Texas vs Washington prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. Valero Alamo Bowl, Thursday, December 29
Texas vs Washington Valero Alamo Bowl Prediction Game Preview
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Texas vs Washington How To Watch
Date: Thursday, December 29
Game Time: 9:00 pm ET
Venue: Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: Texas (8-4), Washington (10-2)
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Texas vs Washington Valero Alamo Bowl 5 Things To Know
Valero Alamo Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History
– You never know when it comes to these bowl games what kind of mayhem you’re going to get, but for all intents and purposes, Texas has to use this to set the tone for a potentially monstrous 2023. There are still plenty of great players in place, but it’s missing superstar RB Bijan Robinson and, potentially, a slew of important players on the defensive front.
The team was good late winning three of its last four, but the O stalled against TCU and couldn’t get by Oklahoma State before the finishing kick. It was able to crank up the ground game in the win over eventual Big 12 Champion Kansas State, but Mr. Robinson had something to do with that.
– Texas lost its main guy in Robinson, but QB Quinn Ewers is rolling. So is Washington QB Michael Penix Jr., who announced he’s coming back next year – this is when the 2023 Heisman campaign starts.
The Huskies closed out with six straight wins after losing back-to-back road games against UCLA and Arizona State. The offense caught fire, the defense held up just enough to to get by, and overall it was a fantastic first season under head coach Kalen DeBoer.
– This is Washington’s first bowl appearance in a few years, beating Boise State in a blowout to close out the Chris Petersen era in the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl. Before that it lost three straight bowls and was an ugly 5-13 since getting past Michigan in the 1992 Rose. On the other side …
– Texas has been a bowl game monster. It’s the first appearance since the Tom Herman era – his teams went 4-0 in bowls highlighted by a Sugar Bowl stunner over Georgia. Helped by the great run under Mack Brown, Texas has won 13 of its last 17 bowls since pulling off the 2001 Holiday over … Washington.
– This makes it three appearances in four years in the Alamo for Texas – it beat a strong Utah team in 2019 and whacked Colorado in 2020. Now it’s up to Washington and the Pac-12 to finally stand up to the Big 12. Overall the Alamo has been a dud over the last three seasons, but it was strong before that with four games decided by five points or fewer.
Washington State beat Iowa State 28-26 in the 2018 version. Other than that, the Big 12 is 6-1 in the last seven vs the Big 12, and 9-3 since the two conferences took over the bowl tie-ins in the 2009 season.
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Why Texas Will Win The Valero Alamo Bowl
The passing game will still work.
It’s Texas, so there are still running backs to rotate into the rushing mix behind a decent offensive line, but it’s not going to get nearly the same production without Bijan Robinson carrying the mail.
However, QB Quinn Ewers is still special, and so is future NFL starting WR Xavier Worthy – he’s still a year away from being eligible – going against a pass defense that was the least efficient in the Pac-12 and allowed 242 yards per game.
Washington brings the pass rush, but as long as Ewers can get into a groove, the offense can move just fine.
The Husky defense doesn’t take the ball away and doesn’t generate enough big plays, but it can get pounded on, too. The Texas passing attack takes center stage, and Robinson might not be there, but the ground game has to try. UW is 2-2 when allowing 150 rushing yards or more.
The Longhorns have to control the tempo, but …
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Why Washington Will Win The Valero Alamo Bowl
Here comes the high-flying Washington offense that leads the nation in passing and third down conversions.
Texas lost both times it allowed 330 passing yards or more, and that’s par for the course for Penix Jr. and the Husky attack. It only failed to get to 330 passing yards four times, and it made up for it in three of them by running well.
Texas can be run on – it’s 1-4 when allowing 140 yards or more, and Washington is 4-0 when it gets to that mark – it’s going to get physical when it can.
The offense turned it over multiple times just twice – in the loss to UCLA and the win over Washington State. Washington isn’t going to beat itself, and Texas doesn’t force takeaways. To pull this off, Ewers and the Longhorns will have to keep pressing.
Again, Washington has a pass rush to at least be disruptive, but …
Valero Alamo Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History