Alamo has prime shot to land a Big 12 pleaser
TCU, Oklahoma State, even Oklahoma could face Pac-12 foe in bowl.
No matter how many twists and turns college football takes on championship weekend, the Valero Alamo Bowl has a straight-up shot to land the best matchup outside of the New Year’s Six games.
“An embarrassment of riches,” Rick Hill, the Alamo Bowl’s vice president of marketing and communications, told the American-Statesman on Tuesday about his bowl’s potential choices. “Three teams from the Big 12 have really set themselves apart, and we’ll get one of them.”
Oklahoma, TCU and Oklahoma State are the options for the Dec. 28 game in San Antonio.
If the Sooners beat the Horned Frogs in the Big 12 championship game, they’ll make the College Football Playoff, and
the Frogs will be a possibility for a New Year’s Six slot. If OU loses, the Sooners and Frogs both are likely bound for one of the six major bowls.
The Alamo will have the first pick of Big 12 and Pac-12 teams after the New Year’s Six sets its lineup.
“We’ll focus on the highest-ranked teams, that’s our top priority,” Hill said.
From the Pac-12, the choice will come down to USC, Washington or Stanford. The Trojans and Cardinal will meet Fri- day night in the conference title game.
“No matter which way you go, we’re looking at top-15 to top-20 teams,” Hill said. “Stanford and USC are two teams we’ve never had. Stanford has Bryce Love, a top-three Heisman candidate. USC has star power with Sam Darnold, who could be one of the top picks in the (2018 NFL) draft.”
Washington played in the record-setting 2011 Alamo Bowl, which the Huskies lost 67-56 to a Baylor team led by Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III.
TCU rallied from a 31-0 halftime defi-
cit to beat Oregon 47-41 in
the 2015 Alamo Bowl. “That TCU comeback is still referenced a lot on social
media and elsewhere with other sports and genres,” Hill said.
Oklahoma State beat Colorado in last year’s Alamo Bowl, but Hill said his city would welcome back the Cowboys, who have NCAA passing yardage leader Mason Rudolph and NCAA
receptions yardage leader James Washington.
“Those are two of the alltime great Big 12 seniors, and that team puts the ball in the end zone,” Hill said.
A look at bowl prospects for the Big 12’s eight quali- fied teams:
Oklahoma: The Sooners will be in the four-team College Football Playoff if they beat TCU. Even if it loses, OU figures to receive an invite to a New Year’s Six bowl, espe- cially since the Sooners boast presumptive Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield.
TCU: An upset of OU would land the Horned Frogs in either the Fiesta, Cotton or Peach bowls, likely in that order. A loss would push TCU toward the Alamo, unless the Frogs managed to wrest the final New Year’s Six spot from Notre Dame. Yeah, right. Oklahoma State: The Cowboys and their 46.3 points-per-game offense and 392.3 yards-per-game pass
ing attack could land in San Antonio for a second straight year. That is, unless TCU is available, which would nudge the Pokes toward the Camp- ing World Bowl in Orlando.
Iowa State: The Cyclones’ last-play loss at Kansas State muddied the waters, but the Camping World Bowl remains interested in the traveling fan base Iowa State would bring to Florida. The ACC opponent likely would be North Carolina State, Virginia Tech or Wake Forest.
Texas: By losing to Texas Tech, the Longhorns lost a chance at a trip to Disney World and instead appear bound for either the Texas or Liberty bowls. If it’s the game in Houston, the Horns will have a chance to wipe away the memory of a 31-7 loss to Arkansas in 2014, their last bowl trip. The Horns have never played in Memphis. Both bowls will offer SEC opponents. West Virginia: The Mountaineers have lost a lot of
their appeal by losing their past two games and their star quarterback Will Grier, who has a broken finger on his
throwing hand. Geographi- cally, the Liberty Bowl makes sense. Kansas State: The Wild- cats, despite finishing strong, appear to be locked into the Cactus or Heart of Dallas bowls since they played in the Texas Bowl last year and the Liberty two years ago.
Texas Tech: It’ll be the Cactus Bowl or Heart of Dallas Bowl for the Red Raiders. The Cactus picks first of those two and might grab Tech because Lubbock is a lot closer to Phoenix than Morgantown, W.Va., or Manhattan, Kan.