When 56 schools are invited to bowl games, there are bound to be a few matchups that take on an "NIT-like" feel. Pardon the basketball analogy, but seriously, do Kansas and Houston really deserve to be playing in the post-season?
That's a conversation for another day. Like I said in my preview for the New Orleans Bowl, there are numbers posted for the side and total, so what are worried about? On that note, let's break down this year's Fort Worth Bowl at Amon Carter Stadium.
Most sports books are listing Kansas (6-5 straight up, 5-5 against the spread) as a three-point favorite with the total hovering between 47-48. Bettors can back Houston to win outright for a plus-130 (bet $100 to win $130) payoff.
The Jayhawks won three of their last four games to qualify for a bowl game. They capped the surge with a 24-21 overtime win against Iowa State as three-point home underdogs.
Scott Webb kicked the game-winning field goal from 34 yards out after the Cyclones had misfired during their possession in the extra session. Webb's game-winner capped a KU comeback from an 11-point deficit in the second half.
Houston (6-5 SU, 6-4 ATS) gained bowl eligibility thanks to a 35-18 win over Rice in its regular-season finale. The Cougars covered the spread as 16-point favorites. Quarterback Kevin Kolb completed 16-of-25 pass attempts for 222 yards and added another 75 yards on the ground. He threw for one touchdown and ran for another.
Only a junior, Kolb is already the school's all-time leader in total offense, and lest we forget, this program has seen the likes of Andre Ware and David Klingler, both of whom put up incredible numbers. Kolb has connected on 62 percent of his throws for 3,044 yards, with 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.
Houston head coach Art Briles is taking his team to a bowl game for the second time during his three-year tenure. In their last post-season appearance at the Hawaii Bowl in 2003, the Cougars lost a triple overtime thriller to Hawaii, 54-48. If the game rings a bell, that's because a wild melee ensued between both teams at the end of the game.
Briles runs a pass-happy offense, but the Cougars' running game has thrived this year thanks to a breakout season from Ryan Gilbert. The senior running back has rushed for 1,030 yards, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Gilbert has run for nine touchdowns and also has a scoring reception.
Like Houston, Kansas is in a bowl game for the second time in three years. Mark Mangino is in his fourth season at KU after coming over from Bob Stoops' staff at Oklahoma. He has brought respectability back to a program that had not tasted a bowl since 1995.
Mangino's defense is led by senior linebacker Nick Reid, who was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Reid led the conference with 106 tackles and has made 348 stops since his sophomore season.
Reid was around for the bowl game two years ago when the Jayhawks took a spanking at the Tangerine Bowl. Actually, they took spankings, as in plural, in the form of a 56-26 shellacking from North Carolina State. Needless to say, KU came up short for our purposes, failing to cover the number as a 12-point underdog.
If you're thinking neither team has much motivation, discount that notion. Players from both teams had to be separated after some pushing and shoving at a sports bar on Monday night. Then at a function for the game on Wednesday, more heated words were exchanged, so it is apparent that both teams have been rubbing each other the wrong way all week.
These schools have met twice before with Kansas winning both times, in 1994 and '95.
This game is played at TCU's stadium. With temperatures in the teens, the two previous Fort Worth Bowls have been sparsely attended. However, the forecast is calling for beautiful weather with temperatures in the 60s. A crowd of more than 30,000 is expected in a stadium that holds 46,000.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern tonight. ESPN will provide television coverage.
**B.E.'s Bonus Nuggets**
--Nine of KU's 2005 foes are playing in bowl games.
--Briles coached Kolb in high school about 80 miles outside of Fort Worth. Before Briles got the job at Houston, Kolb had given a verbal commitment to Oklahoma State.
--Tell you what, I didn't mind listening to the voice of play-by-play man Gary Bender during ESPN2's telecast of Navy-Colorado State last night. Too bad he had to work with Bill Curry. Bender sort of slipped off the radar after spending the 1980s as CBS's No. 1 man in college hoops, teaming with Billy Packer.
--Florida got some bad news Thursday when safety Reggie Nelson went down with a leg injury. Nelson, who had become a big-time playmaker for the Gators, is unlikely to play in the Outback Bowl against Iowa. On the bright side for UF, Urban Meyer told Gatorbait.net that Vernell Brown had an "80 percent" chance of starting against the Hawkeyes. Brown, a senior CB, suffered a hairline fracture to his leg in a win over Vanderbilt.
--LSU QB JaMarcus Russell is not expected to be ready for the Peach Bowl. Therefore, Matt Flynn is expected to get the starting nod for the Tigers.
--Colorado QB Joel Klatt has been downgraded to "doubtful," while Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst has been upgraded to "probable" after undergoing successful shoulder surgery
That's a conversation for another day. Like I said in my preview for the New Orleans Bowl, there are numbers posted for the side and total, so what are worried about? On that note, let's break down this year's Fort Worth Bowl at Amon Carter Stadium.
Most sports books are listing Kansas (6-5 straight up, 5-5 against the spread) as a three-point favorite with the total hovering between 47-48. Bettors can back Houston to win outright for a plus-130 (bet $100 to win $130) payoff.
The Jayhawks won three of their last four games to qualify for a bowl game. They capped the surge with a 24-21 overtime win against Iowa State as three-point home underdogs.
Scott Webb kicked the game-winning field goal from 34 yards out after the Cyclones had misfired during their possession in the extra session. Webb's game-winner capped a KU comeback from an 11-point deficit in the second half.
Houston (6-5 SU, 6-4 ATS) gained bowl eligibility thanks to a 35-18 win over Rice in its regular-season finale. The Cougars covered the spread as 16-point favorites. Quarterback Kevin Kolb completed 16-of-25 pass attempts for 222 yards and added another 75 yards on the ground. He threw for one touchdown and ran for another.
Only a junior, Kolb is already the school's all-time leader in total offense, and lest we forget, this program has seen the likes of Andre Ware and David Klingler, both of whom put up incredible numbers. Kolb has connected on 62 percent of his throws for 3,044 yards, with 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.
Houston head coach Art Briles is taking his team to a bowl game for the second time during his three-year tenure. In their last post-season appearance at the Hawaii Bowl in 2003, the Cougars lost a triple overtime thriller to Hawaii, 54-48. If the game rings a bell, that's because a wild melee ensued between both teams at the end of the game.
Briles runs a pass-happy offense, but the Cougars' running game has thrived this year thanks to a breakout season from Ryan Gilbert. The senior running back has rushed for 1,030 yards, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Gilbert has run for nine touchdowns and also has a scoring reception.
Like Houston, Kansas is in a bowl game for the second time in three years. Mark Mangino is in his fourth season at KU after coming over from Bob Stoops' staff at Oklahoma. He has brought respectability back to a program that had not tasted a bowl since 1995.
Mangino's defense is led by senior linebacker Nick Reid, who was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Reid led the conference with 106 tackles and has made 348 stops since his sophomore season.
Reid was around for the bowl game two years ago when the Jayhawks took a spanking at the Tangerine Bowl. Actually, they took spankings, as in plural, in the form of a 56-26 shellacking from North Carolina State. Needless to say, KU came up short for our purposes, failing to cover the number as a 12-point underdog.
If you're thinking neither team has much motivation, discount that notion. Players from both teams had to be separated after some pushing and shoving at a sports bar on Monday night. Then at a function for the game on Wednesday, more heated words were exchanged, so it is apparent that both teams have been rubbing each other the wrong way all week.
These schools have met twice before with Kansas winning both times, in 1994 and '95.
This game is played at TCU's stadium. With temperatures in the teens, the two previous Fort Worth Bowls have been sparsely attended. However, the forecast is calling for beautiful weather with temperatures in the 60s. A crowd of more than 30,000 is expected in a stadium that holds 46,000.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern tonight. ESPN will provide television coverage.
**B.E.'s Bonus Nuggets**
--Nine of KU's 2005 foes are playing in bowl games.
--Briles coached Kolb in high school about 80 miles outside of Fort Worth. Before Briles got the job at Houston, Kolb had given a verbal commitment to Oklahoma State.
--Tell you what, I didn't mind listening to the voice of play-by-play man Gary Bender during ESPN2's telecast of Navy-Colorado State last night. Too bad he had to work with Bill Curry. Bender sort of slipped off the radar after spending the 1980s as CBS's No. 1 man in college hoops, teaming with Billy Packer.
--Florida got some bad news Thursday when safety Reggie Nelson went down with a leg injury. Nelson, who had become a big-time playmaker for the Gators, is unlikely to play in the Outback Bowl against Iowa. On the bright side for UF, Urban Meyer told Gatorbait.net that Vernell Brown had an "80 percent" chance of starting against the Hawkeyes. Brown, a senior CB, suffered a hairline fracture to his leg in a win over Vanderbilt.
--LSU QB JaMarcus Russell is not expected to be ready for the Peach Bowl. Therefore, Matt Flynn is expected to get the starting nod for the Tigers.
--Colorado QB Joel Klatt has been downgraded to "doubtful," while Clemson's Charlie Whitehurst has been upgraded to "probable" after undergoing successful shoulder surgery