Cotton Bowl/T Tech.

[owenfieldreams]

Once it's official, I'll get back with some personal incite to the venue & your apparent opponent.

I will say that a 10:00 am kickoff @ this stadium sucks. We played the Hogs there in 2002 & it was not a great gameday experience.

 

[Texas Tider]

I will say that a 10:00 am kickoff @ this stadium sucks. We played the Hogs there in 2002 & it was not a great gameday experience.

You got that right! I was at that game too. My in-laws are big OU fans, and they took my wife and I to the game. It was so cold! I had lived in Texas for less than a year at that point, and I had no idea it got so cold here!

The 10:00 a.m. kick-off definitely sucked too. To make matters worse, we were sitting in the Arkansas section. However, that became fun when my mother in law started hitting some of the obnoxious Arkansas fans and telling them to sit down and shut up!

I've been here for nearly 5 years now, and it can get cold at times, but I've never experienced anything like the cold that day since.

 

[owenfieldreams]

The other thing I thought hilarious about that game was the fact that the entire Arkansas fan base looked like they'd come directly to the game from a community deer lease. I have never seen so much camo in my life.

 

[deliveryman35]

I dread us going to Dallas to play. Aside from the little success we've had out there(30-2 in '81 against Mike Singletary and Baylor in '81 is all I can remember), it's just hard to get up for a game that will probably be played in rotten weather and an old, dirty venue like the Cotton Bowl.
Owen, where is OU projecting to play in the bowls?

 

[Dixiedawg]

Hey Owen tough break on the TT game

obviously a blown calls by the refs, especially the one where the receiver juggled the ball and never caught it, but was ruled a TD.

 

[Tennessee]

Bama/TT would be a very interesting matchup...A passing attack that seems to be able to beat any scheme against the best D in the nation

A struggling Bama Offense against a horrible TT Defense

I'd have NO idea what to think about that game...If I were Bama's coaches, I'd run the ball 61 times...I dont think TT could stop that kind of physical play

 

[kwftide]

Bama/TT would be a very interesting matchup...A passing attack that seems to be able to beat any scheme against the best D in the nation

A struggling Bama Offense against a horrible TT Defense

I'd have NO idea what to think about that game...If I were Bama's coaches, I'd run the ball 61 times...I dont think TT could stop that kind of physical play

I think you are correct sir!

 

[micah_07]

I am personally excited about the Cotton Bowl. But I'm kind of biased since I live in Dallas. My roommate went to Tech so nothing would make me happier than us spanking them and their classless coach. You guys think LSU fans are jerks, wait till you get a load of these guys! Red Raider=Redneck!

 

[smokewagon212]

Im not complaining, but I think that if we could somehow play OU, we could sell some tickets!

 

[JessN]

I will say, though, that the whole trip to the DFW area doesn't sound bad to me. The first couple of times I was in DFW, I hated it with a passion. The last time I was there, though, I found it to be one of the more intriguing places in the country to visit.

Also, there's a Tex-Mex restaurant called Uncle Julio's that is somewhat close to the Renaissance Hotel that I could eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at seven days a week if I was on an expense account. I have no idea if it's still there.

 

[Bama4Ever831]

I'm not sure if it's at that exact location, but everyone I talk to about Dallas comments on Uncle Julio's. There is a place in Atlanta, known as Casa Grande, which is owned by Uncle Julio's. It is also Tex Mex.

 

[micah_07]

Uncle Julio's is great. Also, downtown next to the American Airlines Center, El Phoenix is a great Tex-Mex place to eat. After we get out official bowl bid, I will post more DFW attractions....if wanted! Roll Tide!

 

[CrimsonDuck]

The "Texas Tech has a horrible D" thing does not hold true for this season unfortunately. They are allowing only 19 points per game this year, which is very solid considering the points that they have put up. They held an OU offense that is coming together to 21 points, and have really played well in pretty much all of the games this season, other than the UT game, which was just plain weird, as TT outgained UT but lost 51-17.

Obviously, they are no Bama defensively. But they DO have a much better Offense/Defense combination than Bama.

Bama: 22 pts. per game/ 10 pts. allowed per game
TT: 42 pts. per game/ 19 pts. allowed per game

 

[bayoutider]

True TT put up some sick stats against Texas but Texas blew them out simply because they scored every time they touched the ball. Tech's offense ran 93 offensive plays and gained 468 total yards. They were on the field over 36 minutes yet only scored 17 points.

Should we play TT, and I expect we will, I bet they rush for about 90-100 yards and put up about 300+ yards passing. We need to play them more like Oklahoma and keep their offense off the field. Oklahoma also sacked TT's qb 6 times. Can we do the same? Cody Hodges has thrown 12 interceptions but also 31 touchdowns. Keep TT out of the red zone, keep them at 3rd and long and we control this game. Tech has about 5 receivers that can really catch the ball. Hicks and Filani have 9 touchdowns each. Henderson has 16 touchdowns rushing so TT is not as one dimensional as some might think.

Texas Tech is the second most penalized team in college football. 103 penalties for 936 yards. That could factor huge in the game. Of course we will have to not make those same mistakes ourselves.

 

[ttking2720]

ive been to almost every tech game this season. i cant wait for the matchup, but as a tech fan im weary of the tide defense. tech has a way of sputtering around on both sides of the ball, and getting ahead of themselves. tech is the only team ive seen that can drive 80 yards in 3 plays, and then never score. thats why we lost against texas. we have all the stats in the world, but no points to accompany it...and that could be the death of us vs. bama. if you guys capitalize on all the typical tech penalties and mistakes, it will be a long day in dallas....aside from that, CrimsonDuck is right about our D, they have actually shown up to some games this season. No, they didnt hold up against Vince Young and crew, but they've thwarted the rest of the Big 12 relentless running squads. We are no Tide, but the "typical tech" defense hasnt held true this year.
Regarding the venue of the Cotton Bowl...DFW isn't my favorite place, and the Cotton Bowl is certainly dated, but it provides for a pretty vibrant atmosphere. Home field advantage doesn't really mean anything in this stadium. Tennesee came in and spanked A&M last year, with about a 90% Aggie crowd. The only thing I dislike about the Cotton is the start time, its always painfully early. 11 AM-ish.
Oh yea, and micah07, I think you confused tech students with a&m students...as a current student at tech, i can vouch for the fact that the redneck ratio is about 1:20....as opposed to the entire college station/bryan/aggie nation where its 1:2. And we do have some classless students around here, but not much different than any other stadium ive been too. Mike Leach isn't necessarily classless, he just tells it like it is, and frankly i'd prefer that over some media darling head coach like Mack Brown or Fran.

 

[bamabake]

Bama/TT would be a very interesting matchup...A passing attack that seems to be able to beat any scheme against the best D in the nation

A struggling Bama Offense against a horrible TT Defense

I'd have NO idea what to think about that game...If I were Bama's coaches, I'd run the ball 61 times...I dont think TT could stop that kind of physical play

They are 1 st in the country in passing, we are 72


http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/sortables?stat=team&sort=passypg&season=2&year=2005&group=80

They are 4th in scoring and we are 80

On the other side of the ball we are 2 in total D and they are 24th


http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/sortab...table=overall&stat=overallPtsGm&dir=ascending

they are 5 better than USC and 6 better than FSU and 23 better than ND.

All things being equal we should be able to slow them down but all things are not equal as we have a new center and youngsters around him. I personally think that TT will be a challenge for us and no cake walk.

Bayou hit the nail on the head. Keep them out of the red zone and in 3rd and long. After that it all comes down to how many points Alabama (80th nationally) does against the 24th ranked defence. TTs D is not as horrible as you suggested.

 

[Tide-N-Texas]

If we can get to the QB early and knock him around, we can win. Look at Nebraska, OSU and Texas. I know they beat Nebraska but it took a bone head manuever by a Nebraska defender to give the game away.....

 

[ttking2720]

If we can get to the QB early and knock him around, we can win. Look at Nebraska, OSU and Texas. I know they beat Nebraska but it took a bone head manuever by a Nebraska defender to give the game away.....

Hodges is stout, so good luck with that. I've seen go unaffected by more hits than most quarterbacks in the game. However, after watching Hodges for an entire season, his vunerability is in leaving him optionless. Coverage Coverage Coverage. When he is optionless, he panics. However, over the season Tech has developed the running game (suprised, eh?). We have one of the only 3 NCAA players in history with 2000 yards rushing, 2000 yards receiving. I think this new balance definitely plays to our advantages, but definitely not as much as Hodges mistakes would play to yours. Bama will have to lay off of the powerhouse defense for this matchup...it simply doesnt work...