DALLAS – So, how is your Christmas going? Did you get everything you wanted? Did you get to spend it at home with your family today?
 
The West Virginia players and coaches here in Dallas for tomorrow's Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl plan to spend part of their Christmas at The Westin Dallas Downtown before departing to Highland Park High for an afternoon practice.
 
Spending Christmas Day in a hotel away from their families is now fairly common for college football players playing in bowl games.
 
In the past, the two main games played on Christmas Day were the Blue-Gray All-Star Game in the morning followed by the Aloha Bowl in the afternoon. Sometimes, the Sun Bowl was played on Christmas Day when it wasn't played on Christmas Eve.
 
Other than that, players were either home with their families getting ready for the next semester or getting ready to leave for their bowl games taking place later in the week.
 
But with television creating bowl games on almost a daily basis throughout December, the odds of your favorite college football team spending the holidays away from home are pretty high.
 
There are two other games going on Tuesday beside West Virginia-Utah, plus four more on Wednesday, four on Thursday and five on Friday.
 
All of those teams will be spending Christmas Day in hotels.
 
Being away from home has become a fact of life for college football players and their families these days, something they signed up for when they decided to play for their favorite teams.
 
Last year, sophomore linebacker David Long Jr. spent Christmas with his teammates in Orlando, Florida, getting prepared for the Russell Athletic Bowl.
 
"I'm used to it," he said. "My pops and mom are down here, but it's the day before the game so I won't be doing much."
 
Long said he didn't exchange gifts with his family until after they returned home following the bowl game. He said he won't be exchanging any gifts today either.
 
"As long as I get back before the New Year that's cool with me," he said.
 
It's the same deal for junior wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr., now playing in his third bowl game for the Mountaineers.
 
He was getting ready to leave Morgantown for Arizona on Christmas Day when the Mountaineers defeated Arizona State in the Cactus Bowl two years ago, and last year he was in Orlando for WVU's game against Miami.
 
"I know we practiced during Christmas my freshman year. Last year, we practiced during Christmas as well and we're going to do it again (today)," he said.
 
Junior wide receiver David Sills V was at home last year waiting to return to WVU after spending a year playing quarterback at El Camino Community College.
 
He said his family is coming down later today.
 
"Hopefully, I get to see them a little bit and just spend a little time with them," he said. "It's a little different, but we are going to celebrate Christmas when we get back on the 27^th."
 
Jennings, from Stafford, Virginia, said Christmas in Dallas will be something a little bit different for him.
 
"I guess it's going to be a green Christmas, hopefully," he said. "I'm just going to spend some time with my teammates today and my family is coming down later, so hopefully I will get to see them for a little bit."
 
Because it's the day before the game, not much time is available for them.
 
The team itinerary allows the players a little extra time to sleep in before their brunch at 11 a.m. Then, it's off to the meeting room to study Utah a little bit more before heading to the team practice facility for its final practice, which is scheduled to last about an hour and a half.
 
Then, they return to the hotel for dinner and more meetings before they retire to their rooms for bed check – just like any other normal Friday before a Saturday football game.
 
That's what senior Ka'Raun White is looking forward to when he hits the sack on Christmas Eve.
 
There will be no sugar plums dancing in his head.
 
"Nothing," he said when asked what he's got planned for Christmas Day. "I'm just going to get some food or something."
 
He said he was a big Christmas guy when he was younger, but not anymore.
 
Bowl Bits: The Mountaineers are scheduled to have their final practice this afternoon at Highland Park High before Tuesday's Heart of Dallas Bowl game against Utah in the Cotton Bowl … The WVU athletic staff is planning a holiday celebration at Dave & Buster's for the evening … West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen joked Sunday that he has installed three new offenses for Tuesday's game against the Utes, "We have all of about eight practices," he said. "Our quarterback has been here for three years so he knows the offense. The biggest thing is understanding he is our starting quarterback and he has used the practices to develop timing with his receivers." … Holgorsen was asked Sunday about the early departure of starting running back Justin Crawford before the bowl game to get a head start on preparation for the NFL Draft, "You can't go through a season with just one running back; you have to have three or four of those guys. It is brutal to be in that position in this day and age. You have a couple of guys that can carry the load when one leaves before the bowl, so I feel like we are in good shape at that position." … Utah coach Kyle Whittingham conceded that his West Virginia game prep will be altered with Will Grier not available for Tuesday's game, "Everybody is down players at this time, whether it is injury or whatever, but we don't alter the game plan that much. The quarterback change is the most impactful but we just go about our business and get ready to play; we have a lot of other problems to worry about." … Whittingham said West Virginia is unlike any team Utah faced in the Pac 12 this season, "They catch every ball thrown to them. There are very few drops. Off the top of my head, there isn't a team in the Pac 12 with as many weapons as what West Virginia has."