When the game finally gets underway between the Texas Longhorns and Colorado Buffaloes on Tuesday night, Sam Ehlinger will make Valero Alamo Bowl history.
In January of 2019 when the Longhorns arrived at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Ehlinger made headlines showing up in a Drew Brees Austin-Westlake jersey. New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees played for Westlake before heading to Purdue and eventually landing in the NFL, where he set many records.
Last season, Ehlinger again made a connection with Brees. This time around it was being the second quarterback to lead his team to a monumental upset. The second-largest upset in Valero Alamo Bowl history. Brees led Purdue to an upset victory over the No. 4 Kansas State Wildcats in 1998.
The two largest upsets in VAB history in terms of rankings now belong to quarterbacks from Austin Westlake HS.
2019 – @sehlinger3 over No. 11 Utah
1998 – @drewbrees over No. 4 K-StateNot bad company! pic.twitter.com/TED5PYY55L
— 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗼 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹 (@valeroalamobowl) January 1, 2020
Once Ehlinger takes the first snap from Jake Majors on Tuesday night, he will become the second quarterback in bowl history to take snaps in two different Alamo Bowl games. Any time that you can be named in the same breath as Brees, that is quite the accomplishment for any player. Not to mention the connection they have given they both played for Austin-Westlake High School.
Provided that Ehlinger can win his second-consecutive MVP award then he will become the first offensive player to do that in bowl history. There will be a lot on the line for the Longhorns including a 4-0 bowl record for the 2017 class making their fourth bowl game appearance.
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