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Owlfan1.. Good call on NIU vs Troy!!

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You called 35-17. Score was 34-21.
I was one of the posters who thought that Troy's defense wouldn't give up that many points. :-[.. :P

I guess NIU came to play after the BCS history of snubs. Troy's RB Dwayne Betterson had 151 yards in the losing effort.
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Owlfan1.. Good call on NIU vs Troy!!

Thanks for the props. It looked like I would be terribly wrong early on but NIU came back and played a very good ball game.

2017 and 2019 Conference USA Champions
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Owlfan1.. Good call on NIU vs Troy!!

Owlfan1.. Good call on NIU vs Troy!!

Well, that's 0-2 for the SunBelt's bowl record this year, that won't help us with any conference arguments.
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Owlfan1.. Good call on NIU vs Troy!!

I was there. The game was closer than the score would appear.

Troy drove deep twice late in the game and dropped an easily catchable TD pass on a fourth down with 4 or so minutes to play. The offense was revived.

An apparent DeWhitt Betterson TD run was called back because someone on the NIU side blew a whistle and some of the players stopped. The whistle had been heard several times, even on the Troy side. Betterson would have had over 200 yards with that run.

Troy's play calling was suspect after the first couple of drives. On www.gotroytrojans.com, many are calling for the offensive coordinator's head.

NIU is good, probably the best team Troy played this year (especially its offense). I also was at the Peach Bowl (two bowls on two coasts in 20 hours!). NIU would have beaten the Gators and given Miami quite a game. Troy's defense was not up the snuff for this game. The really nasty field hurt Troy's speed advantage. Many big NIU plays were due to slipping defenders.

It was a lot of fun and an historic time for Troy. We got really wet and pretty cold, but it was worth the money and time. Troy sold more than 4,000 tickets - not bad for a school with 5,000-plus people on the main campus.

Here are the links to all the pictures so far (edited and game shots coming when I am reunited with my gear):

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http://www.palmswestpress.com/images/Troy_Rally_1_12_29_04/index.htm

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http://www.palmswestpress.com/images/Troy_Rally_2_12_29_04/index.htm

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http://www.palmswestpress.com/images/Troy_2_12_29_04/index.htm

http://www.palmswestpress.com/images/Troy_3_12_29_04/index.htm

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Owlfan1.. Good call on NIU vs Troy!!

Nice SanFran pix. Weather looks great too.
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Owlfan1.. Good call on NIU vs Troy!!

Thanks. Here is the edited pictures URL:

http://www.palmswestpress.com/images/Troy_vs_NIU_1_12_30_04/index.htm

We had decent weather on Wednesday when most of us made it to San Francisco. We had to rush back to San Jose (45 miles) for the nighttime pep rally, when the rain started again and pretty much did not stop until after the game.

It was a mess. Jack Daniels helped.

It was shame most San Jose residents (11th largest city in the country) did not come out. Organizers said more tickets were sold (21,000) to this game than any other, and that the city had more hotel rooms sold and more school/fan support than at any other time.

Some Troy students drove all the way there!

Troy was a bit outnumbered, but I ran into Trojans from San Fran (even in Walgreen's off the Embarcadero) to Salt Lake City (Delta flight to Atlanta). Some fans told me they were doing Troy cheers on the airplane on the way to a stop-over DFW!

Our band blew away the competition.

It was a great first time bowl - certainly helping with recruiting - and our appetites are whetted for more. New Orleans or better next year!

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Owlfan1.. Good call on NIU vs Troy!!

Troy's connection with the Sunbelt will help the conference with recruiting too. A Bowl appearance by any team is a plus.

Good job.
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