FREEDOM BOWL NOTES : Wet Field Relegates Tulsa to ‘Mental Practice’

The Tulsa football team received a surprise when it arrived at Golden West Community College for practice Saturday morning. The field was soaked.

Sure, it rained some Friday night, but not that much.

According to Golden Hurricane Coach David Rader, the sprinkler system malfunctioned at Golden West, causing the field to flood.

“It was really wet and sloppy and hard to stand up,” Rader said. “We tried to keep everything up as much as we could. . . . It was something we hadn’t planned on, coming out here and practicing on a soggy field.”

Tulsa linebacker Michael White said the traction was bad.

“It was kind of like a full mental practice, but we tried to keep the physical contact to a minimum,” White said.

Tulsa has an hourlong walk-through scheduled for today at Anaheim Stadium; SDSU will take the day off.

The Aztecs used to at least hold a short walk-through on the day before a game, but Coach Al Luginbill stopped doing it this season.

“We don’t (have a walk-through) at home,” Luginbill said. “It’s the structure of our program. We’re going to go out and play, the field is going to be 100 yards long and 52 yards wide.

“I like the idea of (the players) being off of their feet and in a relaxed atmosphere.”

Notes

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Dan McGwire, an SDSU alum, attended the Aztecs’ practice at UC Irvine Saturday. He said he had no preference as to a replacement for Coach Chuck Knox, who resigned Friday. . . . Approximately 41,000 tickets have been sold so far for Monday’s game, according to Freedom Bowl officials. . . . Anaheim Stadium groundskeepers placed a tarp on the field Friday afternoon, so there should be no problem with wetness unless it rains Monday night. . . . The U.S. Weather Bureau is forecasting a 70% chance of rain today with decreasing cloudiness and fair skies by Monday. . . . Tulsa quarterback T.J. Rubley still has a pretty good-sized chip on the ring finger of his throwing hand. He cut it on his razor Friday and says it has affected him somewhat in practice. “I can’t get everything on the ball,” he said. Rubley has been taping the finger in practice but said he hopes he can get by without tape Monday night.