A Night For College Football

Tonight would be an excellent night to have two televisions in your family room (as I would if our DirecTV dish ... oh forget it).  Both the Holiday Bowl and the Texas Bowl kick off tonight at 8 ET. 

I know what you're probably thinking.  "Ok, the Holiday Bowl is always good and it matches up two top 20 teams, but why would I care about the Texas Bowl?"

Well, you probably don't.  But if you like points -- lots and lots of points -- you may want to tune in anyway.  Scout.com's take on the game:

What will happen: The two teams will combine for 800 passing yards and about 80 points.

That's the kind of prediction you can feel pretty comfortable making when the two schools are ranked 10th and 24th offensively and 114th and 83rd defensively.  (There are only 119 Division I schools.)

There's more to it than that, though.  Bet you didn't know this:

Quick question: What is the most prolific quarterback-receiver duo in college football history? Must be somebody from Miami or Florida State, right? Maybe Texas? Wrong. It’s Rice’s Chase Clement and Jarett Dillard, who have hooked up on 50 touchdown passes.

Here's the story on Clement (whom Rice recruited when they were still running the ridiculous option offense of Ken Hatfield):

The record-setting Clement has thrown for 9,478 yards and 96 touchdowns with just 34 interceptions, and he has rushed for 1,669 yards and 24 scores. He emerged from the fray after Rice made the move from the option to the spread, and he blew up over the last two seasons and is finishing off his career with an All-America caliber season with 41 scoring passes, 11 touchdown runs, and just seven interceptions. He started out hot with six touchdown passes in the win over SMU and he got hot late with 25 scoring strikes and just three interceptions over the six-game winning streak.

Years of having to watch Hatfield ... maybe that's why I appreciate Reid so much ...

Anyway, Clement's a great story, but he doesn't have the size to be a QB at the next level.  Dillard, on the other hand, will most certainly be drafted:

Simmons’ all-star counterpart on the other side is senior Jarett Dillard, who will put a close to a phenomenal career with 284 catches for 4,052 yards and 59 touchdowns. With great hands, good enough deep speed to make the big plays, and excellent leaping ability, he’ll be target one of the veteran WMU defense.

This game won't tell you much about his ability to match up against elite competition, but going 9/158/1 against Texas earlier this year was not a bad sign.  We'll see at the combine just how great his physical skills are.

I'm telling you, though, this is a game you want to tune in for.  At least give it the flashback treatment. 

Oh, assuming you have the NFL Network ...