Opponent Q&A: Alamo Bowl

The 2019 University of Utah football team will take the field one last time in San Antonio, Texas on New Year’s Eve, as they take on the 7-5 Texas Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl. To get a better perspective on the Longhorns, Orange Blood’s Jason Suchomel was kind enough to give Ute Nation some insider insight.

At first glance, a 7-5 record for Texas seems like it would be a huge letdown for the program and fan base. How would you sum up their 2019 season?

I think the description in the question is pretty accurate. Nobody expected 7-5 and even Tom Herman mentioned that this season is not up to their standard. It was certainly a letdown compared to what was expected before the season, when people thought Texas would challenge for the Big 12 title and maybe even be in the conversation for the College Football Playoff. It’s been a frustrating season for Texas fans, with inconsistent play on offense and pretty bad play on the defensive side of the ball for most of the year.

How’s the team’s psyche with Herman’s sudden coaching turnover?

Surprisingly, the team morale seems to be fine in the wake of the coaching changes, including replacing coordinators on both sides of the ball. Tom Herman has always done a good job of getting his team motivated for big games, especially when they’ve been underdogs. We’ll see if it carries over to the field on Tuesday night, but the psyche seems to be pretty good in the weeks leading up to the game.

Is Texas coming into this game with an underdog mentality? It seems guys like Ingram might not be taking the Utah defense that serious after his press conference comments over the weekend.

Texas understands what it’s up against in facing a very good Utah team, much like it faced last year in playing Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. In that game last year, the Longhorns were able to use the underdog mentality to come out strong and play well early in the game. There doesn’t seem to be quite as much buzz heading into this game, not due to the opponent but more about the Alamo Bowl versus the Sugar Bowl last year. I’d expect Herman to use the “lack of respect” card to motivate the team in pre-game, and it’s a tactic that he’s had success with in the past.

Who are some key guys both offensively and defensively to watch? And maybe some under the radar ones, too?

On offense, it begins and ends with quarterback Sam Ehlinger. When he’s on, including being effective as a runner, the Texas offense has been very successful. However, it’s been an up and down year for Ehlinger, who has struggled some late in the season. Receivers Devin Duvernay and Collin Johnson, two seniors, are his main weapons and they should be heavily involved in this game. Keaontay Ingram is the main guy at running back but true freshman Roschon Johnson has also been effective. He’d be an under the radar guy to watch, as would receiver Brennan Eagles, who has some big-play ability.

On defense, Texas is more healthy than it has been in a long time and it should have most of its players back in the secondary. Safeties Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster are very good. Texas is young at cornerback and that position has had some issues. Linebacker Joseph Ossai is a good player off the edge. It’ll be interesting to see how interim defensive coordinator Craig Naivar calls the game. Recently-fired DC Todd Orlando used a lot of three-man fronts and blitzed quite a bit (usually unsuccessfully). Naivar may go with more four-man fronts and try to play Utah straight up.

If you were Utah, how would you attack the Texas defense?

This is a Texas defense that has struggled quite a bit, but it’s been very susceptible to giving up big plays against the pass. Getting some guys healthy in the back end of the defense should help UT to some degree, but I’d still test the Longhorns’ young corners. Texas’ defensive line isn’t necessarily a strength either so Utah could have success in trying to control the line of scrimmage and attack off that.

Utah will be missing two All-American defensive backs, while all of their other top defenders will play. With that in mind, how would you stop Texas’ offense?

I think Texas has to rely on Ehlinger’s arm and having senior receivers Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay in the game. Johnson had missed the past several weeks but should be full strength for the Alamo Bowl, which is big for Texas. He’s a big-bodied outside receiver who can really give the Texas offense a spark with his return. Texas’ ground game has been very inconsistent this year, so the Longhorns’ best bet is going to be to make plays through the air.

What’s your prediction and why?

This is a Texas team that really didn’t play that well down the stretch, and when you throw in the coaching changes it’s hard for me to give the Longhorns the benefit of the doubt. I like Utah to win the game in the 30-24 range.