Dec. 29th – Alamo Bowl – Texas

Texas used quick scoring drives – six touchdown possessions going for between 74 and 89 yards, with none of the taking more than six plays (with the seventh touchdown coming on a one-play, 21-yard “drive”) – to dominate Colorado, 55-23

Neither of the starting quarterbacks finished the game, with the Longhorn backup Casey Thompson getting the better of it. Texas quarterback Sam Elhinger was lost after the first half, but Thompson led the Longhorns to 38 second half points as Texas turned a 17-10 halftime advantage into a rout. Thompson completed only eight passes, but four of them went for touchdowns, as a solid CU defensive effort in the first half was completely missing in the final two quarters.

CU’s backup, Brendon Lewis, could not overcome the hole left by the Buff defense and CU’s starting quarterback. Senior Sam Noyer went 8-for-23 for 101 yards and two interceptions with his time on the field, and overthrew receivers on three different occasions on what would have been touchdowns. Lewis directed all three of CU’s touchdown drives, completing 6-of-10 passes for 95 yards. Lewis also had 73 yards rushing on nine carries, including a two-yard touchdown run.

Running back Jarek Broussard accounted for the Buffs’ other two scores, finishing the game with 82 yards on 27 carries.

For the game, Texas torched the Colorado defense for 638 yards of total offense, while the Buffs settled for 378 yards.

“This game tells me how much further we have to go,” said Karl Dorrell, who fell to 1-4 in bowl games as a head coach. “Our tackling was poor and our inefficiency on offense and we didn’t take care of the football. These are the things we’ve been preaching and talking about and we didn’t improve in those areas. It’s unfortunate and we have got a lot of work to do.”

The required post-mortem on CU’s loss to No. 20 Texas in the Alamo Bowl isn’t – believe it or not – as negative as you might think. Stuart and Brad take a look at some of the positives out of game (including lack of excuses from head coach Karl Dorrell for having only 46 scholarship players available – here’s looking at you, Dan Mullen!), before moving to to a review of the 2020 season as a whole. With only the second winning season in 15 years, and only the second bowl appearance in the past 13 seasons … there is plenty to be excited about as the Buffs turn their focus to the 2021 season! …

If you squint really hard, I mean really, really hard, you can find some positive numbers coming out of CU’s 55-23 humbling loss to No. 20 Texas in the 2020 Alamo Bowl.

After spotting the Longhorns an early 14-0 lead, the Buffs actually controlled the game for the final 20 minutes of the first half. The Colorado defense, tasked with slowing down four-year starting quarterback Sam Ehlinger, did just that. The final six drives of the first half for Texas went like this:

Three plays, minus -1 yards … Punt;
Four plays, four yards … Missed field goal (after CU gave Texas the ball at the Buff 32-yard line after an interception);
Three plays, minus -2 yards … Punt;
Three plays, 7 yards … Punt;
Six plays, 58 yards … Field goal; and
One play, 6 yards … End of half.

The Buff defense, playing without four starters, (Brian Howell of the Daily Camera tweeted out that he counted 49 scholarship players suited for the game, including seven players who had never played in a game in 2020) did give the offense a chance to make a game of it, but the offense struggled mightily under starter Sam Noyer. Backup Brendon Lewis came in to direct CU’s lone scoring drive of the first half, keeping the game close, at 17-10, at halftime.

Sam Ehlinger did not play in the second half, handing over the reins to backup Casey Thompson. Based on how the Buff defense had played in the second quarter, there was hope for an upset.

Not so much.

Athlon picks CU in an upset … Neill Woelk’s Five Keys to the Alamo Bowl … **Karl Dorrell Alamo Bowl press conference – video and transcript** … Pac-12’s top coordinators includes CU’s Darrin Chiaverini … Buffs’ reception leader, La’Vontae Shenault, suspended …

ESPN finally does a CU story (it’s about the equipment truck) … CBS: Grading 2020 First Year Coaches – Karl Dorrell receives only “A” … College Football News breaks down the Alamo Bowl (with predictions) … No market for new Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch until Wildcats created one … Alamo Bowl expert picks …

The Texas roster is pockmarked with opt outs, including both safeties (for a pass defense which was already ranked 114th in the nation) … And yet, the Texas offense, led by senior QB Sam Ehlinger, is averaging 41 points/game … Can the Buff defense stop the Longhorn offense enough times to give the Buffs the chance at an upset? …

It’s been a strange season, culminated in CU getting only its second bowl bid in the past 13 years … After taking to task Larry Scott and the Pac-12 for its handling of the title game, Stuart and Brad preview the Alamo Bowl, and give their predictions for the game …

Of the 73 Buffs who lettered this fall, only 10 are seniors (and a number of them could return) … A loss to Texas would give detractors the chance ignore CU’s November to remember, but a win by the Buffs? Well, it would make for a fun off-season …

Which team has a longer winning streak in the series (hint: it’s not Texas) … Why it’s not a good idea for the Buffs to go for it on fourth down v. Longhorns … What do Jarek Broussard and his position coach have in common? …