Horns will return to Alamo Bowl, face Colorado.
Texas, Colorado renew acquaintances in Alamodome
As the list of Pac-12 teams opting not to compete in bowl games grew, Valero Alamo Bowl CEO Derrick Fox said one school’s desire to play remained unwavering.
Fox knew he would have options in the Big 12, and the Alamo Bowl secured the highest-ranked and closest option by landing No. 20 Texas for the second straight year for the game on Dec. 29 at the Alamdome.
Finding a selection from the Pac-12 proved to be more daunting. Of the six teams eligible under league rules, five opted not to pursue a berth, citing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those decisions left only Colorado, which surpassed low preseason expectations to finish second in the Pac-12 South under first-year coach Karl Dorrell, posting a winning season for the first time since 2016.
The Buffaloes have been healthy all year, Dorrell said, and remain energized for one more game after being deemed an alternate for the Pac-12 title matchup .
eading a young team with only five games under its belt this year, Dorrell said a bowl appearance marks an important step in setting the program’s foundation, and a trip to San Antonio gives a roster with 22 players from Texas the chance to compete in
front of fans for the first time this season.
So, on Sunday, Colorado (4-1) accepted an invitation to meet Texas (6-3) in the Alamo Bowl, set for an 8 p.m. kickoff Dec. 29 in the Alamodome.
“We just wanted to finish the season with the fruits of our labor being rewarded,” Dorrell said. “They worked hard in such a short period of time, and they earned this. So, I think this was something our players were excited about doing, right from the very beginning.”
The Alamo Bowl has the first selection of teams from the Big 12 and Pac-12 not chosen for College Football Playoff bowls, and Fox said the decision in the Big 12 came down to Texas and Oklahoma State.
Big 12 champion and sixthranked Oklahoma advanced to face No. 7 Florida in the Cotton Bowl, and No. 10 Iowa State also qualified for a College Football Playoff bowl as an at-large selection to meet No. 25 Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.
Texas played in last year’s Alamo Bowl, knocking off Utah 38-10, and Fox said selecting the same team in consecutive years is “not normal.” But the No. 20 Longhorns (6-3) were the highest-ranking option, having defeated the No. 21 Cowboys (7-3) when the teams met Oct. 31.
Fox said selecting Texas avoids a rematch of the 2016 Alamo Bowl between Colorado and Oklahoma State and rekindles what was once a Big 12 matchup between the Longhorns and Buffaloes.
Austin’s proximity to San Antonio also increases the likelihood the Alamo Bowl will sell out the approximately 11,000 tickets available to fans.
Fox said the Pac-12 schools he spoke to during the past few weeks offered no indication they might decline an invitation to the Alamo Bowl, and the rash of late decisions “certainly put additional stress on the system.”
“The teams we were talking to all expressed interest in coming, but at the end of the day, some teams made decisions to opt out, and that’s their decision,” Fox said.
Still, Fox said he remained confident the Alamo Bowl had a high enough priority to field a matchup, even as a handful of other bowls across the country were canceled on Sunday.
Should Texas or Colorado be unable to play in the Alamo Bowl due to COVID protocols, Fox said no “formal backup plan” exists.
“In the unfortunate situation where someone can’t, we have to see what other teams are available, or what other games are impacted, to try to put other matchups together,” Fox said. “It’s truly unscripted, and we hope that we have the good fortune of the teams we announced today being the two teams that are playing on game day.”
Oregon was the only other Pac-12 school to accept a bowl invitation, moving to the Fiesta Bowl after beating USC on Friday to win the Pac-12 title.
No. 17 USC (5-1) on Saturday announced that it would not seek a berth in a bowl game because of “a rise in COVID-19 cases among its players and staff ” during the previous week, per a release.
Washington (3-1) finished ahead of Oregon in the Pac-12 North but was forced to relinquish its spot in the title game because of positive COVID-19 tests among offensive linemen, a situation the school said would not resolve in time for a bowl.
Stanford, Utah and Arizona State also announced they would not seek bowl invitations.
The Buffaloes were picked to finish fifth of six teams in the Pac-12 South before the season, and Dorrell said the Alamo Bowl is a chance for Colorado to continue to rise and provide snaps for young players after two games were canceled this season.
“I don’t want to understate the importance of playing in a bowl game, and having your family members able to watch,” Dorrell said. “Our whole season was no fans on the west coast, so that was a different level of football to be desired, to be honest with you. So, this is going to be a reward not only for our players, but also for the families.”