Alamo Bowl: Keys, predictions, how to watch Texas vs Colorado

The 2020 Alamo bowl will ignite an old Big 12 rivalry between the Texas Longhorns and the Colorado Buffaloes in San Antonio

In one of the more interesting matchups of bowl season, Texas and Colorado will face off and see who can finish the season with more momentum. These two programs are very familiar with each other, as they faced off when Colorado was a member of the Big 12.

Colorado was one of the more surprise teams in the country this season, going 4-1 and nearly making the Pac-12 championship game. Head coach Karl Dorrell was a hire that was not well received by much of the country, but through a shortened season in the Pac 12, it appears that Colorado may have found the right coach to lead its program for the future.

As for Texas, their head coach seemed to be on the hot seat for the majority of the season, but after a failed attempt to try and lure Urban Meyer out of retirement, it appears that Tom Herman will remain in Texas for at least one more season. The Longhorns have been very inconsistent this season, but they are certainly not lacking for talent and the Longhorns are going to want to send senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger out with a win after all he has done for this program.

This Alamo Bowl, like most bowl games, will likely hinge on which team wants to be there the most. Colorado had a surprise season and will be fired up to play in this game, while Texas might be disappointed that they did not have a better season and missed the Big 12 championship. The winner of this game will get some serious bragging rights, as these old rivals don’t get the opportunity to play very often anymore.

Here is how you can watch Texas vs Colorado on Tuesday in the 2020 Alamo Bowl, as well as keys to victory and a prediction:

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 29

Time: 9:00 p.m ET

Venue: Alamodome

Location: San Antonio, Texas

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN or FUBO TV

Keys to Victory

For the Texas offense, the Longhorns will need to be able to run the football more consistently than they have most of the season. Aside from Ehlinger running the ball, Texas has not been able to find a consistent rushing attack. Freshman Bijan Robinson had a great last game vs Kansas State and could be on the verge of breaking out even more in the bowl game.

For the Texas defense, stopping the run is the key to beating Colorado. The Buffaloes are not a great passing team and are carried by the ground game, so making them one dimensional could turn this game in favor of the Longhorns.

For the Colorado offense, making plays down the field through the air is the key because that will take a lot of pressure off of the ground game, which has been really good this year. Utah made Colorado one dimensional in their only loss of the season and Colorado needs to respond better in this game.

For the Colorado defense, they need to prevent the big play. Texas has lacked an offensive identity for much of the season. The Longhorns run Ehlinger and throw the ball down the field, so making sure Texas does not gain much in those shots down the field will be the key for the Colorado defense.

Betting Odds

All odds provided courtesy of the Action Network

Spread: Texas -9.5

Total: 63.5

Prediction

I think this is a big mismatch for the Colorado Buffaloes. They have been a great story this year under Pac-12 coach of the year Karl Dorrell in his first season, but it is not like Colorado has been overwhelming opponents this season and I think that Texas will have too much talent for them. Ehlinger is going to want to end his career on a high note and I think that Texas wins comfortably in this Alamo Bowl rematch of old Big 12 foes.

Final Score: Texas 41, Colorado 23