Texas Football: How important is an Alamo Bowl win for Herman’s job security?

Less than two hours ahead of kick off for the Alamo Bowl between Texas football and Colorado, head coach Tom Herman has to be getting his team up.

The final game of the 2020 college football season is officially upon us, as No. 20 ranked Texas football is set to take on the upstart Colorado Buffaloes and first-year head coach Karl Dorrell in the Alamo Bowl on the night of Dec. 29. Fourth-year Texas head coach Tom Herman is looking to head into the offseason on the utmost positive note considering the crazy season his team went through in 2020.

Herman and the Longhorns come into this Alamo Bowl showdown with their former Big 12 foe Colorado with a record of 6-3 (5-3 Big 12), winning four of their last five games of the regular season. Their last game resulted in a 69-31 dismantling against the Kansas State Wildcats on the road back on Dec. 5.

Meanwhile, Colorado comes into this Alamo Bowl showdown with a record of 4-1 (3-1 PAC-12), with their last game resulting in a tough loss to head coach Kyle Whittingham and the Utah Utes in the Rumble in the Rockies back on Dec. 12. Colorado came out of the gates hot this fall, winning their first four games of the regular season.

Just ahead of kick off in the Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Dec. 29, set specifically for 8 p.m. CT, the Longhorns are just over a touchdown favorite over the Buffs. But that betting line in favor of Texas continued to shrink over the course of the last week with all of their missing players due to various causes.

The question that a lot of Longhorns fans will be asking during, and after, the Alamo Bowl will be what is Herman’s fate heading into the offseason. If Texas was able to lure in the former Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida Gators three-time National Championship winning head coach Urban Meyer earlier this fall, Herman might be out of the door off the Forty Acres faster.

There’s no clear coaching candidate that would stick out for Texas athletic director Chris del Conte at this moment. One would have to emerge with serious traction with the Texas program if Herman is to be replaced before the start of the 2021 season.

Moreover, Texas didn’t get much of a spike in results on the recruiting trail in the last few weeks, which doesn’t help Herman’s case. The problem is that there will be much worse things that can transpire for Herman heading into the offseason if he loses the Alamo Bowl, than there are good things if he wins.

The patience is running thin, and getting a win over an unranked PAC-12 team in the Buffs in the Alamo Bowl won’t do a whole lot to excite this fan base.

Of course a big time bowl win where the younger and more promising Longhorns players stick out would do a lot for Herman, but the coaching decision is largely out of his hands at this point.

Herman is undefeated in three tries in the postseason during his time as Texas head coach. Last year, the Longhorns knocked off No. 11 ranked Utah in the Alamo Bowl by the dominant final score of 38-10.