Red Raiders Continue Bowl Preparations
December 21, 2000 | Football
Dec. 21, 2000
HOUSTON, Texas - Texas Tech took to the grass practice field at Rice University in preparation for the galleryfurniture.com Bowl. Kickoff for the 24th bowl in school history is set for 7 p.m., Wed., Dec. 27, at the Reliant Astrodome.
The Red Raiders practiced in shorts and shoulder pads for two hours Thursday afternoon. The team opened practice with touch-and-go drills before moving into skill position workouts. Practice ended on a norm with team drills.
"We had a good day of practice getting back into the football mode," Tech head coach Mike Leach said. "We are down here for one reason and one reason only - to win a bowl game. We will have fun in the process, but our focus is to go back to Lubbock with a win.
Following practice, the team headed to the Compaq Center to take in the Houston Rockets-Los Angeles Lakers' game.
"The players worked hard today," Leach added. "While we are down here to win a game, we also want them to thoroughly enjoy Houston and the bowl experience."
Texas Tech faces East Carolina in the inaugural galleryfurniture.com Bowl in Houston next week. The Red Raiders have been bowl eligible for the past eight seasons, but have played in only six. The last bowl win for Tech came in the 1995 Copper Bowl in Tucson, Ariz. The Red Raiders knocked off Air Force 55-14 in that game. Mississippi handed Tech a 35-18 loss in the Sanford Independence Bowl two years ago in Shreveport, La.
The Red Raiders will continue their bowl preparations at 10 a.m. on Friday at Rice University, before heading to Space Center Houston to tour the NASA facilities. The team will then head to the Kemah Boardwalk on the Gulf.