By Robert H. KellyHOUSTON, TX (January 1, 2008) Below is the final, complete game notes from the 2007 Texas Bowl. It is a mountainous amount of information and I am sure the "statistics" fan of either or both teams will find it interesting.
Take care and enjoy.
• Total paid attendance for the 2007 Texas Bowl was 62,097. It was a Reliant Stadium college bowl record.
• The crowd of 62,097 was the third-largest crowd to see a college bowl game in Houston. The 1960 Bluebonnet Bowl drew 68,000 to see #17 Texas and #10 Alabama play; and the 1966 Bluebonnet Bowl between #17 Texas and #12 Mississippi drew 67,000.
• TCU won the toss and deferred until the second half. Houston elected to receive.
• Houston P Chase Turner boomed the longest punt in Texas Bowl history, a 65-yarder, in the first quarter. The previous long was a 49-yard punt by Rutgers P Joe Radigan vs. Kansas State last year (12/28/06).
• Turner’s 65-yard punt was a career-long, topping a 62-yard punt at Tulsa (11/10/07).
• Houston QB Case Keenum’s 67-yard touchdown pass to RB Andre Kohn was the longest play from scrimmage in Texas Bowl history. The previous long was a 49-yard touchdown pass from Rutgers QB Mike Teel to WR Tim Brown last year.
• The 67-yard touchdown pass capped a two-play, 65-yard scoring drive that took 0:57 off the clock. The 57-second-long drive matched the shortest scoring drive in Texas Bowl history. Rutgers had a 57-second drive last year vs. Kansas State (two plays, 68 yards).
• TCU’s 11-play scoring drive in the second quarter was the second-longest in Texas Bowl history. The drive covered 75 yards and took 4:38 off the clock. The previous long drive was 10 plays last year by Rutgers vs. Kansas State (10 plays, 44 yards, FG).
• It was also the second-longest scoring drive in terms of time in Texas Bowl history, surpassing a 4:25 drive by Rutgers last year vs. Kansas State (eight plays, 35 yards).
• The 75-yard drive was the second-longest in Texas Bowl history, behind only a 79-yard drive by Rutgers vs. Kansas State last year (three plays).
• With his seventh completion of the game, TCU QB Andy Dalton set the school single-season completion record with 208 on the year. He passed Max Knake, who had 207 completions in 1993.
• Houston’s 13-play, 68-yard field goal drive in the second quarter was the longest in Texas Bowl history both in terms of plays and time. The 13 plays were two more than TCU’s 11-play drive earlier in the quarter, and it took 6:38 off the clock.
• TCU’s 80-yard scoring drive in the third and fourth quarter was the longest scoring drive in Texas Bowl history in terms of yards, passing a 79-yard drive by Rutgers vs. Kansas State last year (three plays).
TCU NOTES
• TCU improved to 10-12-1 all-time in bowl games.
• The Horned Frogs won a third straight bowl game for the first time since the opening three bowl games in their history (1936-39).
• TCU improved to 6-3 in bowls with Gary Patterson on the TCU coaching staff and 4-3 with him as head coach.
• TCU improved to 41-0 when allowing 17 or fewer points under head coach Gary Patterson. Overall, the Frogs had won 56 consecutive games when holding the opponent to 17 points or less.
• TCU improved to 29-3, since 2005, when playing on a day of the week other than Thursday. The Frogs are 1-5 on Thursdays the last three seasons.
• The Frogs won for the 20th consecutive game when holding the edge in time of possession. The Frogs held the ball for 31:32.
• TCU earned an eighth straight win over Houston. The streak dates back to 1993 when both teams were in the Southwest Conference.
• TCU totaled five sacks on the evening to finish the season with 41. The Frogs recorded 40 sacks over the last 11 games.
• TCU tied a school bowl record in team pass completions with 21. It tied the record set vs. Iowa State in the 2005 EV1.net Houston Bowl.
• FS Brian Bonner’s 65 punt return yards gave him 535 in 2007 to finish second on TCU’s single-season chart, trailing only Heisman Trophy winner Davey O’Brien’s (549, 1937).
• QB Andy Dalton was named the Texas Bowl MVP after completing 21-of-30 attempts for 249 yards, while rushing for 17 yards and a touchdown.
• Dalton set TCU single-season records for completions (222) and attempts (371) while finishing second in passing yardage (2,459).
• Dalton’s 21 completions gave him 222 on the year and a new TCU single-season record. The previous mark was 207 by QB Max Knake in 1993. Dalton broke the record with a 9-yard pass to TE Shae Reagan in the second quarter.
• Dalton’s 30 pass attempts gave him 371 for the year, also a new TCU single-season record. The previous record was 369 by Knake in 1995. Dalton broke the record on a 9-yard pass to WR Bart Johnson in the fourth quarter.
• Dalton’s 2,459 passing yards rank second on TCU’s single-season list behind Knake (2,624, 1994).
• Dalton’s three-yard second-quarter touchdown run was his fifth rushing touchdown of the season. Four of those scores have come in the last four games.
• Dalton tied the TCU bowl record with 21 individual pass completions. He tied the mark set by QB Jeff Ballard vs. Iowa State in the 2005 EV1.net Houston Bowl.
• SS Stephen Hodge’s second-quarter sack was his eighth of the season. He leads the nation in sacks by a defensive back. He has seven sacks in the last seven games.
• K Chris Manfredini’s 29-yard third-quarter field goal made him 21-of-26 on the season and 46-of-53 in his career. In just three seasons at TCU, Manfredini closed his career third on the Frogs’ career list for made field goals.
• DE Chase Ortiz recorded a fourth-quarter sack, giving him 20.5 for his career. Ortiz ranks fourth on TCU’s career sacks chart behind DE Aaron Schobel (31.0), DE Bo Schobel (28.5) and DE Tommy Blake (23.0).
• LB Jason Phillips and Bonner tied for the team lead with 10 tackles each.
• RB Justin Watts’ nine-yard scoring run on the second play of the fourth quarter, for TCU’s go-ahead points in the game, was his second rushing touchdown of the season and his career.
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON NOTES
• This marked the third consecutive season that the Cougars competed in a bowl game. It was the first time that the Cougars competed in three straight bowl games since UH competed in four straight from 1978 to 1981.
• This marked the fourth time in the last five seasons that the Cougars competed in a bowl game. It was the first time since 1977-81 that the Cougars have accomplished that feat.
• The Cougars have lost their last eight bowl games dating back to 1981… The Cougars have not won a bowl game since a 35-0 win over Navy on Dec. 22, 1980 during the Garden State Bowl, a span of 9,867 days.
• Friday’s attendance of 62,097 was the second-largest crowd to watch the Cougars during the 2007 season. The 2007 attendance season high was 92,138 at Alabama on Oct. 6, 2007.
• The Cougars’ 13 points tied for the fewest points scored by UH during a bowl game. It equaled the 13 points scored by the Cougars in a 42-13 loss against Kansas at the Fort Worth Bowl (12/23/05).
• The Cougars fell to 119-66-4 (.640) all-time in domed stadiums. The Cougars fell to 0-4 all-time at Reliant Stadium after previously playing Rice (9/5/04), Miami (Fla.) (9/23/04) and Oregon (9/1/05) in that facility.
• The Cougars finished the season with an 8-5 overall record and their second straight winning season. This marked the first time since 1989-90 that UH posted consecutive winning seasons.
• The Cougars fell 23-11-1 (.671) all-time when playing in the month of December.
• Friday’s game was the first time in school history that the Cougars competed on Dec. 28.
• The Cougars fell to 129-117-9 (.524) all-time against teams from the state of Texas.
• The Cougars fell to 33-24-1 (.578) all-time when playing on days other than Saturday. The Cougars fell to 20-9 (.690) all-time when playing on Fridays.
• With 13 points, the Cougars scored in their 93rd consecutive game. The Cougars have not been shut out since a 48-0 loss at Texas on Sept. 23, 2000.
• With seven points in the first quarter, the Cougars scored in the opening period for the 11th time in 13 games this season.
• Senior RB Anthony Alridge, senior LB Trent Allen, senior WR Donnie Avery, junior G Michael Bloesch, senior WR Jordan Brown, senior G Dustin Dickinson, junior SS Kenneth Fontenette, senior WR Jeron Harvey, junior DE Phillip Hunt, junior LS Norbie Juist, junior LB Cody Lubojasky, senior WR Perry McDaniel, junior LB Ernest Miller, senior LB Brendan Pahulu, junior LB Chris Pilot, junior DT Cody Pree, junior LB Rodney Rideau, junior CB Quinte Williams and senior CB Kellen Yancy each competed in the third bowl game of their respective careers. Prior to Friday’s game, only 30 players in UH history had played in at least three bowl games during their careers.
• With a bowl appearance in 2008, Bloesch, Fontenette, Hunt, Juist, Lubojasky, Miller, Pilot, Pree, Rideau and Williams will join an exclusive group of Cougar players who have competed in four bowl games during their careers. Donnie Love (1979-81) and Lonell Phea (1979-81) are the only Cougar players to date who have played in four bowl games during their careers.
• With 10 receptions, Avery set a UH single-game bowl record. His total topped the previous record of nine catches by WR Vincent Marshall against South Carolina during the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on (12/29/06).
• With 10 receptions, Avery ends his collegiate career with at least one reception in 34 consecutive games, the 10th-longest streak among active NCAA players. Avery has not played a game without recording at least once reception since facing Tulane on Oct. 8, 2005.
• With 120 receiving yards, Avery posted his seventh 100-yard receiving game of 2007 and the 11th of his career. The Cougars fell to 4-7 (.363) during games in which Avery reached triple digits in receiving yards.
• With 11 100-yard receiving games, Avery tied with Brandon Middleton (1999-03) and Jason Phillips (1987-88) for fourth most in UH career history.
• Avery and McDaniel competed in their 50th consecutive games. That mark tied the UH record held by QB Kevin Kolb (2003-06) and WR Vincent Marshall.
• Avery and McDaniel competed in the 50th game of their careers. That total tied with QB Kevin Kolb (2003-06) and WR Vincent Marshall (2003-06) for the second-highest total in UH career history. RB/DB Roshawn Pope holds the school record with 51 games from 2002 to 2006.
• Redshirt freshman RB Jessie Harrison competed in his first game of the 2007 season on special teams.
• With 335 passing yards, redshirt freshman QB Case Keenum threw for the second most passing yards in UH bowl history. His total trailed only the 386 yards by QB Kevin Kolb during the AutoZone Liberty Bowl against South Carolina (12/29/06).
• Redshirt freshman RB Andre Kohn’s 67-yard touchdown catch at the 0:08 mark of the first quarter was the first receiving touchdown of his career and the longest catch of his career. His catch topped his previous long of 13 yards set against Texas Southern during the regular-season finale on Nov. 24, 2007. His catch also was the longest play from scrimmage in the two-year history of the Texas Bowl.
• With two field goals, senior K T.J. Lawrence tied a UH single-game bowl record. His total equaled the previous high by K Dustin Bell at Hawai’i during the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (12/25/03), and by K Kenny Hatfield against Notre Dame on January 1, 1979, during the Cotton Bowl.
• With two field goals, Lawrence recorded his fifth multi-field goal game of the 2007 season and his career.
• With two field goals, Lawrence tied his career high. He equaled his mark set against Marshall (11/17/07), at UTEP (10/27/07), at Tulane (9/15/07) and at Oregon (9/1/07).
• With his 65-yard punt around the 2:40 mark of the first quarter, sophomore P Chase Turner set a personal single-game high and set a Texas Bowl record in that category. His total topped his previous best of 62 yards at Tulsa (11/10/07).
• Turner’s 65-yard punt around the 2:40 mark of the first quarter was the second-longest kick in UH bowl history. His kick trailed only P Simon Rodriguez’ 70-yard punt against Washington State on December 25, 1988, during the Aloha Bowl.
• With a punting average of 50.1 yards, Turner set a UH single-game record in that category. His total topped the previous record of 46.6 yards (5-233) set by P Jimmy McClary at Hawai’i during the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (12/25/03).
