Big 12 Football: Ranking each bowl game by watchability

2. Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. No. 11 Utah

Location: San Antonio, TX

Date: Dec. 28

Texas will play four days earlier in bowl season this year compared to last. But this time, they get No. 11 Utah and arguably a team that is much more well-rounded than they are. The Longhorns come in with just seven wins against a team that was one bad game away from making it into the College Football Playoff.

Head coach Kyle Whittinham and his Utes squad have to have a chip on their shoulder coming off that bad 37-15 PAC-12 Championship Game loss to the Oregon Ducks. If Utah were to beat Oregon, they might’ve slid in the College Football Playoff in that final spot instead of Oklahoma.

The quarterback matchup between Texas and Utah will be very interesting as two-dual threats will square off between junior Sam Ehlinger and senior Tyler Huntley. And the Utah defense is really tough to matchup against. Utah is is allowing just 13.2 points per game (good for sixth best in the nation). They’re scoring at a good rate too, averaging 34.0 points per game (good for top 30 in the nation).

Head Texas football coach Tom Herman needs his team to show up strong in this one. Could a win over Utah get interest from defensive coordinator, and Broyles Award Semifinalist, Morgan Scalley to fill the void left by the departed Todd Orlando?

There’s surely a lot for the Longhorns to prove coming off such a disappointing regular season slate. They need to get going in a big way to knock off such a talented team like Utah and get their eighth win of the season.