Where's the Beef? It's at Lawry's

Oklahoma players indulged in some mouth-watering prime rib on Sunday night as part of the annual Lawry's Beef Bowl, a staple of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic festivities.

While players can eat as much prime rib as they want, in recent years they've been discouraged from over-doing it by their coaches - it makes practice go smoother the next day when their stomachs aren't swelled up! Still, there's always a few players who amaze everyone by how much beef they can inhale.

Texas A&M players will get the Beef Bowl treatment on Tuesday night.

After the Beef Bowl, both teams were treated to the Dallas Mavericks game against the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Center.

Texas A&M Sunday Practice Report

AGGIES HOLD FIRST AT&T COTTON BOWL CLASSIC PRACTICE
Dallas – The No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies got back to football basics for their first practice for the 77th AT&T
Cotton Bowl Classic.
Under brisk outdoor conditions, the Aggies donned full pads for a nearly 60-minute workout on the practice
field adjacent to Ford Stadium on the SMU campus. The spirit of the 12th Man was in full force as a swarm of Texas A&M fans welcomed the squad prior to its first workout in preparation to take on the No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners (10-2, 8-1 Big 12 Conference).
“I thought we had great energy at practice. With all the fans and spectators that were here, I was kind of shocked at the number of people that were here. I thought that created some energy for us too,” said head coach Kevin Sumlin. “We bounced around and weren’t out here very long but that’s kind of the way we’ve done things up to this point.”
The practice was a return of sorts as Ford Stadium was the site of the team’s first win of the 2012 season, a 48-3 victory over SMU. That win sparked a five-game winning streak before a 24-19 loss to LSU on Oct.20.
A&M rebounded from that defeat to go another five-game winning streak to close the season.
Two former Aggies players, Rod Harris and Ken Reeves, were among those watching the A&M workout. Harris was an All-Southwest Conference performer who starred for A&M in 1985-89 and Reeves played in College Station from 1981-84. The team capped off practice in celebratory fashion with happy birthday wishes and a Gatorade bath for defensive coordinator Mark Snyder.
Snyder, junior DE Damontre Moore and seniors DL Spencer Nealy, LB Sean Porter, LB Jonathan Stewart and DB Steven Terrell will conduct an interview session with the media Monday morning at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Irving. A&M is back on the practice field later in the day with a traditional “Tuesday” practice session at Highland Park High School in nearby University Park.

Oklahoma Sunday Practice Report

OKLAHOMA BEGINS PREPARTIONS FOR CLASSIC SHOWDOWN
Arlington, Texas – The 11th ranked Oklahoma Sooners began their AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic preparations at Cowboys Stadium today as they looked ahead to a matchup with the No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies.
Spirited music filled the air as the Sooners (10-2, 8-1 Big 12) held a two-hour practice in shorts and shoulder pads.
Earlier in the day, Head Coach Bob Stoops and select players met with the media to talk about the upcoming matchup with the Aggies and getting back into the groove after the holiday break.
“I feel good in that we have healed up a little bit from some of the sprained ankles and some of the injuries we’d had through the year that we’ve kind of managed and worked through,” Stoops said.
Texas A&M will bring Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel into the Classic, but OU will counter with their own decorated leader in senior QB Landry Jones. Jones returns to the site of his first game action, when he took over for an injured Sam Bradford against BYU in 2009.
“Landry has been a very steady and excellent football player for us for four years. He’s been through a lot of games and a lot of challenges,” Stoops said. “Down the stretch for us he’s been fabulous.”
The Sooners finished the season with a five-game winning streak, claiming a share of their eighth Big 12 Championship. Over that streak, Jones has thrown for 1,980 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Eatin' and Greetin' - AT&T Cotton Bowl style

More pictures from Saturday night's Welcome Dinner. At times it was hard to figure out which line was longer: the one for the buffet  - or the one to have pictures taken with Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and the Super Bowl Trophy.

Members of the Kilgore Rangerettes drill team were also on hand to usher the guests into Cowboys Stadium.

QBs captured on canvas

Part of the fun of Saturday night's welcome dinner was watching speed painter Dan Dunn craft portraits of OU quarterback Landry Jones and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel. Dunn painted - from start to finish - the portraits and another of the stadium while the teams ate.

Which one do you think turned out better?

Festivities begin with the annual Welcome Dinner at Cowboys Stadium

Pictured above is the Texas A&M team filing into the dining area for the annual AT&T Cotton Bowl Welcome Dinner on Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium. The teams were treated to a gourmet buffet and entertainment, then moved to the 50 yard line to watch videos of their seasons on the stadium's gigantic video screen.

Not a bad way to kick off the week!

Hey! Check those press passes!

Apparently, some of the questions at Sunday's AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Media Day were getting a little tedious, so a couple of the players took over the microphones. Oklahoma defensive back Tony Jefferson conducted a groundbreaking interview with receiver Kenny Stills, while Texas A&M defensive lineman Spencer Nealy grills head coach Kevin Sumlin. (photos by Ian Halperin/CBAA)