Valero Alamo Bowl champions: Texas beats Colorado, 55-23
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Texas continues to be dominant in bowl games under Tom Herman.
While that is certainly the case after the Longhorns used a dominant second half to whip Colorado, 55-23, Tuesday in the Alamo Bowl, the story coming out of the game is Casey Thompson.
Entering the game at quarterback in the third quarter after Sam Ehlinger suffered a shoulder injury in the first half and didn’t return after the break, Thompson threw darts all over the field as he completed 8 of 10 passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns.
He did this in playing barely more than a quarter, tying the school bowl record for touchdowns thrown.
You can’t take too much of one half of football, but the performance will make Longhorn fans more comfortable going into the 2021 season if Ehlinger decides to leave for the NFL.
Almost lost in the fact with Thompson’s showing was the fact Bijan Robinson had another incredible game, rushing for 183 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries, while making two touchdown receptions.
It’s almost a wonder Texas doesn’t try to get Robinson the ball on every play as something good almost always seems to happen when he touches the ball.
The Longhorns led, 17-10, at halftime, then basically did what they wanted the second half with Thompson and Robinson leading the way, and Roschon Johnson making a tremendous 22-yard touchdown run on which he broke around five tackles.
Make no mistake about it: this was a beatdown the last two quarters.
Texas set school bowl records for points and yards (638).
Let’s hope the injury to Alfred Collins isn’t anything serious. He’s a player who may only be around another two years. The true freshman defensive lineman is a monster and his one-handed interception in the first half showed the athleticism that NFL teams will notice.
The performance by Texas’ defense was good for football in 2020. UT had two interceptions, forced a fumble and did well for the number of key players it was missing.
Texas fans won’t be overjoyed heading into the offseason as they’ve seen similar performances from Herman’s teams the last two years in bowl games that didn’t lead to what the fanbase hoped for the following fall.
But blowing out an average Colorado team is certainly better than the alternative.
On a final note, if this was the final time Ehlinger put on a Texas uniform, here’s our message to him: thank you. He played the position well for four years and was always the epitome of class. He took a lot of unwarranted blame for when Texas didn’t have the success fans wanted. Good luck in the NFL.
