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Interested in learning a little more about this year’s match-up? Take a look at the official game notes below!

• This is the second time Texas and Utah have faced each other. Texas won 21-12 in a 1982 meeting between the two schools in Austin.
• Texas will be playing in its fourth Valero Alamo Bowl tying Iowa and Oklahoma State for the most all-time appearances.
• Quarterback Colt McCoy led the Longhorns to a 26-24 come-from-behind win in 2006. Texas then played back-to-back in San Antonio 2012 and 2013. The 2012 game was a 31-27 win over #13 Oregon followed by a 30-7 loss against Marcus Mariota and the #10 Oregon Ducks in head coach Mack Brown’s last game as a Longhorn.
• This year’s 2019 kickoff is in an unopposed TV window on Tuesday, December 31 at 6:30 p.m. the day after the primetime broadcast of the Capital One Orange Bowl and the night before the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
• Texas’ prior three Valero Alamo Bowl appearances averaged 7.4 million viewers which is 26% higher than the game’s 5.9 million average viewership since 2005.
• Utah will be making their first appearance in San Antonio, although the Utes were the runners up in the 1998 Men’s NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.
• Since the Pac-12 Championship game debuted in 2011, the loser of that game has also lost their bowl game. If the Utes break that eight-game streak this year, they will improve to 5-0 all-time in bowl games in Texas.
• This is the Valero Alamo Bowl’s first New Year’s Eve game since the first two games in 1993 and 1994.
• Eleven Valero Alamo Bowls since 2005 have been decided in the final minutes of the game including the 2017 and 2018 games that were each decided by two points.
• This is Year #6 of a six-year agreement to match up the #1 team in the Pac-12 against the #1 team in the Big 12 after the CFP selections. The Big 12 holds a 3-2 advantage over the Pac-12 during this time. This partnership has been extended for the 2020 – 2025 seasons.

Texas Game Notes

• In his first two seasons at Texas, head coach Tom Herman led the Longhorns to victories in the Texas and Sugar Bowls. Herman spent his first two years as a head coach at the University of Houston. The Cougars went bowling both years highlighted by a Peach Bowl win to cap off a 13-1 season in 2015.
• Head coach Tom Herman’s overall bowl record is 3-0 including two New Year’s Six Bowl game wins.
• The Longhorns’ offense is led by third-year quarterback, Sam Ehlinger who threw for 3,462 yards and 29 touchdowns, and accounted for 4,052 yards of total offense. The Valero Alamo Bowl record for most touchdowns is 7 (4 passing and 3 rushing) set by Washington quarterback Keith Price in 2011.
• Wide receiver Devin Duvernay staked his claim as one of college football’s best receivers with his play in 2019. Duvernay leads the country in receptions per game at 8.6 and total receptions at 103. Kansas State’s Tyler Lockett holds the Valero Alamo Bowl’s all-time reception record with 13 on January 2, 2015.

Utah Game Notes

• In Coach Kyle Whittingham’s 15th year leading the Utes they finished the regular season as Pac-12 South Champions with an 11-1 record earning him Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors.
• This is the fourth-straight year the Pac-12 Coach of the Year will be on the sidelines for the Valero Alamo Bowl.
• Utah is 7-0 when they score first and 10-0 when they lead at halftime. Both Utah losses were at night.
• A win in the Valero Alamo Bowl would give the Utes their highest win total since 2008 when they went 13-0 and were Sugar Bowl Champions.
• Whittingham boasts the second-best bowl win percentage in NCAA history at 84% with an 11-2 record.
• The Utes are 4-1 in the last five head-to-head meetings against Big 12 opponents including a 30-14 win against West Virginia in the 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl.
• Senior quarterback Tyler Huntley ranks 2nd in completion percentage at 73.7%, 4th in yards-per-pass attempt with 10.67, and 8th in yards per completion with 14.47. The Valero Alamo Bowl record for completion percentage is 77% set by Washington State’s Chad Davis in 1994, the game’s last New Year’s Eve kickoff.
• Zach Moss has rushed for more than 200 yards twice in his Utah career. Both 200+ totals were on the road: 211 yard vs. UCLA on 10/26/18 and 203 yards vs. Arizona on 11/23/19. The Valero Alamo Bowl has two 200 yard rushers in its 26-year history: Nebraska’s Dan Alexander (240 yards vs. Northwestern in 2000) and Baylor’s Terrance Ganaway (200 vs. Washington in 2011).
• All-American and Ted Hendricks Award finalist defensive end, Bradlee Anae, has 12.5 sacks this season and 29.5 for his career. Texas’ Alex Okafor set the Valero Alamo Bowl all-time sack record with 4.5 in 2012 in the Longhorns win over Oregon State.
• Utah leads FBS in rushing defense (70.3) with opponents averaging just 2.69 yards per carry. The Utes also rank third in total defense (256.2), sixth in FBS in scoring defense (13.2) and 12th in red zone defense (.720).