Five reasons to watch the Heart of Dallas Bowl

Okay, listen, we get it. Most likely, you think bowl season starts on New Year's Eve. Maybe slightly earlier depending on when your team is playing. But regardless of whether or not you're aware of them, the bowls have already started, and there's plenty of college football action to get you through to the main event around New Year's.

If you were to think of Texas, hippies are probably the last things you would think would be associated with the Lone Star State. However, even flower power found a place in plains of Texas.

Denton is known for its hipster vibe and vibrant independent music scene. Acts like Sly Stone, Meat Loaf and Norah Jones got their starts in Denton, where the University of North Texas resides.

Army, on the other hand, calls West Point, N.Y., its home. There is nothing hippie when it comes to West Point. With alumni that include President Dwight Eisenhower, General Douglas MacArthur and General George Patton, there isn’t exactly a culture of being free-spirited.

The two cultures will literally collide on the field for the second time this season, this time at the Cotton Bowl, just a drive away from Denton.
Here are five reasons to watch the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Heart of Dallas Bowl
Army (7-5, Independent) vs. North Texas (5-7, Conference USA)
Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas
Time: Tuesday, Dec. 27, 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT
Channel: ESPN

• Will Texas teams stay perfect in the Heart of Dallas Bowl? The Heart of Dallas Bowl is relatively new, but it has been very kind to Texas teams that have played in it. In the bowl’s six-year history, three Texas universities have played in it, and all three have won, including North Texas in 2014 against UNLV. This year, however, North Texas is not looking like it will continue that trend. The University of North Texas is limping into the game, losing four of its last five games. In that stretch, the Mean Green has given up 39.2 points per game and 239.6 rushing yards with a defense that would make Swiss cheese look like the Iron Curtain.
• Will Army get revenge? There are a few occasions where you want to mess with Texas. Army learned that college football should be at the bottom of that list after a 17-point loss against North Texas at West Point, 35-18. With North Texas’ rushing defense as effective as cardboard cutouts the past couple games, there is a good chance Army bulldozes its way this time around. Over 81 percent of Army’s total offense comes from the rushing attack. Every team knows this coming in, but rarely are teams able to stop it. Leading the infamous triple-option offense of the Black Knights is Andy Davidson with 905 yards on 178 rushing attempts. Army was able to gain 302 yards on the ground against North Texas at West Point but was done in by seven turnovers. The likelihood of another seven-turnover game is right in line with Army Heisman Trophy winner Glenn Davis being forgotten in Army football lore.
• Will there be a musical guest, and who will it be? As stated previously, Denton has a rich history of musicians. The Heart of Dallas Bowl committee would be fools not to take advantage of this. Attendance has dipped in the last few years for the bowl, so the organizers need to get creative to bring fans in. Imagine if Meat Loaf rose up from under a stage, or Don Henley belted "Boys of Summer" or somehow convinced the Eagles to reform for a college football bowl. OK, admittedly that’s a long shot, but you never know what can happen in this crazy world of ours.
• How many people will actually show up? It’s tough to fill a football stadium for a neutral site game, but the Heart of Dallas Bowl particularly has been struggling. At its peak in 2013, 48,313 fans showed up for Oklahoma State vs. Purdue. Since then, the bowl has only gotten worse. Last year, there was an announced attendance of 20,229 in the 92,100-capacity Cotton Bowl. That's barely over half the attendance of this year’s Texas State High School 6A-Division II Championships, which drew 40,318 people at AT&T Stadium. If people don’t show up again, ESPN is going to have to keep those camera shots nice and tight on the lower bowl to hide the empty seats elsewhere.
• Come for the football, stay for the mules. College football has some pretty offbeat mascots, and Army has two that won’t be found anywhere else. Army may be known as the Black Knights, but three mules represent it on the field. Ranger III, Stryker and Paladin are the official mules of the Army Mule Corps that not only serve as West Point’s mascots, but the mascots of the entire Army. The mules are supposed to represent the strong, hearty and persevering nature of Army cadets – and the Army run game (probably).

Mascot edge: I don’t know what Mean Green even is, but supposedly the mascot is “Scrappy the Eagle.” I like an Army of Black Knights’ chances in that battle, especially with their mules.