Houston, Texas means more than a bowl game to some members of the ISU football team. It’s where receiver Austin Flynn, defensive end Jason Berryman and defensive lineman Brent Curvey and six others call home.

ISU coach Dan McCarney doesn’t want too many distractions, though, as the team prepares for its bout against Texas Christian University.

“All those kids from the state of Texas are excited to be going back, like you would expect,” McCarney said.

“The biggest problem is right now, aside from trying to find a way to beat TCU, which is hard to do, is how many tickets they can find.”

It’s hard for the athletes to avoid the obvious, though, as a limited number of tickets are made available to the players.

“We only get six tickets, so I’m going to have a lot of mad family and friends,” Berryman said, laughing.

“They’re going to come out and support me, though.”

He’s not alone.

“I probably won’t have enough [tickets], I’ll tell you that right now,” Flynn said. “There will probably be a lot of tickets sold to my friends and family in the stadium.”

Berryman is only a bus ride away from Reliant Stadium, normally home for the NFL’s Houston Texans. He said he’s already been inside the stadium, and it’s a very exciting place to be.

“I can catch the bus right to my house from Reliant,” Berryman said. “It’s awesome. It’s well-worth the money.”

Flynn, conversely, lives about 25 minutes away from the stadium, and has never been inside.

“I’ve only seen the outside, never been in,” Flynn said. “It’s going to be exciting just to go in it, let alone play in it.

“It looks fantastic from the outside.”

The perks of being close to home don’t just apply to the athletes, either.

“My friends and family don’t have to drive 15 hours; instead, they have to drive 20 minutes,” Flynn said.

“It’s exciting.”

It’s no secret how big football is in Texas, and to the athletes, the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd offers more than just a trip back home.

“It’s great for my family and friends to get an opportunity to see me,” Berryman said. “Being in Texas, you get to show everybody what you’re made of.”

“Houston’s a football city.”

To the entire team – even to those who are returning home -ÿit wasn’t playing in their hometown that was the biggest priority. The Cyclones simply wanted to lock in their fifth bowl appearance in six years.

They did that.

“This is the first one I will get to play in, so I’m looking forward to it,” Flynn said.

“It didn’t matter where, just as long as we’re playing somewhere.”

One thing is for sure – Cyclones are in the forecast for Houston. When that happens, it is never clear as to what may take place.

“You never know what to expect,” Berryman said. “You can always expect something great when you’re dealing with the Cyclones.”