HOUSTON – The phone calls came as quick as the yardage Antowain Smith picked up in the AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis.

“Can I stay at your house?” one friend asked.

“Put me up in a room,” said another.

“And,” Smith said, “everybody wants a ticket.”

Smith, the New England Patriots running back, might be playing part travel agent and part ticket broker this week with Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, his adopted hometown.

But he also realizes just how lucky he is to be playing against the Carolina Panthers for the Lombardi Trophy.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet that I’m going home and playing in front of family and friends,” Smith said after his100 yards helped the Patriots beat the Colts. “That’s the ultimate dream.”

The dream did not come without some sleeplessness. For the third straight season, his rushing total slipped. He finished with just 642 yards in the regular season.

Things were so bad that Smith, who ran for 1,847 yards and 19 touchdowns in his two years at the University of Houston, was inactive for three games, including the regular-season meeting at Indianapolis. Kevin Faulk started eight games, and Mike Cloud led the team with five rushing touchdowns.

Two years ago, the Patriots were much more reliant on Smith, and he responded with 1,157 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. In New England’s Super Bowl XXXVI win against St. Louis, Smith carried the ball 18 times for 92 yards.

In the 2003 playoffs, he has resembled the Smith of two years ago.

So far Smith has outgained his more acclaimed counterparts.

In the divisional round against Tennessee, he ran for 69 hard yards on 16 carries, while Eddie George had just 48 yards on 16 carries. Against the Colts, he carries 22 times for 100 yards, while Edgerrin James went for 78 yards on 19 carries.

Against the Panthers, Smith will be the “other” running back, compared with Carolina’s Stephen Davis.

“I love that guy, man,” quarterback Tom Brady said. “He runs so hard. I hand that ball off, turn around, and he hits guys and he just punishes them. He is such a big, strong, tough back, and he makes those defenders pay for every tackle. I wouldn’t trade him for anybody.”

But it would not be surprising if Faulk becomes the primary back against the Panthers. Coach Bill Belichick and coordinator Charlie Weis like to be unpredictable that way.

“The thing is everybody has a role, and you have to understand where you fit in,” Smith said.

“The first game at Indy, that’s what we were going up there to do (pass the ball), so it was just my turn to sit out. I was off that day, so the thing is I had to come back. My teammates believed in me, the coaching staff. I knew it would fall back on me at some point, and I knew I would have to do my job.”