Alamo Bowl Game Thread

#23 Texas (8-4, 5-4) vs. #13 Oregon St. (9-3, 6-3) / Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, TX / 5:45 PM CST (3:45 PM PST) / ESPN / KEJO 1240 AM / KEX 1190 AM

Game Notes Gametracker

Oregon St. takes on Texas in the 20th. Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. After the 3 Rose Bowls and the Fiesta Bowl appearance, the Alamo Bowl and the 1962 Liberty Bowl team that Heisman Trophy winner Terry Baker led are the next in line in terms of significant post season games in the history of the program. A win tonight will also result in only the third ever 10 win season for the Beavers, joining the 11-1 2000 season that led to the Fiesta Bowl under Dennis Erickson, and the 10-4 2006 season, culminated by the first Sun Bowl win, under current head coach Mike Riley.

Due in large part to years of conference insanity that only allowed only 1 PCC and later Pac-8 team to go to a bowl, the Rose Bowl, its only the 16th bowl game in Oregon St. history, half of which have come since the turn of the century. It's the 7th under Coach Riley, who took the Beavers to 4 in a row, and 6 in 7 years, before the 2 year hiatus the last 2 seasons.

Texas' bowl history is quite the contrast, as the Longhorns are making their 14th bowl game appearance in 15 years under Coach Mack Brown, and the Alamo Bowl is their 51st. bowl game.

Oregon St. is 3-7 in the state of Texas, with only a 1964 win at Baylor besides their pair of Sun Bowl wins.

Even though Oregon St. is the designated home team, the 72,000 seat Alamo Dome will be largely filled with Texas faithful, with the Longhorn's Austin campus only 80 miles away. While Beaver Nation will show the burnt Orange faithful what color orange really is, they will be even more heavily outnumbered than Davy Crockett, Jim Bridger, and friends were about a mile north at the site of the Alamo mission.

It's the third meeting ever in football between Oregon St. and Texas, with both prior games blowout wins by the Longhorns in Austin, 35-0 over the winless 1980 Beavers in Joe Avezzano's first year, and 61-16 in 1987, with Dave Kraigthorpe coaching. Both games were in the depths of Oregon St.'s 28 year run of futility.

This time around, its the Beavers that are favored though, with 22nd. in the nation scoring defense, and the #15 passing offense in the country the main reasons why. The Longhorns, who finished 3rd. in the Big XII, counter with the #24 scoring offense in the country.

David Ash, who started the first 11 games of the year for Texas, will return to the starting lineup to lead the Longhorns, having recovered from bruised ribs and being benched late in the season. And he will need to go the distance, now that Case McCoy has been sent home for violating team rules.

Cody Vaz will make his 5th start of the season for Oregon St., having led the Beavers to 3 wins in relief of Sean Mannion, after Mannion suffered a knee injury.

The game is also a homecoming of sorts for Oregon St. running back Storm Woods, who hails from Pflugerville, TX, and a true homecoming for Beaver running backs coach Chris Brasfield, who is a native of San Antonio.

Buildingthedam.com will be at the game, and back later with full coverage and analysis.

Heck With Hook'um Horns, Go Beavs!