Will it finally be Boomer Sooner in S.A.?
Despite its long tie-in with the Big 12, game never has hosted OU
Since the creation of the Alamo Bowl in 1993, Oklahoma has never made the late December trip down to San Antonio for the game.
The Sooners did win the 2007 Big 12 championship game at the Alamodome. That happened, of course, when coach Bob Stoops was still in the midst of his sterling 18-year run.
And in a twist no one saw coming just a couple weeks ago, Stoops could be the one to finally bring the Sooners south to the Alamo City for bowl season.
Once again, this year's Valero Alamo Bowl will feature representatives from the Big 12 and Pac-12. The game's possible selections range from College Football Playoff aspirants to possible first-timers like the Sooners.
And after dumping the usual pregame festivities and capping Alamodome capacity at 11,000 for last year's game because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's edition is expected to operate without any limitations.
“Obviously, we are open for business this year,” Valero Alamo Bowl president and CEO Derrick Fox said Thursday. “And probably tourism is the main component; we certainly want as many people as possible coming in from out of town. And I think four of the five schools that are really in our most likely final pool are from out of state, and all are ranked somewhere between No. 5 and 17 today in the CFP poll. So great teams, great options. Now it's just a matter of watching the championship games, see how that shakes things out.”
No. 5 Oklahoma State (11-1) and No. 9 Baylor (10-2) will square off this weekend in the Big 12 championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Regardless of the outcome, both could end up in a New Year's Six bowl game, with the conference champion heading to the Sugar Bowl if it is not ranked among the top four in the final College Football Playoff poll.
That leaves No. 14 Oklahoma (10-2), which just had its entire world flipped upside down by coach Lincoln Riley's decision to bolt for USC. Stoops, who retired in 2016, will be the Sooners' interim coach while the school conducts an unexpected search for Riley's replacement.
“Obviously, one of the biggest brand names in college football and a team that's very familiar with the territory and recruits in the area as well,” Fox said. “And coach Stoops obviously is synonymous with Sooner Football and going into the (College Football) Hall of Fame this year. So a great legend, and he would certainly have, I think, the Sooner fans excited about coming to San Antonio.”
The Pac-12 pool could get a little crowded if No. 17 Utah (9-3) beats No. 10 Oregon (10-2) in Friday's conference championship game in Las Vegas.
Arizona State (8-4), UCLA (8-4) and Washington State (7-5) are all within one loss of the Ducks in the conference standings, making all four eligible for selection should Oregon falter. But if Utah loses, Oregon goes to the Rose Bowl and the Utes come to San Antonio by virtue of their 8-1 record in Pac-12 play.
Of those five Pac-12 possibilities, only Arizona State has not played in the Alamo Bowl. Utah (2019), Washington State (2018), Oregon (2015) and UCLA (2014) all have been selected in recent years.
“Obviously, the (Pac-12 championship) on Friday night will dictate a lot,” Fox said. “We'll take a look at all those and kind of walk through the scenarios, see how things play out this weekend and then make our final decision on Sunday. Probably about 1:45 (p.m.) our time we start getting the calls from the conferences to let us know who's officially in the CFP and who's not, so we can make those choices.
“But yeah, we've had a lot of fun following these teams throughout the course of the season and talking to everybody down the homestretch here. So we're excited about the matchup opportunities we have and looking forward to Sunday when we can make it official.”
As for the selection process, Fox said the committee takes into account head-to-head records, the potential “excitement level” of school fan bases and their willingness to travel, and which matchup could produce the most competitive atmosphere, among other factors.
From that standpoint, Oklahoma-oregon seems like the best possible outcome for this year's game. But regardless of what teams the Alamo Bowl picks this Sunday, Fox said he's “really pumped” to put together a full-on production after last year's watered-down version.
“We can't emphasize enough the getting back to normal,” Fox said. “I mean, we're in the business of hospitality events and having fun and bringing people to our community and really showcasing to the country or even the world, ‘Hey, we're open. Come visit.' ”