "I'm anxious to find out who we're playing, so we can get the film on them on get to studying and go out and get to work," he said. "(Bowl chairman) John Huff has promised us he will go out and find us the toughest, meanest opponent that's out there, and whoever it is, we're going to be thrilled to play them." The Texas Bowl, despite its less-than-ideal TV affiliation and its relatively tender age, has been a rousing success in its first two trys. Last year, TCU defeated the University of Houston, 20-13, before a crowd of 62,097. The audience was the third-largest crowd ever to see a college bowl game in Houston. The 2007 Texas Bowl attracted the eighth-largest crowd among non-BCS bowls last year. The inaugural Texas Bowl was played on Thursday, December 28, 2006 at Reliant Stadium. Rutgers defeated Kansas State, 37-10, before a crowd of 52,210, the largest crowd to witness a bowl game in Houston not involving a Texas team since 1972. --PTH
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