Bo's Bits: SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Features All-Texas Competitors for First Time

By Bo Carter, National Football Foundation

It’s a first in the 14-year history of the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl – two teams from Deep in the Heart of Texas are meeting as Rice of the American Athletic Conference tangles with Texas State of the Sun Belt Conference, which features a league-record 12 teams competing in post-2023 extravaganzas.

There also is the familiarity factor as student-athletes from both teams have competed against one another – some since the junior high football ranks – and both university and “Texas pride” play major roles.

Rice (6-6 overall) was predicted to finish as far down as 12th or 13th in preseason polls in the rejuvenated AAC but used early “statement” victories – a 43-41 double-overtime comeback win over crosstown rival and Big 12 foe Houston for the coveted Bayou Bucket trophy among them – and a clutch sixth win (24-21) over Florida Atlantic on Nov. 25 to certify bowl eligibility. Those displays earned the Owls a trip to their 14th bowl game (7-6 record) that began with downing Colorado in the 1938 Cotton Bowl in Dallas as a member of the grand, old Southwest Conference.

Texas State scored a signature 42-31 win at 2021 Big 12 Conference champ Baylor to set off an explosion on offense that scored 77 points against Jackson State and put up 50 markers versus Sun Belt member Southern Miss to jump out to a 4-1 start.

From there, the road to the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl on Dec. 26 at 4:30 p.m. (CST) has been a bit treacherous and interesting at times for both teams, but rewarding at the end of 12 regular-outing skirmishes.

For example, the Rice preseason selection turned into a tie for fourth place with traditional contenders Navy and USF in the AAC at 4-4, behind eventual champ SMU, runner-up Tulane and third-place UTSA, a group that combined for 30 overall triumphs and contended until the final weekend for New Year’s Six bowl berths.

The story was similar for the university based in San Marcos (7-5 this season), as Texas State posted a second-place finish in the Sun Belt’s West Division behind circuit champion Troy. Upstart James Madison closed at 11-1 for the full season and drew a bid to the nearby Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Dec. 23 in Fort Worth.

Both teams have their share of explosive performers such as Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, the younger brother of Stanford and NFL San Francisco 49ers all-world performer Christian McCaffrey, with 68 receptions for 963 yards and 12 TDs to lead the Owls. Well-traveled quarterback JT Daniels started his career at USC, played for Georgia’s 2020 squad and ’21 College Football Playoff title team before moving to West Virginia in 2022 as a junior. He was 181-of-287 passing for 2,443 yards and 21 touchdowns despite missing three contests with injuries. On Dec. 1, Daniels announced that he is medically retiring from football.

The Bobcats have one of the nation’s top rushers in Ismail Mahdi (from nearby Plano East HS) with 1,209 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. He finished the regular season as the only FBS player with over 2,000 all-purpose yards. Veteran quarterback TJ Finley started at SEC contenders LSU and Auburn before transferring to TSU in ’23, where he put up 264-of-385 passing statistics with 3,287 yards and 24 aerial TDs. At 6-7, 255 pounds, the able signal caller is one of the most physically imposing passers and runners nationally. 

Fans can expect their share of passing displays, long scoring jaunts and some Texas-style big hits defensively in this series renewal, which originated with a Rice win in 1920 and is tied at two games apiece prior to their fifth confab. 

For tickets, the exciting Bowl Tailgate Party on bowl day and related game activities, please visit firstresponderbowl.com.

—firstresponderbowl.com—