Things to know before the Alamo Bowl returns to San Antonio

Texas has the most appearances at the Alamo Bowl with five. The Longhorns have won 4-1 at the Alamo Bowl and last beat Colorado 55-23 in 2020.

Iowa and Oklahoma have the second most appearances with four appearances each. Nebraska, Oregon, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Colorado all have three appearances. Penn State, Purdue, TCU, Washington State, Baylor, Kansas State, Michigan, Michigan State and Northwestern each have two appearances.

Twelve other schools have made an appearance at the Alamo Bowl.

record day

The 2011 game between Baylor and Washington set numerous Alamo Bowl records. Baylor’s 67-53 win yielded most combined points (123), most first downs (59), most total offense combined yards (1,397), most points by a losing team (Washington, 53), most rushing yards (Baylor, 482), most total offense yards (Baylor, 777), most touchdowns (Baylor, 9), most points by a team (Baylor, 67).

Among individual records, the Baylor-Washington game also had most rushing touchdowns in a game (Terrance Ganaway, Baylor, 5), longest TD run (Terrance Ganaway, Baylor, 89 yards), most combined rushing and passing -Touchdowns (Keith Price, Washington, 7), most passing yards (Keith Price, Washington, 438), and most receiving yards (Jermaine Kearse, Washington, 198).

The game is also the only Alamo Bowl to feature a Heisman Trophy winner, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Notable Players

Nebraska’s Dan Alexander had the most rushing yards in a game with 240 against Northwestern in 2000.

In the 2020 matchup between Texas and Colorado, the Longhorns’ Bijan Robinson had the most yards per carry (18.3), Casey Thompson set the passing touchdown record (4), and Cameron Dicker had the longest field goal in the bowl history. Yard kick against the Buffaloes.

Purdue’s Drew Brees had the most passing attempts in 1998 with 53 against Kansas State. Washington State’s Gardner Minshew II had the most passing attempts in 2018 with 35 against Iowa State.

Texas A&M’s Randy McCown and Kansas State’s Michael Bishop share the record for most interceptions thrown with four in their respective games against Penn State (1999) and Purdue (1998).

TCU’s Jalen Reagor had the longest touchdown in 2017 with his 93-yard catch against Stanford. In the same game, Stanford’s JJ Arcega-Whiteside set the record for touchdowns received with three touchdowns.

Kansas State’s Tyler Lockett had the most single-game receptions in 2015 with 13 against UCLA. Lockett also had the most all-purpose yards at 249 in the same game.

Texas A&M’s Kyle Bryant scored the most field goals in 1995 with five against Michigan.

Missouri’s Sean Witherspoon set a record 17 tackles against Northwestern in 2008. Texas’ Alex Okafor set the single-game sack record in 2012 with a 4.5 against Oregon State.

Biggest rush

The 2007 matchup between Texas A&M and Penn State drew a record 66,166 fans as the Nittany Lions defeated the Aggies 24-17.

Alamo Bowl ESPN’s all-time viewership capped when 7.83 million fans watched the January 2, 2010 matchup between Michigan State and Texas Tech. The Red Raiders won that game 41-31.

predictions

Before the official matchup is announced, the major sports media outlets have made their predictions as to who will travel to the Alamodome.

CBS Sports and Action Network forecast Texas vs. Washington. ESPN predicts Texas vs. Oregon. USA TODAY predicts Oklahoma State vs. Washington; and 247 Sports predicts Oklahoma State vs. UCLA.