The TicketCity Bowl

Top 25 Matchup between Nittany Lions and Houston

In its second year, the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas pits the #19 Houston Cougars of Conference USA against the #22 Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference.

The game shapes up to be an epic battle featuring a prolific offense versus a stout defense as Houston brings the nation's leading offense, averaging 599 yards and more than 50 points per game, to face the nation's 10th best defense in Penn State, allowing just under 301 yards per game. Of those 301 yards per game the Nittany Lions allow just 162 yards through the air, making them the 5th best passing defense in the FBS.

The Cougars narrowly missed an opportunity at a BCS bowl after dropping the final game to Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA championship game on December 3rd and finishing the season at 12-1. The Nittany Lions had a tumultuous season off the field but nearly managed to make it into the inaugural Big Ten title game for a chance at the Rose Bowl before a season finale loss at Wisconsin.

Houston touts star senior quarterback Case Keenum, a Heisman trophy candidate who holds all-time NCAA records that include most yards and most touchdowns by a quarterback in a career. In 2011, Keenum threw for over 5,000 yards while throwing 45 touchdowns, including 18 touchdowns to senior receiver Patrick Edwards and 11 to senior Justin Johnson. After close calls in September against UCLA and Louisiana Tech and a scare at UTEP, the Cougars cruised the rest of the way though the season, winning 12 straight games until the loss to Southern Mississippi.

Penn State entered the season with many questions, especially at quarterback, but after a reasonable showing against Alabama at home in September and 7 straight wins to improve to 8-1 on the season they had the Big Ten Leaders division title within their sights before dropping 2 of the last 3 games to nationally ranked Nebraska and Wisconsin. Penn State has used a quarterback tandem of Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden much of the year, but McGloin has become the starter, though the Nittany Lions offense is centered around the running game and Silas Redd, who rushed for 1,188 yards this season.

The key to the game for Houston will be to score early and often which will not be an easy task against a stingy Penn State defense. A high score in the game easily favors the Cougars. For Penn State, the key to victory is to defend the pass and have success running the ball to control the clock and keep the ball away from the Cougars offense.

Houston is coached by Kevin Sumlin who is in his fourth year with the team. Under Sumlin, the Cougars are appearing in their 3rd bowl game in 4 years with 1 win and 1 loss. Penn State will be directed by interim coach and defensive coordinator Tom Bradley who is serving as head coach for the 4th time this season after Joe Paterno was dismissed November 9th. Penn State is playing in its 7th straight bowl, having gone 4-2 in bowl games during that span.

Dallas Football Classic Overview - the TicketCity Bowl

After a one year absence, the Cotton Bowl Stadium will once again rejoin the college football bowl family. The 77 year old stadium, located in Dallas' Fair Park, will play host to a unique new bowl series, the Dallas Football Classic.

On New Year's Day, January 1st, 2011 the Dallas Football Classic will debut with a contest pitting the sixth-place team from the Big Ten Conference against a representative from the Big 12 Conference, although the conference position of the latter has yet to be determined. The unique part of the equation is that the following year, the Big Ten's opponent will be a representative of Conference USA. The Big 12 and Conference USA will alternate years, an arrangement never attempted before. The contract with the Dallas Football Classic by the three participating conferences extends for the next four years through the 2013 season. The conferences are to receive a minimum of $1.2 million per appearance. As of late summer, corporate sponsorship for the event had yet to be secured, but officials were confident that ongoing negotiations would find a suitable sponsor by early fall, if not sooner.

Officials from the three conferences were unanimous in their approval and endorsement of the new event for college football. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney, Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe and Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky all were excited to be a part of the return of college bowl game play to the historic Cotton Bowl, and anticipated a long and beneficial relationship for all parties involved.

The Cotton Bowl Stadium was first opened in 1932, and served as home to the Southern Methodist University Mustangs during their heyday of the 1940's. Located next to the Texas State Fair, it has been the scene for many memorable events, not only football. It was the first "home" of the Dallas Cowboys, and the NFL team played there for 11 years. (1960-1970). Numerous top level musical acts have performed there, and several matches of the 1994 World Cup were held in the Stadium. The return of college football bowl play to the Cotton Bowl is only fitting, since the Dallas stadium trails only the Rose Bowl in the number of bowl games it has hosted. The name "Cotton Bowl" is a kind of play-on-words of the term "cotton boll," a diminutive of the "boll weevil." a beetle which is very destructive to the cotton plant. Texas is the nation's leading producer of cotton.

This brings the total of NCAA-sanctioned college football bowl games to 35, meaning there would be 70 schools participating in bowls. There are 98 BCS member schools participating in BCS conferences. The NCAA recently amended it's bowl eligibility criterion. According to the NCAA requirements, a team must have at least six wins in the standard twelve game schedule, which may include one win against a Division 1 FCS opponent. The addition of the Dallas Football Classic brings the number of bowl games held in Texas to six; the Texas Bowl in Houston, the Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, the Hyundai Sun in El Paso, the AT&T Cotton Bowl in Arlington, the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas, and the Dallas Football Classic.

In the sportsbook we also have game preview for the 49ers vs Cardinals, the Rams vs Seahawks, the Ravens vs Patriots and all the matchups each week for the NFL if you've enjoyed these previews.The Dallas Football Classic Bowl Game preview betting lines & odds will become available once the 2 teams are selected for the matchup.