Texas to Play Oregon in Alamo Bowl
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Texas has accepted an invitation to be the Big 12 Conference representative in the 2013 Valero Alamo Bowl and will face the Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference on Monday, Dec. 30 at 5:45 p.m. Central in San Antonio.
The game will be played at the Alamodome and be televised on ESPN.
This will be the sixth meeting between the Longhorns (8-4, 7-2) and the No. 10/12 Ducks (10-2, 6-2), including the second time in the postseason. Oregon downed Texas, 35-30, in the 2000 Holiday Bowl.
This will be the Horns’ third appearance in the Alamo Bowl’s 21-year history. They defeated Iowa, 26-24, in 2006 and knocked off Oregon State, 31-27, in a thriller last season.
Texas will be making its 52nd all-time bowl appearance (second in NCAA history), including 15th in head coach Mack Brown’s 16 years. The Horns have won nine of their last 11 bowls and have a 10-4 record under Brown who has directed his teams to 21 bowls in the last 22 seasons, which is tied for the most in the nation with Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech over that stretch.
Oregon enters the game with a high-powered offensive attack. The Ducks rank third nationally in scoring offense (46.8 points per game) and second in totals yards (573.0 pg). QB Marcus Mariota ranks sixth in the nation in passing efficiency (167.9 rating) and ninth in total offense (332.8 per game).
Oregon is allowing just 21.6 points per game which ranks No. 25 in the nation.
The Longhorns rank 36th nationally in rushing offense (197.6 yards per game) with running back Malcolm Brown having averaged 101.6 yards per game over the last seven contests. Jaxon Shipley leads the team with 55 receptions, while Mike Davis has a team-high 715 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat leads a Texas defense which is tied for fifth nationally in sacks (3.08 per game). Jeffcoat is tied for third in the FBS with 1.0 sack per game, while Cedric Reed is tied for 23rd (0.8 per game). Jeffcoat also leads the team in tackles (80) and tackles for loss (21).
Lou Groza Award finalist Anthony Fera leads the special teams, having connected on 20-of-22 field goals and averaged 40.6 yards per punt on the year.
Tickets for the Valero Alamo Bowl can be requested through www.TexasSports.com. Fans may also call the UT Athletics Ticket Office at 512/471-3333 or 800/982-BEVO if you have any questions. The Athletics Ticket Office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CST.
Bowl Notes
• Texas will be facing a Pac-12 (formerly Pac-10) team for the eighth time in its last 13 bowl trips.
• Texas now has 52 all-time bowl appearances which trails just Alabama (60) on the NCAA all-time list. Nebraska is third with 50. UT has a record 27-22-2 (.549), including 10-4 (.714) during the Mack Brown era. The 10 wins are the most by any UT coach (Darrell K Royal is second with eight).
• UT had a school-record stretch of 12 straight bowl appearances from 1998-2009, which bettered the previous mark of nine-straight from 1977-85.
• With a 24-21 victory over No. 10 Ohio State in the 2009 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Texas won bowl games in five consecutive years for the first time in school history (2004-08 seasons). The Horns did win five straight previously (1963-64, '66, '68-69), but the streak was interrupted by seasons that did not result in a bowl.
(Via Texassports.com and UT Athletics)
