Dec. 29, 2011
VIDEO: TicketCity Bowl Welcome Dinner at Gilley's
VIDEO: Bowl Practice Update and Offense Interviews - Dec. 30
PENN STATE (9-3; 6-2 Big Ten) vs.HOUSTON (12-1; 8-0 C-USA)MONDAY, JAN. 2, 2012, 11:00 A.M. (CT) • ESPNUCOTTON BOWL STADIUM (92,158) • DALLAS, TEXAS
TELEVISION:ESPNUClay Matvick (p-by-p), Danny Kanell (analyst), Lisa Salters (sideline).TV APPEARANCES:The Nittany Lions are appearing on television for the 216th time in their last 218 games.RADIO:Penn State Sports Network (60 stations):Steve Jones (p-by-p) & Jack Ham (analyst)Local: 93.7 FM & 1450 AM; Sirius: CH TBDHouston Radio Network: Tom Franklin (p-by-p), Tom Pardee (analyst), Chuck Brown (sideline)WEB:Gametracker & Audio: www.GoPSUsports.comSERIES:The teams are meeting for the first time since 1977 and just the third time overall. Penn State leads the series, 2-0, winning 24-7 at Rice Stadium in 1964 and 31-14 at Beaver Stadium in 1977 in a match-up of top 10 teams.
INTERIM HEAD COACH Tom Bradley:PENN STATE RECORD:1-2, 1st yearOVERALL RECORD:SameVS. HOUSTON: 0-0NOTABLE:33rd year on Penn State staff...Named interim head coach on Nov. 9...In Charge of Defense and cornerbacks coach since 2000
HEAD COACH TONY LEVINE:HOUSTON RECORD:0-0, 1st yearOVERALL RECORD:SameVS. PENN STATE:0-0
PENN STATE MAKES FOURTH CONSECUTIVE NEW YEAR'S BOWL VISITOne of the most intriguing match-ups of the 2011-12 bowl season will kick off 2012 when Penn State battles Houston in the TicketCity Bowl in historic Cotton Bowl Stadium.The Nittany Lions and Cougars will open what is annually one of the biggest sporting days of the year when they kick at 11 a.m. CT on Monday, Jan. 2. Penn State will be playing in a New Year's bowl for the fourth consecutive year and sixth time in the last seven years.No. 24/20 Penn State and No. 20/17 Houston are meeting for just the third time overall and the first time in a post-season contest. The Nittany Lions are playing in Dallas for the first time since beating Baylor in the 1975 Cotton Bowl.Penn State has a 67-22 (75.3) record since the start of the 2005 season, the nation's No. 12 winning percentage over the past seven seasons.
LIONS EARN SHARE OF BIG TEN LEADERS DIVISION TITLEPenn State and Wisconsin were co-champions of the Big Ten Leaders Division with 6-2 conference marks. The No. 9/8 Badgers earned the Leaders Division's berth in the first Big Ten Championship game by virture of their win over the Nittany Lions on Nov. 26 and beat Michigan State to earn a berth in the 2012 Rose Bowl.
TOP 25 MATCH-UP
The TicketCity Bowl is one of just four non-BCS contests that feature a pair of Top 25 teams. The Big Ten is playing in three of the four games (TicketCity, Capital One, Outback).