Tag: texas news

Last-second line movement: late money coming in on Texas in the Alamo Bowl

Last-second line movement: late money coming in on the Texas Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl

Since the Alamo Bowl matchup has been set as the Texas Longhorns vs. the Utah Utes, the money line, spread, and total have continuously moved. On December 9 at BetMGM, the money line opened at Texas +210, the spread at Texas +6.5, and the total at 55.0. Since then, there have been a few aberrations including a quick shift to Texas +7. 

More recently, there has been a swing in the odds in Texas’ favor, meaning that a lot of last-minute money came in on the Longhorns. Just 45 minutes before kickoff, the money line shifted from Texas +225 to Texas +210, the spread from Texas +7 to Texas +6.5, and the total from 55.0 to 55.5.

Time will tell if putting any money on Texas was worth it, but at least one person is in big on Utah.

(Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated 11/30 at 10:45 a.m. ET. )

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

NFL teammates stand in as honorary captains ahead of the Alamo Bowl

NFL teammates are on the field at the Alamo Bowl to represent their alma mater

As the Texas Longhorns are preparing to take the field against the Utah Utes in the 2019 Valero Alamo Bowl, two current NFL teammates are in the building to represent the opposing teams for the coin flip. The Washington Redskins’ Colt McCoy is representing Texas, while Alex Smith is representing Utah.

Colt McCoy is a legendary figure in Texas Football history and perhaps the greatest quarterback ever to sport the burnt orange on Saturdays. He set all the records that quarterback Sam Ehlinger is trying to break next season.

On the other side, Alex Smith’s career at Utah earned his way to being selected first overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Though Smith has had the more illustrious NFL career, the teammates are together on the field supporting their alma mater once again:

Texas recruit doubles down on his commitment to Texas

2021 Texas recruit doubles down on his commitment to Texas

Following a brief rash of de-committments from Texas’ future recruits, 2021 athlete Billy Bowman is bucking the trend and doubling down on his commitment to Texas. According to the Statesman’s Mike Craven, Bowman has known Texas’ new offensive coordinator for years and has recently spoken with Texas’ new defensive coordinator.

Out of Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, Bowman is a multi-position, multi-sport athlete. In high school, he played as a running back, wide receiver, punt returner, and defensive back on the football field while also playing basketball and participating in track and field.

Bowman is ranked as the 90th overall player in the 2021 class, as well as being a top 10 athlete and top 15 player in Texas. He chose to stay in his home state over Alabama, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Florida State, and other top programs.

Someone bet $100,000 on the Alamo Bowl – who are they this confident in?

Someone bet $100,000 on the Alamo Bowl – who are they this confident in?

Well, I’ve found one person who is awfully confident in how the Alamo Bowl will go. Someone just bet $100k on the Utah Utes to defeat the Texas Longhorns this evening in the Valero Alamo Bowl. A money line of -270 means that the $100k bet would pay out just $37,000 if it hits.

The bettor seems confident that the No. 11 Utes will make quick work of the Longhorns and, as far as this season is concerned, it doesn’t feel like the most outlandish opinion. Utah had an outside shot of the College Football Playoffs up until the last game of the season when they lost to Oregon 37-15. If they had won that game and a few more things had gone their way, they could’ve made an appearance in the CFP and undoubtedly put up more of a fight than OU did.

Watch: Texas football recounts the 2019 season in exhilarating video

The Texas Longhorns football Twitter account released a video recapping the 2019 season

The 2019 Texas football season had its’ ups and downs. The Longhorns started the season ranked inside the top-15, and there was optimism among the Texas faithful that Sam Ehlinger could take the next step and become a Heisman candidate, the defense ould tighten up, and Tom Herman could improve as a head coach. Unfortunately, the Longhorns couldn’t live up to expectations and finished unranked with a 7-5 record.

This season wasn’t devoid of memorable moments, however. After Texas blew the doors off the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in week one, they lost to the future No. 1 ranked LSU Tigers by a score of 45-38. Texas played LSU as close as anyone has all season, especially after the Tigers walloped the Sooners 63-28 in the College Football Playoff.

Check out this compilation of memorable moments put together by the Texas Football social media team:

Bleacher Report’s latest NFL Mock Draft includes only one Texas Longhorn selection

Bleacher Report’s latest NFL Mock Draft predicts only one Texas Longhorn selection

In Bleacher Report’s most recent 2020 NFL mock draft, Matt Miller goes through the first three rounds and predicts only one Longhorn being taken in the top 96. Miller has the Buffalo Bills selecting safety Brandon Jones in the third round at 87 overall. The Bills secondary, currently led by Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, gets some much-needed depth and physicality by adding the Longhorn in Miller’s mock.

Dec 1, 2018; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Brandon Jones (19) celebrates recovering a fumble in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 championship game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

In his four years at Texas, Jones has played in 44 games and tallied 232 total tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 14 tackles for loss, and 7 passes defended. Jones is a hard hitter who plays with a physicality that leaves an impression on the offense. He would be a welcome addition to an already stout Bills defense that has recently undergone a reconstruction by head coach Sean McDermott.

Click here to check out the rest of Miller’s mock draft on Bleacher Report – which features an unsurprising top pick.

Watch: Hype video includes all of Longhorn Brandon Jones’ highlights

Texas Longhorns’ safety Brandon Jones released a hype video with highlights from his four years at Texas

It seems like everyone has their own videography team nowadays. Texas Longhorns’ safety Brandon Jones dropped a professional-looking hype video on his Twitter earlier.

Jones’ highlight reel includes interceptions, forced fumbles, sacks, and big hits. A lot of big hits. Check it out here:

The senior safety has totaled 232 total tackles, 3 interceptions, 7 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries over the course of his four-year career at Texas.

Jones is a physical defender who isn’t afraid to fly around the field and put a hit on someone. He isn’t a day-one prospect in the NFL Draft, but he will get his chance on an NFL roster.

Former Texas Longhorns Quandre Diggs and Earl Thomas share rare distinction

Former Texas Longhorn football players Quandre Diggs and Earl Thomas share rare distinction in the NFL

Earl Thomas and Quandre Diggs are two stud safeties who made their way through Texas. Thomas was the leader of the famed “Legion of Boom,” a moniker given to the Seattle Seahawks’ dominant secondary that consisted of Thomas, Richard Sherman, and Kam Chancellor.

Earl Thomas has since moved on and is currently the starting free safety for the Baltimore Ravens. Seattle replaced one Longhorn with another when they acquired safety Quandre Diggs from the Detroit Lions.

Since then, Diggs has become the first player with three interceptions in his first four games with the Seahawks since – you guessed it – Earl Thomas.

In his two years at Texas, Thomas made 97 total tackles and had 8 interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Diggs spent four years at Texas and totaled 220 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 11 interceptions, and 3 forced fumbles.

In the NFL, both Thomas and Diggs are impact players whose contributions don’t always show up in the stat sheet. Despite that, both are known playmakers and the statistics back it up.

Texas set to take on No. 11 Utah in the Alamo Bowl

The Texas Longhorns football team is scheduled to take on the Utah Utes in the Alamo Bowl

So, this could get ugly. The Texas Longhorns finally got their bowl destination, and they are scheduled to take on the Utah Utes in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas at 6:30 pm CT on New Year’s Eve.

The Longhorns had an overall disappointing season, finishing third in the Big 12 with a 7-5 record. They finished third only because they won a four-team tiebreaker over Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State.

Meanwhile, the Utah Utes had an impressive season, finishing 11-2 with a loss to Oregon in the PAC-12 Championship. Going into that game, Utah had a very real shot at making the College Football Playoffs.

Dec 6, 2019; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Utah Utes running back Zack Moss (2) rushes against Oregon Ducks cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. (4) during the second half of the Pac-12 Conference championship game at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Texas has played in the Alamo bowl three times, most recently in 2012, and have a record of 2-1. The Longhorns have wins over Iowa (26-24 in 2006) and Oregon State (31-27 in 2012) and a lone loss to Oregon (30-7 in 2013).

This game should be a fun one at the very least. Utah has scored more than 30 points in every game this season, so the Texas defense has its’ work cut out for it. The Utes’ running back Zack Moss is perhaps the most underrated back in college football and has 1246 yards and 15 touchdowns on 200 carries.

3-star Texas target decommits from Oklahoma State

A 3-star Texas Longhorns football target de-committed from Oklahoma State football

A recent Texas target just de-committed from Oklahoma State to reopen his recruitment, potentially opening the door for the Longhorns to add another three-star talent on the defensive line. Sawyer Goram-Welch made the announcement himself when he tweeted it on Saturday evening.

Goram-Welch is a 3-star defensive tackle out of Longview High School in Longview, Texas. 247Sports has him ranked as the No. 127 player out of Texas and the No. 77 DT in the nation. At 6’4” 248 lbs, he started at DT for a Longview team that finished 2015 undefeated and won the Texas Class 6A D-II state championship. He received offers from Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, SMU, and others.

Here’s his official announcement:

After a rough season defensively, Texas is in need of all the help it can get from a depth standpoint. Adding Goram-Welch to an already solid 2020 recruiting class would be something to get Longhorns fans excited – which would be nice after that disappointment of a season.