This article first appeared in RedMatchday Magazine, Aberdeen Football Club's award-winning publication, on December 13, 2008.Aside from the Boat Race, university sports are completely irrelevant in Britain with interest confined to participants and passing dog-walkers. By sharp contrast, US college football attracts media coverage to rival the NFL. The recent annual Bayou Bucket Battle between Houston’s Rice University and University of Houston gave me the chance to observe this uniquely American phenomenon at first hand.
Culturally, Americans develop a deeper sense of belonging to their alma mater than British graduates. That pride often transmits itself into lifelong donations from former students, or at the very least a guarantee of fervid support during football season. Consider also that the NFL comprises 32 franchises in a country of 300 million people – roughly one team per 10 million inhabitants – while Scottish football contains 42 league clubs in a country of 5 million. School allegiances therefore substitute for a lack of professional teams in many regions irrespective of whether the locals received higher education or not.
Division I-A marks the highest level of college football with 120 schools divided into 12 conferences of differing quality. Teams play 12 regular-season games – usually eight against conference rivals and four against outside opposition – with successful sides contesting season-ending Conference Championship matches and an ever-expanding series of bowl games, the most famous of which, including Pasadena’s Rose Bowl and Miami’s Orange Bowl, host the winners of the toughest conferences.
Culturally, Americans develop a deeper sense of belonging to their alma mater than British graduates. That pride often transmits itself into lifelong donations from former students, or at the very least a guarantee of fervid support during football season. Consider also that the NFL comprises 32 franchises in a country of 300 million people – roughly one team per 10 million inhabitants – while Scottish football contains 42 league clubs in a country of 5 million. School allegiances therefore substitute for a lack of professional teams in many regions irrespective of whether the locals received higher education or not.
Division I-A marks the highest level of college football with 120 schools divided into 12 conferences of differing quality. Teams play 12 regular-season games – usually eight against conference rivals and four against outside opposition – with successful sides contesting season-ending Conference Championship matches and an ever-expanding series of bowl games, the most famous of which, including Pasadena’s Rose Bowl and Miami’s Orange Bowl, host the winners of the toughest conferences.
Conference USA, home to the Rice Owls and UH Cougars, is far from a heavyweight, but this final league fixture carried added significance. With a win the Cougars would clinch the C-USA West Division and host East Carolina, C-USA East Division winners, in the Conference Championship decider. The Owls also harboured title ambitions but their task was more convoluted: beat Houston and hope for a favour elsewhere.
Rice, a prestigious private university, has only 5,000 students but their sports programme is venerated for continually producing strong baseball teams. Little attention has been gained from their football achievements, a game usually associated with the proletariat, but that has changed this year under the tutelage of head coach David Bailiff and leadership of quarterback Chase Clement.
Rice, a prestigious private university, has only 5,000 students but their sports programme is venerated for continually producing strong baseball teams. Little attention has been gained from their football achievements, a game usually associated with the proletariat, but that has changed this year under the tutelage of head coach David Bailiff and leadership of quarterback Chase Clement.
Rice Stadium can still seat 70,000, despite the university’s small enrolment, and it even hosted a Superbowl in 1974. On the other hand, UH is one of Texas’ biggest state schools with 36,000 students and possesses an alumni population far outstripping that of Rice. Unsurprisingly then the Cougars fans outnumbered their hosts in the 35,534 crowd.
As kick-off approached, Cougars fans flooded in from their tailgating parties displaying specially designed “Coogs vs. Nerds” t-shirts and derided their opponents’ perceived elitism with chants of “Harvard rejects”. The banter from Rice’s hardcore followers was equally cutting: one banner read “You can’t spell DUH without UH”.
As kick-off approached, Cougars fans flooded in from their tailgating parties displaying specially designed “Coogs vs. Nerds” t-shirts and derided their opponents’ perceived elitism with chants of “Harvard rejects”. The banter from Rice’s hardcore followers was equally cutting: one banner read “You can’t spell DUH without UH”.
A high-scoring shootout was forecast – in 22 combined games this season these teams had scored over 40 points on 13 occasions – and those expectations were quickly realised. It took little more than three minutes for Clement to engineer the Owls’ first touchdown courtesy of wide receiver James Casey’s one yard rush. Cougars’ quarterback Case Keenum retaliated with four completed passes within two minutes, the last of which saw L.J. Castile race 43 yards to level the score.
Clement and Casey excelled in the second quarter to give Rice a commanding lead. After the Owls had edged 21-14 ahead, two consecutive UH drives ended in failure as Keenum threw his sole interception and Jordan Mannisto missed a 41-yard field goal attempt. Clement followed both turnovers with touchdown passes to Casey as Rice raced to a 35-21 half-time advantage.
The interlude highlighted further differences between the universities as their bands took turns to entertain the audience. Firstly, the traditional Spirit of Houston Cougars band paraded around the pitch with military precision and an impressive array of linear formations while majorettes twirled their batons around the ranks of musicians. Next up was The Marching Owl Band (or The Mob), a sophisticated ensemble of jazzy cool cats dressed in garb inspired by Bugsy Malone. In truth The Mob does not even march; they scramble around haphazardly with few instruments in a performance showcasing satire more than musical talent.
This contrast drew a parallel with the game itself. While the UH offense executed conventional plays with reasonable success, they were overshadowed by Clement’s instinctive ability to scramble for extra yards when the right pass was unavailable. The Cougars’ section became more frenzied in their attempts to spur an unlikely comeback as the second half progressed, but Clement continued his mastery of the contest to delight the phlegmatic home support. He ended with five touchdown passes plus one 8-yard scoring carry of his own as Rice recorded a comprehensive 56-42 win.
Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain. Though Rice moved ahead of UH in the standings, Tulsa’s dramatic 38-35 win over Marshall tied them for top spot. The Oklahomans progressed to the C-USA Conference Championship by virtue of their head-to-head win over Rice, but they fell 27-24 as East Carolina won the title outright. At least The Owls have the consolation of lifting the Bayou Bucket for only the second time in seven years. For the Cougars, they will reflect on a lost opportunity having thrashed both Tulsa and East Carolina during the season.
The interlude highlighted further differences between the universities as their bands took turns to entertain the audience. Firstly, the traditional Spirit of Houston Cougars band paraded around the pitch with military precision and an impressive array of linear formations while majorettes twirled their batons around the ranks of musicians. Next up was The Marching Owl Band (or The Mob), a sophisticated ensemble of jazzy cool cats dressed in garb inspired by Bugsy Malone. In truth The Mob does not even march; they scramble around haphazardly with few instruments in a performance showcasing satire more than musical talent.
This contrast drew a parallel with the game itself. While the UH offense executed conventional plays with reasonable success, they were overshadowed by Clement’s instinctive ability to scramble for extra yards when the right pass was unavailable. The Cougars’ section became more frenzied in their attempts to spur an unlikely comeback as the second half progressed, but Clement continued his mastery of the contest to delight the phlegmatic home support. He ended with five touchdown passes plus one 8-yard scoring carry of his own as Rice recorded a comprehensive 56-42 win.
Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain. Though Rice moved ahead of UH in the standings, Tulsa’s dramatic 38-35 win over Marshall tied them for top spot. The Oklahomans progressed to the C-USA Conference Championship by virtue of their head-to-head win over Rice, but they fell 27-24 as East Carolina won the title outright. At least The Owls have the consolation of lifting the Bayou Bucket for only the second time in seven years. For the Cougars, they will reflect on a lost opportunity having thrashed both Tulsa and East Carolina during the season.
Despite the presence of a heavily commercialised professional game, my first taste of college action taught me that higher scoring offenses entertaining supporters with an inherently greater sense of belonging, all offered at negligible prices, provide far greater value for money than the NFL’s corporate juggernaut can provide.
Pictures from the 2008 Bayou Bucket Battle are available here.
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