No. 11 Utah will face Texas in the 2019 Alamo Bowl. Only the second-ever meeting between the two schools, this is a huge game for both teams. If Texas is able to pull off a victory, they will have momentum swinging into the 2020 season with a bunch of returning talent. If Utah wins, it will be the program’s first 12 win season since 2008.
It will be the third appearance in the Alamo Bowl game for the Longhorns, coming in with a record of 2-1. Playing Iowa in the first, Texas has played other Pac 12 schools Oregon and Oregon State in previous years. Utah will be similar to the Oregon game in 2013, with highly-skilled offensive weapons ready to make some plays.
Texas has a tough road ahead of them against Utah. Coming in as underdogs, Vegas this Texas will end up on the losing side. While the Longhorns have a chance, they may just come up short. Here are some predictions for the Alamo Bowl:
Final Score: Utah wins, 31-24
Picking against the Longhorns is tough, but Utah is still one of the best teams in the country. If they had beaten Oregon, they would be in the College Football Playoff more than likely as the four seed instead of Oklahoma. Zach Moss is going to be an issue for Texas and I expect him to have a stellar night. The Ute defense is legit, letting up less than 300 yards a game. Texas will come out of the gate fast, but Utah will pull away late in the second half.
Best Texas player: Sam Ehlinger
As usual, if the Longhorns want any chance of winning, Sam Ehlinger is going to need to have a big day. The worst game Utah played all year was against USC when third-string QB Matt Fink came in threw for 351 yards. Part of that was due to the Trojans’ excellent receivers. The Longhorns will need to replicate that, using Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay as threats. Ehlinger should be able to find those two guys all night, making a few big plays to keep Texas in the game.
Best Utah player: Zach Moss
Texas has given up a lot of yards on the ground this year, nearly 150 yards a game. Chubba Hubbard, Pooka Williams, and a collection of Oklahoma players have done really well against Texas this season. Moss is up there as far as talent with the rest of those players and will have a big day for Utah. Mix in the threat of quarterback Tyler Huntley and guarding Moss will become even more of a challenge.
What determines the game?
Both of these teams have a good turnover margin, with Utah at +8 and Texas at +6. If either team is able to force a turnover, they must capitalize on them. Neither quarterback in Tyler Huntley or Sam Ehlinger are prone to throw an interception, so if given the opportunity, scoring points off it is a must. Look for the Utah defense to find a way to force a Longhorn turnover in the fourth quarter and capitalize on it to put the game out of reach.
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