SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Notes: Texas State 45, Rice 21
Postgame Bowl Notes – 14th Annual 2023 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl – Dec. 26, 2023
Final Score: Texas State (8-5 overall) 45, Rice (6-7) 21
General Game Notes:
The SERVPRO First Responder Bowl traditionally has featured high-scoring offense beginning with the Jan. 11, 2011, TicketCity Bowl and a 45-38 Texas Tech win over Northwestern. Some other games totaling 70-plus points in the SPFRB have been Oklahoma State’s 58-14 win over Purdue in 2013 and Washington’s 44-31 victory over Southern Miss in 2015 before a series of late tornadoes struck the DFW area. Army West Point and North Texas also registered 69 combined points in the Black Knights 38-31 overtime triumph over the Mean Green in 2016, Today’s matchup featured Texas collegiate offenses in high octane mode and 66 points.
There now has been a bowl game played (or started) in Dallas for 88 consecutive seasons. The skein opened Jan. 1, 1937, when TCU edged Marquette 16-6 in the inaugural Cotton Bowl Classic at Fair Park Stadium (later renamed Cotton Bowl Stadium). There actually were three other bowl games played on that same site Jan. 2, 1922, with Texas A&M downing 1920s Southern power Centre (Ky.) 22-14, Jan. 1, 1925, as West Virginia Wesleyan edged SMU 9-7 and Jan. 1, 1934, as Arkansas and Centenary (La.) tied 7-7. The SERVPRO First Responder Bowl was a New Year’s Day or Jan. 2 clash in its first four seasons and then switched to December dates for the last nine years. The previous 12 SPFRB contests kicked off at 2 p.m. (CST) or earlier, and this 4:30 p.m. (CST) national airtime is the latest in SPFRB annals and will guarantee that most of the encounter will be played after sunset. All 13 sessions have been televised nationally by ESPNU or the ESPN family of networks.
While it is a rare occurrence and a first for the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, two Texas teams have met in the same bowl contest on various occasions, In the 1937 Sun Bowl at El Paso then-major college power Hardin-Simmons downed Texas School of Mines (later Texas Western and now UTEP) 34-6, and then in the 1965 Sun Bowl Texas Western/UTEP edged TCU 13-12. This is Rice’s first bowl against a Texas opponent in its 14-game postseason history while Texas State joins Jacksonville State and James Madison in playing their first FBS bowl contests in post-2023. Tne Bobcats have played in 11 NCAA FCS and Division II playoff games (DII champions in both 1981 and ’82 under the late coach Jim Wacker) with a composite 8-3 mark but ever had to face a Texas school in those divisional playoffs.
This is the fourth football meeting (first since 1987) between Rice and TSU. They last played in 1986. RU and TSU are the 26th and 27th different teams to play in this Classic. Texas State now leads the series 3-2-0.
This is the 14th annual renewal of the City of Dallas bowl, though the 2018 contest between Boise State and Boston College was halted seven minutes into the first quarter by recurrent severe weather and declared a no-contest – the first and only bowl in 121 years of postseason activity to be cancelled and a no-contest by lengthy severe weather after kickoff.
Rice is now 7-7 in all-time bowl treks (their sixth since the 2012 campaign) while the Bobcats are 1-0 in FBS bowls and 9-3 in total postseason competition in NCAA FCS and Division II.
Texas State is attempting to join Jacksonville State and UTSA as teams winning their initial FBS bowl skirmishes in the post-2023 season. Jacksonville State (34-31 overtime winner over Louisiana in overtime at the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl) and UTSA (35-17 victor over Marshall in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas) each notched their first-ever bowl verdicts in the Dec. 16-19 time period. The Bobcats and Jacksonville State now become the all-time bowl winning percentage leaders at 1.000 (1-0 marks after their first bowl treks) along with Idaho, which was 3-0 in bowls before moving back to NCAA FCS prior to the 2023 season.
The Bobcats are the second Sun Belt Conference school to compete in the SPFRB after Louisiana downed UTSA (then competing in Conference USA and now a member of the American) 31-24 in 2018. The Owls follow American Athletic Conference representative Memphis as the second team from that loop’s current membership to play in this classic. Memphis topped Utah State 38-10 last year to get the American off to a 1-0 start.
While the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl has its first all-Texas field this year, there have been six different universities from the Lone Star State competing here since 2011, beginning with Texas Tech in the first clash with Northwestern. North Texas is the only repeat performer with two trips in 2014 and ’16 while bordering states Oklahoma and Louisiana have been represented on three occasions. Rice and TSU are the first Texas schools to come to Dallas since UTSA in 2020.
This is the longest contest in SERVPRO First Responder Bowl annals at four hours on the nose (3:36 p.m.-8:36 p.m.). That tops the 3:42 first bowl game time of contest between Texas Tech (45) and Northwestern (38).
The 2011 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (then the Ticket City Bowl) featured a current U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (Rep.-Ala.) who is undefeated in head coaching assignments at this bowl after leading Texas Tech to a 45-38 win over Northwestern. Sen. Tuberville was a head coach for 21 seasons at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati before entering politics and had a 159-99 overall record with 13 bowl visits and a 7-6 postseason worksheet.
The 2023 SPFRB has highlighted a bowl-most seven appearances and four victories by Conference USA members. Pac-12 members also sports a perfect, 2-0 mark with Washington’s win over Southern Miss in 2015 and Utah’s triumph over West Virginia in 2017. The previous two bowls before 2023 sported ACC (Louisville) vs. MWC (Air Force) and American (Memphis) vs. MWC (Utah State). This is the first extravaganza with American (Rice) and Sun Belt (Texas State) opponents. The Big Ten Conference continues to seek its first win in the First Responder Bowl after sending four representative to the first five classics.
Records By Conference Appearances by season
Games W-L Pct.
Pac-12 2 2-0 1.000 2015-17
Sun Belt 2 2-0 1.000 2020-23
Independent 1 1-0 1.000 2016
C-USA 7 4-3 .571 2011-13-14-15-16-19-20
Big 12 3 2-1 .667 2010-12-17
The American 2 1-1 .500 2022-23
Mountain West 3 1-2 .333 2013-18-21
MAC 1 0-1 .000 2019
ACC 2 0-1 .000 2018-21
Big Ten 4 0-4 .000 2010-11-12-14
SPFRB Team Records (2010-23)
Most points scored (one team) 58, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue 2013
Most points scored (losing team) 38, Northwestern vs. Texas Tech, 2011
Most points scored (both teams) 83, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern, 2011
Fewest Points Allowed 10, Memphis vs. Utah State, 2022
Largest margin of victory 44, Oklahoma State vs. Purdue, 2013
Total yards 600, Houston vs. Penn State (532 pass, 68 rush), 2012
Rushing yards 480, Army vs. North Texas, 2016
Passing yards 532, Houston vs. Penn State, 2012
First downs 34, Texas Tech vs. Northwestern, 2011
Fewest total yards allowed 153, Utah vs. West Virginia, 2017
Fewest rushing yards allowed 22, Washington vs. Southern Miss, 2015
Fewest passing yards allowed 53, North Texas vs. Army, 2016
Individual Records
Total offense 542, Case Keenum (Houston) (532 pass, 10 rush), 2012
All-purpose yards 228 Patrick Edwards (Houston), 2012
Total Touchdowns 4, Myles Gaskin (Washington), 2015
Rushing yards 181, Myles Gaskin (Washington), 2015
Rushing touchdowns 4, Myles Gaskin (Washington), 2015
Passing yards 532, Case Keenum (Houston), 2012
Passing touchdowns 4, Taylor Potts (Texas Tech), 2011
Receiving yards 228, Patrick Edwards (Houston) , 2012
Receiving touchdowns 3 times, most recent: Eddie Lewis (Memphis), 2022
Total Tackles 15, shared by: Quentin Davie (Northwestern), 2011; Jeremy Timpf (Army), 2016
Sacks 4.5, Houston Bates (Louisiana Tech), Dec. 2014
Interceptions 2, 4 times, Nick Saenz (Houston), 2012; Julian Blackmon (Utah), 2017; Sylonta Oliver (Memphis), 2022; Brian Holloway (Texas State), 2023 – record two returns for TDs
Longest Plays
Touchdown run 86 yds., shared by: Eric Stephens (Texas Tech), 2011; Myles Gaskin (Washington), 2015
Touchdown pass 80 yds., Cody Sokol to Kenneth Dixon (Louisiana Tech), Dec. 2014
Kickoff return 49 yds., Marcus Sullivan (UNLV), 2014
Punt return 64 yds., Josh Stewart (Oklahoma State), 2013
Interception return 69 yds., Kareem Ali (Western Michigan), 2019
Fumble return 37 yds., Daytawion Lowe (Oklahoma State), 2013
Punt 65 yds., Quinn Sharp (Oklahoma State), 2013
Field goal 53 yds., Conner Coles (Utah State), 2022
Rice Notes:
Rice is closing in on 500 all-time football victories at 492-652-32 (.431) since 1912 when the school was named Rice Institute and open initially to only males from Harris County (Houston) Texas. The Owls are 104th in NCAA FBS history in total wins and 89th in bowl appearances with 14. Rice also has been one of the most well-travelled universities in terms of conference membership from the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1912-14), Southwest Conference (1915-96), Western Athletic (1996-2004), Conference USA (2005-22), and the American since July 2023. The Owls have captured or tied for eight loop championships since the 1934 SWC crown, a 9-1-1 record and fifth place nationally under the Dickinson Rating System.
Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren is 22-46 in his sixth season with the Owls and is the first head coach with RU to garner back-to-back bowl invitations since David Bailiff in 2012 and ’13. NFF College Hall of Fame coach Jess Neely is the only other Rice taskmasters to guide the Owls to consecutive bowl berths after the 1960 and ’61 seasons before he left for his alma mater Vanderbilt to save Commodores athletics in 1966. Bloomgren is 0-2 in bowls, and he came to the Houston university after assistant coaching stints at Alabama and Stanford, among others.
Current teams from the American are 331-374-7 against all current Sun Belt Conference members while the Owls are 15-21-0 against Sun Belt foes with the most meetings against Southern Miss at 13 (6-7-0). Rice’s latest test against a SBC opponent was Southern Miss, incidentally, in a 38-24 loss in the 2022 Lending Tree Bowl.
The Owls are coming off having eight players honored by Phil Steele Magazine’s All-American Athletic Conference teams with Luke McCaffrey as a first-teamer along with third team sections Dean Connors, De'Braylon Carroll, Josh Pearcy and Gabriel Taylor and fourth unit choices Tre'shon Devones, Brant Banks and Clay Servin were named to the fourth team. McCaffrey, younger brother of Stanford All-America RB and NFL star Christian McCaffrey, was consensus All-AAC in ’23.
There are 18 Dallas-Fort Worth area student-athletes on Rice’s bowl roster, and the Owls are no strangers to Ford Stadium or Dallas with seven appearances at this facility since 2001 (most recently in 2011). The Owls and SMU first played in Dallas as members of the Southwest Conference in 1920.
Rice offensive lineman Craig Servin of Richard Pearce HS is playing in a school-record 56th career game this evening.
Texas State Notes:
Coach G.J. Kinne of TSU is 20-7 overall in his second season as a college head coach and 8-5 with the Bobcats. He went 12-2 last year as head coach at Incarnate Word and took the Cardinals into the NCAA FCS quarterfinals. Kinne is no stranger to Ford Stadium as an assistant coach for SMU’s 2017 Frisco Bowl team under then-head coach Sonny Dykes and as a standout quarterback at Tulsa from 2008-11.
Texas State, a longtime power in the Lone Star, Gulf Star and Southland Conferences in NCAA Division II and FCS, joined the Sun Belt in 2013 after being an independent FBS member in 2011 and playing in the Western Athletic Conference in 2012. TSU is 534-499-25 (.517) in varsity competition over 125 seasons from 1919-2023 and has 12 conference football titles in three different circuits. The Bobcats are 81st among FBS universities in winning percentage and 95th in terms of historical victories.
TSU is 11-47-2 against current members of American with its most recent meeting vs. neighboring UTSA in a 20-13 loss on Sept. 9 this year.
The Bobcats opened the 2023 season with a convincing 42-31 triumph over 2021 Big 12 Conference champ Baylor in Waco and now have played nine of their 13 games inside the state of Texas. TSU also downed a South Alabama squad that walloped Oklahoma State 33-7 on the road and downed Eastern Michigan 59-10 in last week’s 68 Ventures Mobile Bowl with a 52-44 win at San Marcos on Nov. 25.
Texas State entered today’s tussle as the No. 23 team nationally in passing offense with 272-of-400 attempts, just nine interceptions, 3,370 passing yards, 24 TDs, and 280.8 passing yards per game. TSU also started Dec. 26 at No. 10 in total offense with 470.8 yards per game and 53 TDs from scrimmage.
Bobcats LB Brian Holloway made his third interception of the year count for a pick six from 36 yards in the second quarter. It was the Bobcats first interception return for a TD this year and seventh pickoff. The first six were returned for a combined 20 yards for TSU defenders. In the third quarter Holloway set a SPFRB record with a second pick six(his fourth pass pilfer of the year to lead TSU) from 48 yards to give him 84 yards on the two runbacks for TDs. The NCAA bowl record for interception returns for a TD was by Jim Dooley of Miami (Fla.) vs. Clemson in the Gator Bowl and Manuel Aja of Arizona State in 1950 vs. Xavier (Ohio).
TSU set a school record for all games with two pick sixes. Texas State also had two later interceptions to break the previous SPFRB team record of three set on two other occasions – most recently by Memphis against Utah State in 2022.
Texas State also gained a SPFRB-record six turnovers (five interceptions, one fumble) tonight for another SPFRB team-tying record. Oklahoma State forced five TOs against Purdue in 2013. The five pickoffs also represent a SERVPRO FRB team mark for one game.
The Bobcats broke the SPFRB record for penalty yards set by Illinois with 68 in 2014 against Louisiana Tech. TSU ended with a bowl-high 126 yards on 11 assessments. They were assessed 73 yards on six flags late in the first half to top the previous mark.
Today’s attendance was 26,542 – the top attendance for the SPFRB since it moved to Ford Stadium in 2019. It also was the highest turnout for a college game at Ford Stadium in 2023. The SERVPRO First Responder Bowl record for all sites is 48,313 when Oklahoma State downed Purdue Jan. 1, 2013, at historic Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas.
Quick Quotes From Winning Head Coach G.J. Kinne of Texas State: “This was a great win for the team and Texas State’s first bowl win. We couldn’t have done this without the hard work of all our players and coaches. I feel like this has been a real landmark season for our team and program, and we could not be happier.”
2023-24 Bowl Schedules, Results, Attendance – 44 Bowls (Attendance to be noted; All television tentative airtimes EST) – Results and Schedule (ESPN telecasts unless noted) – As of early Dec. 26, 2023 – Through 19 Bowls
Saturday, Dec. 16 – Myrtle Beach, Ohio 41, Georgia Southern 21, 8,059
Cricket Celebration, Florida A&M 30, Howard 26, 41,108
R+L Carriers New Orleans, Jacksonville State 34, Louisiana 31 (OT), 14,485
Avocados From Mexico Cure, Appalachian State 13, Miami (Ohio) 9, 11,121
Isleta New Mexico, Fresno State 37, New Mexico State 10, 30,822
Starco Brands LA Bowl, UCLA 35, Boise State 22, 32,780
Radiance Technologies Independence, Texas Tech 34, California 14, 33,071
Monday, Dec. 18
Famous Toastery, WKU 38, Old Dominion 35 (OT), 5,632
Tuesday, Dec. 19
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco, UTSA 35, Marshall 17, 11,215
Thursday, Dec. 21
RoofClaim.com Boca Raton, USF 45, Syracuse 0, 20,711
Friday, Dec. 22
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla, Georgia Tech 30, UCF 17, 30,281
Saturday, Dec. 23
Birmingham, Duke 17, Troy 10, 20,023
Camellia, Northern Illinois 21, Arkansas State 19, 11,310
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces, Air Force 31, James Madison 21, 30,828
Famous Idaho Potato, Georgia State 45, Utah State 22, 12,168
68 Ventures Mobile, South Alabama 59, Eastern Michigan 10, 20,926
SRS Distribution Las Vegas, Northwestern 14, Utah 7, 20,897
EasyPost Hawai'i, Coastal Carolina 24, San Jose State 14, 7,089
Tuesday, Dec. 26
Quick Lane, Minnesota 30, Bowling Green 24, 28,521
SERVPRO First Responder, Texas State 45, Rice 21, 26,542
To come later Tuesday: ]
Guaranteed Rate, Kansas vs. UNLV, 9 p.m., Chase Field, Phoenix, Ariz.
Wednesday, Dec. 27
Military, Tulane vs. Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.
Duke's Mayo, North Carolina vs. West Virginia, 5:30 p.m., Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.
DIRECTV Holiday Bowl, Louisville vs. USC, 8 p.m., FOX, Petco Park, San Diego, Calif.
TaxAct Texas, Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M, 9 p.m., NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Wasabi Fenway, Boston College vs. SMU, 11 a.m., Fenway Park, Boston, Mass.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe, Miami (Fla.) vs. Rutgers, 2:15 p.m., Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
Pop-Tarts, Kansas State vs. NC State, 5:45 PM, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
Valero Alamo, Arizona vs. Oklahoma, 9:15 p.m., Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Friday, December 29, 2023
TaxSlayer Gator, Clemson vs. Kentucky, noon, EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla.
Tony the Tiger Sun, Notre Dame vs. Oregon State, 2 p.m., CBS, Sun Bowl Stadium, El Paso, Texas
AutoZone Liberty, Iowa State vs. Memphis, 3:30 p.m., Simmons Bank Liberty Bowl Stadium, Memphis, Tenn.
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Missouri vs. Ohio State, 8 p.m., AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Saturday, Dec. 30
Chick-Fil-A Peach, Ole Miss vs. Penn State, noon, Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.
TransPerfect Music City, Auburn vs. Maryland, 2 p.m., ABC, Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tenn.
Capital One Orange Bowl, Florida State vs. Georgia, 4 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Lakes, Fla.
Barstool Sports Arizona, Toledo vs. Wyoming, 4:30 p.m., Barstool.com, Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Ariz.
Monday, Jan. 1, 2024
ReliaQuest, LSU vs. Wisconsin, noon, ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Liberty vs. Oregon, 1 p.m., State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Cheez-It Citrus, Iowa vs. Tennessee, 2 p.m., ABC, Campus World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
Rose Bowl presented by Prudential, CFP semifinal, Alabama vs. Michigan, Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, Calif., 5 p.m.
Allstate Sugar, CFP semifinal, Texas vs. Washington, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, La., 8:45 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 8
CFP Championship, NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas, 7:30 p.m.
Conference Records in 2023-24 Bowls (Through early Dec. 26) – 19 Bowls
AAC 2-1
ACC 2-1
Big Ten 2-0
Big 12 1-1
CUSA 2-1
Independents 0-0
MAC 2-3
MWC 2-3
Pac-12 1-2
SEC 0-0
Sun Belt 5-7
Competing Conference Teams: AAC – 6; ACC – 11; Big 12 – 9; Big Ten – 9; CUSA – 4; Ind. – 1; MAC – 6; MWC – 7; Pac-12 – 8; SEC – 9; Sun Belt – 12.
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