No. 20 Texas headed to the Alamo Bowl to face No. 12 Washington

Dec 5, 2022 - 9:08 PM

The college football bowl season is upon us and after failing to reach the postseason in Steve Sarkisian’s first season on the Forty Acres, the No. 20 Texas Longhorns (8-4) are once again headed to the Alamo Bowl to square off with the No. 12 Washington Huskies (10-2).

Texas’ Alamo Bowl appearance comes as the reward of a three-game improvement in 2022 that saw the Horns’ finish the regular season at 8-4 and ranked in every major poll. As is, that three-win improvement from 5-7 and the trip to the Alamo Bowl marks a notable step forward for Sark’s program in Year 2, and a potential loss likely wouldn’t have much of an impact on that perception of progress. But as we’ve seen to cap some recent seasons, including Texas’ last two Alamo Bowl wins over Utah and Colorado, winning the bowl game can serve as an excellent springboard into the offseason, and in Texas’ case, an improvement to 9-4 — nearly doubling their 2021 win total — behind four wins in their final five games is an ideal outcome.

To that end, the bowl season has been in Texas’ favor in recent years, with the Longhorns winning each of their last four game games, including the Texas Bowl (2017), Sugar Bowl (2018), and Alamo Bowl (2019, 2020). Not to mention, none of those bowl games were particularly close, with Texas winning by an average margin of 21 points.

Texas is a 3.5-point favorite against Washington, according to DraftKings.

This will mark the Longhorns’ 58th ever bowl appearance, and fifth in the last six seasons. To this point, Texas has come out on top in their bowl games more often than not, owning a 31-24-2 all-time record.

Kickoff between the Longhorns and Huskies in the Alamo Bowl is scheduled for Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. CT.