Tech begins week of Alamo Bowl preparation

By MARK BABINECK / Associated Press

LUBBOCK - Texas Tech Red Raiders from all corners of the state are to converge upon San Antonio today to begin a week of preparation and hype leading up to Sunday's Alamo Bowl game.

Despite the erratic practice of late - Tech coaches haven't seen their players since last Wednesday - head coach Spike Dykes anticipates the Red Raiders will be ready for No. 21 Iowa.

"It's always a little hard to get focused," Dykes said of the brief two-a-day workouts he held last week. "The guys did a good job though."

The bitter cold snap that froze Texas forced the Red Raiders into their indoor facility, which offers a flat, artificial turf more similar to the Alamodome's than Tech's Jones Stadium.

Climate control wasn't the only thing that separated this month's workouts from August preseason, safety Dane Johnson said.

"You've got so much time to practice when you know you've only got one game," Johnson said. "At the beginning of the season, you do two-a-days knowing you've got 11 games left."

The bowl game has special significance for Johnson, a junior from the Fort Worth area. Tech edged out Iowa in their battle to recruit him, and he knows some of the Hawkeyes he'll line up against Sunday.

"It's kind of a crazy last game of the year," he said. "I've got one more year left, and I'm playing my second-choice school."

Dykes and Johnson agree they'd rather be heading to San Antonio than Honolulu, site of the Aloha Bowl that appeared to have Tech (7-4) locked up until Texas upset Nebraska for the Big 12 championship.

Dykes appreciates the greater level of competition Iowa (8-3) offers than California would at the Aloha. Cal (6-5) petered out after a fast start and finished among Pac 10 also-rans.

"The biggest thing that's enticing about the Alamo Bowl is playing a ranked team," Dykes said. "One of reasons you like to go to a bowl is to enhance your ... ranking. This gives us a chance to do that."

Johnson said the Alamo's positives far outweigh those of the Aloha.

"The only thing good about that is a free trip to Hawaii," he said.