The Basics:

Record: 7-5 (5-4 Big-12)

Avg. total yards: 468.9

Avg. pass yards: 296.2

Avg. rush yards: 172.7

Avg. points per game: 35.0

Total yards allowed per game: 446.2

Pass yards allowed per game: 306.4

Rush yards allowed per game: 139.8

Points per game allowed: 28.9

The University of Utah meets the University of Texas Longhorns in San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl on New Year’s Eve. While it is not the College Football Playoff, Texas is a college football blue blood and gives the Utes a chance to finish the 2019 season with a win over a name brand school. Utah looks to move past their disappointing loss to the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 championship game, while the Longhorns hope to build off their final win over Texas Tech. Utah has been a thorn in Texas’ side lately on the recruiting front, so this game carries some extra weight for Utah to win since they recruit so heavily in Texas. Utah is a slight favorite, with ESPN’s FPI giving them a 66.3% chance to win as a 7-point favorite.

Strength: Quarterback Sam Ehlinger

After last year’s Sugar Bowl victory over the Georgia Bulldogs, Ehlinger proclaimed to the college football world that Texas football was back, giving Longhorn nation hype and launching them into the College Football Playoff discussion during the preseason. Ehlinger threw for over 400 yards in a shootout against LSU early in the season, showing that the Longhorns belonged on a national stage. Despite some tough losses to Oklahoma, TCU, Iowa State, and Baylor, Ehlinger has put together a solid season on paper, throwing for just under 3,500 yards with 29 touchdowns and 9 interceptions at a 65% completion rate. In their losses to Oklahoma and Baylor, however, Ehlinger passed for only 210 and 200 yards respectively on nearly 40 attempts and zero touchdowns. If the Utes can keep everything in front of them and make the pocket comfortable, the Texas passing game should struggle. Ehlinger has thrown for over 300 yards in 4 games this season, and in all four games but one, Texas scored over 35 points. With key players missing in the Utah secondary, Elhinger vs. the Utah defensive backs will be an interesting match up to watch.

Question mark: Defense

This is broad, but recent developments that make this a legitimate question mark going into the game. Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando is out after the defense gave up over 6 yards per play this season. Also, depth at the linebacker position for the Alamo Bowl is now in question, as Texas sent home two freshmen back to Austin for violating team rules, giving the Longhorns only four linebackers against the Utes. While most of their playing time came on special teams, it will be interesting to see how this impacts the Longhorn defense, particularly on run defense.

X-factor: Motivation and preparation

The Utes have a tradition of winning their bowl games (11-2 under Whittingham), but how will they bounce back from the conference championship game, in addition to the injuries to the secondary? Texas is a longstanding powerhouse that fell back to earth and stumbled to a mediocre season of 7-5. With Herman’s coaching seat warming up quickly in Texas and with a new coordinator, will the Longhorns be ready to face a Utah team looking to finish a successful, yet disappointing season? Texas beat another power in the Georgia Bulldogs last year, and the Utes stumbled in the second half to lose to Northwestern in last year’s bowl match up. A win for either team would help take the sting out of some tough regular season losses. The team that is ready to move forward should take control early.

Score prediction: Utah 34, Texas 24