At some point during the off-season, when he's tired of analyzing tapes from last season and the 15 spring practices he ran, new Colorado coach Dan Hawkins might recognize one particular blessing on the roster he inherited.

He must turn to a special segment of the two-deep to find it, but there's no question the Buffaloes can deploy a solid weapon in PK Mason Crosby.

Actually, Hawkins knows this already. At CU's spring game, he made Crosby the featured performer. The senior attempted an amazing 16 field goals in swirling winds. The average distance was 50.7 yards and the longest was from 70. The one downer was that Crosby made just seven tries.

"When you can't get the ball in the end zone," said Hawkins, "you've got to give the fans something."

What the fans left wondering was how often the Buffs will have to settle on Crosby's leg during the 2006 season. In 21 possessions during the spring game, Colorado scored just two touchdowns, both of which came in red-zone drills where the ball was spotted at the 25-yard line.

Hawkins displayed little displeasure by the lack of offensive production, though there's no question it could eat at the new coach, who was hired to pack some punch in the Colorado attack.

"I'm used to scoring 40, 50, 60 points a game," Hawkins said. "I come out of a game like this, I start twitching a little bit."

With unproven quarterbacks Brian White and Bernard Jackson failing to assume control of that position, and a run game that lacks a strong back, the offensive makeover Hawkins implements will take time.

He at least take comfort in knowing the offense he ran the past five seasons at Boise State was one of the most effective in the country. That, plus he can turn to Crosby, who may just possess the strongest leg in college football.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that it has awarded a bowl game to the City of Houston following the 2006 college football season.

Representatives from Lone Star Sports and Entertainment (LSSE) and the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, along with the commissioners of the Big 12 Conference and Conference USA and the athletic directors from the University of Houston and Rice University, presented a plan for the game Tuesday at the NCAA Division I championships/competition cabinet meeting in San Diego.

The bowl game will be played at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

"We are thrilled with this announcement and we are proud to play a role in maintaining a bowl game for Houston," said Jamey Rootes, president of Lone Star Sports and Entertainment. "Our city has a rich football history, and we are looking forward to adding to it with this bowl."

Participating teams will be chosen from the Big 12, Conference USA, Big East, and Mountain West conferences. It is expected that the Big 12 and/or Conference USA will provide at least one team to compete in the game on an annual basis. The game will be played on Thursday, December 28. Specific information regarding conference selection order will be released at a later date.

"We are excited about the future of postseason college football in Houston," said Big 12 Conference commissioner Kevin Weiberg. "The Big 12 has a strong on-going interest in the greater Houston area. It is a dynamic metropolitan area and we believe the bowl game will do well with this restructured arrangement."

A local organizing committee will be created to oversee the planning for the bowl. Lone Star Sports and Entertainment will serve as the local producer of the event and will coordinate marketing, broadcasting, sponsorship, public relations, and other key activities for the event.

A name and identity package is now being developed for the bowl, and it will be announced at a later date. LSSE is also finalizing the details of the bowl's television package and game entitlement, and will announce those details soon.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Tennessee Volunteers will play a home-and-home series in 2016 and 2017, according to announcements released Thursday. Tennessee will travel to Lincoln for a game on September 10, 2016, while the Huskers will visit Neyland Stadium in Knoxville on September 9, 2017.

Nebraska is 2-0 against the Vols. Both wins were at bowl games including the Orange Bowl after the 1997 season and the Fiesta Bowl after the 1999 season.