Dec. 17, 2007

HOUSTON - As Christmas draws closer, the University of Houston football team continued preparations for their Texas Bowl showdown against TCU with a solid workout Monday morning.

Working out for about 75 minutes, the Cougars reviewed various game situations like overtime, 2-minute drill, goal-line offense and goal-line defense. Following the workout, interim head coach Chris Thurmond said he was pleased with the way the team responded.

"They had a good attitude, and it was a good tempo (at practice)," Thurmond said. "The guys have been great."

The Cougars meet TCU at 7 p.m., Dec. 28 in the 2007 Texas Bowl at Reliant Stadium. Fans can hear that game live on 790 AM The Sports Animal with Tom Franklin calling the play-by-play action, David Klingler and Ted Pardee providing color analysis and Chuck Brown reporting from the sideline. The pregame show is slated to begin one hour before kickoff.

Fans also can follow live stats over the Internet by clicking the Gametracker link at UHCougars.com.

The game also will be televised live on the NFL Network. It will be the sixth time this season that the Cougars will play on television.

Since wrapping up the regular season with a 59-6 win over Texas Southern on Nov. 24, the Cougar players have seen former head coach Art Briles resign to accept a similar position at Baylor, studied through final examinations and welcomed former Oklahoma assistant coach Kevin Sumlin as the program's new head coach.

Despite all of that, Thurmond said the players and assistant coaches have remained focused and are focusing on the Horned Frogs.

"There have been a lot of distractions, but the guys have been absolutely great," Thurmond said. "They are getting themselves ready to play."

The team will take off the rest of the week before returning to practice Sunday on the UH practice fields. From that point, on the team will assume a game-week schedule with workouts Dec. 23-26 and a walk-through at Reliant Stadium scheduled for Dec. 27.

"The game plan is set. We know what we are going to do offensively and defensively," Thurmond said. "When we come back, it will be just polishing up."