TCU will square off against the Houston Cougars in the 2007 Texas Bowl, it was announced today. Texas Bowl officials offered the Horned Frogs a bid to play in the game today, and the team accepted on the spot.
TCU has a 7-5 record this season, including a 4-4 record in the Mountain West Conference. This is the Horned Frogs' third consecutive winning season and their third consecutive bowl appearance. Last year, TCU defeated Northern Illinois in the Poinsettia Bowl, and in 2005, they defeated Iowa State in the Houston Bowl.
TCU head coach Gary Patterson is in his seventh season at the helm and has posted a 60-25 record, including leading the Horned Frogs to a bowl game six times. Patterson has had four 10-win seasons, more than any other coach in TCU history. In 2005, Patterson directed the Horned Frogs to the Mountain West Conference championship in their first season of league play.
"We are very pleased that we were able to secure TCU for the Texas Bowl," said Texas Bowl director David Brady. "Our goal has always been to have a matchup with great local or regional appeal, and this certainly meets that criteria. To have two old Southwest Conference foes face off in just the second year of the Texas Bowl is very exciting."
The 2007 Texas Bowl will be played on Friday, Dec. 28 at Reliant Stadium at 7:00 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on NFL Network. DePelchin Children's Center, Houston's oldest charitable organization, is the official charitable partner of the Texas Bowl.
The Texas Bowl is in its second year after the NCAA awarded the bowl to the city of Houston on June 28, 2006. Rutgers defeated Kansas State, 37-10, in the inaugural Texas Bowl on Dec. 28, 2006. That game drew 52,210 fans, which made it the largest crowd in Houston history to see a college bowl game that didn't involve a Texas team. The Texas Bowl Committee is organized by Lone Star Sports & Entertainment, a third-party event management affiliate of the Houston Texans.
