TU Football Notebook: Bowl update
BY BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
11/27/12 at 3:54 AM
The West Division champion University of Tulsa football team hosts East Division champion Central Florida in Saturday's 11 a.m. ESPN2-televised Conference USA title game at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
The UCF-Tulsa winner will travel to Memphis, Tenn., to represent Conference USA in the Dec. 31 Liberty Bowl (2:30 p.m., ESPN) against an opponent from the Southeastern Conference or the Big East.
If the Golden Hurricane does not prevail on Saturday, its Plan B destination has been established. For the second consecutive season, and for the third time since 2006, TU would play in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl.
Air Force already has accepted a berth in the Armed Forces Bowl, set for Dec. 29 at TCU's Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. Televised by ESPN, the game begins at 10:45 a.m.
In 2010 and '11, while Amon G. Carter Stadium underwent a $164 million renovation, the Armed Forces Bowl was played at SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium. It was there that TU was beaten by Brigham Young in the 2011 game. In the 2006 Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth, Tulsa lost 25-13 to Utah.
"You want to win the conference championship and go to Memphis, but I think the Armed Forces Bowl is a great opportunity for our program and our fans," TU athletic director Ross Parmley said. "Air Force is an extremely well-known opponent, and the game is played in a newly renovated, first-class stadium at TCU.
"While you definitely want to be in Memphis as a champion, either bowl game would be great for TU and great for the fans. From a travel standpoint, it's excellent for the fans."
From Tulsa, Fort Worth is a five-hour drive. Memphis is a seven-hour drive.
Injuries: As one of 18 TU seniors who will play for the final time at H.A. Chapman Stadium on Saturday, defensive end Cory Dorris has seen two of his classmates go down with serious leg injuries this season - receiver Bryan Burnham in the opener at Iowa State and offensive tackle Brian DeShane last week at SMU.
"You watch it as it happens and then think, 'That could be me,' and you feel terrible for your teammate," Dorris said. "But you can't let it faze you. There's nothing I can do for my teammate until after the game. Until then, I have to play as hard as possible.
"You can't worry about getting hurt. If anything, you play even harder than you did before. After a guy gets hurt, you owe it to him to play hard."
