The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 20 Football selected to Valero Alamo Bowl
12.20.2020 | Football
The Longhorns will face Colorado on Tuesday, Dec. 29 in San Antonio.
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 20 Texas Football program was selected to represent the Big 12 Conference in the Valero Alamo Bowl for the second-straight year on Sunday. Kickoff against Colorado (4-1; 3-1 Pac-12) at the Alamodome in San Antonio is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Texas (6-3; 5-3 Big 12) won four of its last five games of the regular season, including a 69-31 road win over Kansas State in the Longhorns' most recent outing back on Dec. 5. That stretch also includes a pair of home wins over Baylor and West Virginia, as well as a road win over then-No. 6 Oklahoma State. The triumph over the Cowboys on Halloween night marked Texas' first road win over a top-10 opponent since 2010.
The 2020 Alamo Bowl marks the 57th all-time bowl appearance for the Longhorns, the second-most in the country behind only Alabama. It is the fourth-straight year Texas has appeared in a bowl game under Tom Herman, with the Longhorns winning each of the first three. Under Herman, the Longhorns were victorious in the 2017 Texas Bowl (33-16 vs. Missouri), the 2018 Sugar Bowl (28-21 vs. No. 5 Georgia) and the 2019 Alamo Bowl (38-10 vs. No. 11 Utah). Herman is the third UT head coach to make a bowl game in each of his first four seasons, joining Fred Akers (1977-80) and Mack Brown (1998-2001) in that club.
Overall, Herman has led his programs to bowl games in each of his six seasons as a head coach, including two appearances in New Year's Six bowls. He led Houston to a 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl victory over No. 11 Florida State in 2015 and the aforementioned Sugar Bowl that capped a 10-win season for the Longhorns in 2018. Herman's 2016 Houston team also played in the Las Vegas Bowl, a game he did not coach in after taking over the Texas program.
The Longhorns are led by one of the nation's top quarterbacks in senior Sam Ehlinger, who has completed 184-of-306 passes (60.1%) for 2,406 yards and 25 touchdowns to five interceptions this season. He has also rushed for 382 yards and eight touchdowns to tally 2,788 yards of total offense and 33 total touchdowns. The senior's 202 points responsible for are the third-most in the country this season, and he also ranks third in points responsible for per game (22.4) and eighth in passing touchdowns (25). Among Big 12 competitors this season, Ehlinger leads the conference in passing touchdowns (25), points responsible for (202), points responsible for per game (22.4) and total offense (309.8). He has been named a finalist for the National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy and the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, a semifinalist for the Wuerffel Trophy and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, a top-10 candidate for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team this season.
Ehlinger is one of 14 Longhorns to earn All-Big 12 recognition from the league's coaches this season. OL Samuel Cosmi and JACK Joseph Ossai both collected first-team honors, with Cosmi being one of only three unanimous first-team selections across the league. DB Chris Brown, K Cameron Dicker and Ehlinger all garnered second-team recognition. The Longhorns who received honorable mention at their positions from the Big 12 were Cade Brewer (TE), Keondre Coburn (DL), Brennan Eagles (WR), Ta'Quon Graham (DL), D'Shawn Jamison (KR/PR), Derek Kerstetter (OL), Joshua Moore (WR) and DeMarvion Overshown (LB). Cosmi earned honorable mention as Offensive Lineman of the Year, Jamison earned honorable mention as the Special Teams Player of the Year, Ossai did so as both the Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year, and running back Bijan Robinson earned honorable mention as the Offensive Freshman of the Year.
Texas Football Bowl Notes
• The 2020 Valero Alamo Bowl will mark UT 57th all-time bowl appearance, the second-most in college football history. The Longhorns own a bowl record of 30-24-3, including a 3-0 mark under Tom Herman.
• Once conference foes in the Big 12, Texas and Colorado will face off for the 19th time in school history. It is scheduled to be the first meeting between the teams since 2009.
• Texas holds an 11-7 record all-time against Colorado, including a 2-1 record in neutral-site meetings. The Longhorns bested the Buffaloes in the 1975 Bluebonnet Bowl (38-21) and the 2005 Big 12 Championship Game (70-3). Colorado was victorious in the 2001 Big 12 Championship Game (37-39).
• Texas will be playing a current member of the Pac-12 Conference for the 12th time. UT holds a 7-4 record in those instances, including a 38-10 win over No. 11 Utah in the 2019 Valero Alamo Bowl.
• This year will mark Texas' fifth appearance in the Alamo Bowl, and fourth since 2012. The Cotton Bowl (22 appearances) and Bluebonnet Bowl (six appearances) are the only bowl games that the Longhorns have appeared in more frequently than the Alamo Bowl.
• The Longhorns are 3-1 in their previous Alamo Bowl outings (Win – 2006, 2012, 2019; Loss – 2013).
• The 2020 Alamo Bowl will mark Texas' fourth-straight bowl game appearance - the first time UT has gone bowling four-straight years since 2011-14.
Head Coach Tom Herman Quotes
On the Longhorns making a second-straight appearance in the Valero Alamo Bowl:
"We're extremely honored and proud to be representing the University of Texas and the Big 12 in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Obviously, for us, it's a return trip. We were treated to a fantastic time there last year and I know our kids will be excited. Our players will be excited to head back, regardless of the circumstances that 2020 has thrown everyone's way, including the Valero Alamo Bowl. We are honored and proud to be a part of it and I know we will definitely have our hands full. I have a ton of respect for Coach (Karl) Dorrell and his program and what they've been able to do on the field this year. I know it'll be a heck of a game and a heck of an experience for our young men."
On the Alamo Bowl possibly being Sam Ehlinger's final collegiate game:
"Well it's bittersweet. I think we're all excited to attempt to send him out, along with the rest of the seniors who will be leaving our program, with a bowl victory. Sam has done so much for this program, both inside this locker room and out in the community of Austin, and for this University. It will be bittersweet, but I'm going to savor every last practice, every last minute I have with this great group of seniors. Most of them came in when we took this program over and have been great models of leadership for our team and our University."
On Bijan Robinson:
"The story has probably been told numerous times, but Bijan Robinson is – for as good of a football player as he is, he's an even better person. He fits our culture and our way of doing things to a tee, and he has really, really blossomed as the season has gone on. He has really, really helped energize not just the offense, but the running portion of that offense."
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No. 20 Texas Football has accepted an invitation to play Colorado in the 2020 Valero Alamo Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Due to the limited number of tickets allocated to bowl participants this season, tickets for the Valero Alamo Bowl will only be available for purchase through the Alamo Bowl ticket office or via StubHub, the official fan-to-fan marketplace of Texas Athletics.
Fans attending the game should review all COVID-19 gameday safety measures at the Alamodome. All tickets for the Valero Alamo Bowl will be mobile tickets.
Follow @TexasLonghorns and @TexasFootball or visit TexasSports.com for updates leading up to the bowl game. Should you have additional questions, please call Texas Athletics Ticket Sales & Services at 512-471-3333 (Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Central)*.
*Schedule may vary during holidays
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