The Reggie Bush Bowl came to a successful conclusion for the 2-14 Texans as a field goal with 5 minutes left in overtime lifted the 4-12 49er’s to the victory. The Texans can now get on with the inevitable firing of head coach Dom Capers and his coaching staff, and the latest rumor is that Texans GM Charlie Casserly will be retained in some personnel-related capacity, although it remains unclear whether he will remain general manager of the team.
One could reasonably speculate that the Texans did not try to win the game much. QB David Carr (elbow), star receiver Andre Johnson (ankle) and leading pass rusher Shantee Orr (back) all retired to the sideline after a couple of series with injuries. They joined running backs Domanick Davis (knee) and Jonathan Wells (thigh) and defensive end Gary Walker (tricep), who all went on injured reserve last week. Moreover, kicker Kris Brown missed another chip-shot field goal with six minutes to go that would have won the game in regulation for the Texans, and the Texans’ offense continued to distinguish itself as one of the worst in recent NFL history — the unit not only failed again to exceed 300 yards of total offense, but also set up the 49er’s tying and winning scores.
By the way, one of the stranger observations on the game and the season was in this Megan Manfull/Chronicle article:“The Texans have rallied around [Texan head coach Dom] Capers all season.”
If the Texans have rallied around Capers this season, then how bad would the Texans have been had they actually tanked on their coach? Texans announcer Mark Vandermeer summed it up with his call at the end of the game:
“Here’s the snap. The kick is good. The game is over. The season is over as the Texans lose to San Francisco 20-17. They lock up the worst record in the National Football league at 2 and 14, and the nightmare that was the 2005 campaign finally comes to an end.”
EV1.net Houston Bowl – TCU 27 Iowa State 24
In a highly entertaining although not particularly well-played game, the 11-1 Horned Frogs kicked a late field goal to pull out the win, which gave the Froggies two wins this season over Big 12 teams (the other was against OU in the season opener). TCU jumped out to a 14 point lead, only to have the 7-5 Cyclones rebound for 17 quick points in the 2nd quarter to take the lead. Then, as the Cyclones were driving for what looked like another touchdown to go up 24-14, ISU’s QB promptly fumbled on the TCU 19 and, on the next play, TCU’s QB threw an 81 yard TD pass to allow TCU to go up 21-17. From that point on, the game turned into a fist fight between the two defensive units as neither team could muster a consistent rushing attack. The loss was another bitter pill for Iowa State, which was not highly-rated coming into the season, but was never beaten decisively in any game this season. The Cyclones lost their five games by a total of 26 points.
Inasmuch as the Cowboys (9-7) did not get the help from other teams necessary for them to make the playoffs by winning this Sunday night game, they basically went through the motions in losing this one to the 6-10 Rams. Now the annual “Tuna Watch” begins as Dallas’ coach decides whether to retire or continue coaching, and the Cowboys personnel department begins the even harder task of figuring out how to put together an offensive line that can block sufficiently well to protect an immobile QB and revive Dallas’ lackluster rushing attack.
Meanwhile, in other local football news, Rice University cornered the market on head coaches named “Graham” by selecting as its new head football coach Tulsa defensive coordinator Todd Graham, who is no relation to Rice head baseball coach Wayne Graham. The new Coach Graham may be a fine coach, but my sense is that he will be the final coach of a Rice team that competes at the Division I-A football program. Graham’s resume is simply not close to being as impressive as that of former Rice head coach Ken Hatfield when he took the Rice job. Combined with Rice’s non-committal approach to its football program, that disparity in resumes reflects just how far the Rice football program has fallen.