Baylor, Michigan State players meet the press

Baylor QB Bryce Petty meets with members of the press during Sunday's media session.

   Part of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic experience is meeting with the media. For the past two days, members of the Michigan State and Baylor teams and coaching staffs have engaged in one-on-one sessions with the press.
   Well, as one-on-one as it can get with a popular player like Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty (above). On Sunday, members of the Baylor offense met with the media in "breakout" session at the Omni Dallas, the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic's media headquarters. Then Michigan State's defense met with reporters.
   On Monday, the teams were flipped with Baylor's defense meeting with the media, followed by Michigan State's defense.
   It all takes place starting at 8 a.m. so that the teams can get on to the rest of their bowl events, including - oh yeah! - practice and the media can get their stories done in time to relax a little in the evenings, too.
   On Tuesday, both teams will have their full squads available to reporters for their respective Media Days on the turf at AT&T Stadium. This is also when their official Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic team photo is taken. It's not quite as wild and crazy as the annual Super Bowl media day, but it's usually the best time to get to know the players better in a casual setting.
  Additionally, the media is allowed to attend the first 15 minutes of each team's practice. Buses are even provided to escort the media to the teams' practice sites.
   The final media commitment is the annual coaches' press conference on Wednesday, the day before the game. This is always a fun event for the media as the two head coaches usually share the podium and sometimes take a photo in a mock tug-of-war over the spectacular Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic trophy.