One of the main stories heading into bowl season was whether we’d see big rivals Texas and Texas A&M go head to head. Unfortunately that didn’t happen with lots of blame pointed at each other as to who was avoiding whom. In the end the Texas Longhorns were paired with arguably a tougher foe at this point in the Arkansas Razorbacks who finished the season strongly.
The Razorbacks ended a run of 17 straight SEC losses with a shutout victory over LSU and then followed that up with another shutout of Ole Miss. In both games the Razorbacks were incredibly impressive in their domination of top 25 ranked teams. They can also be disappointed that they managed to lose games to Texas A&M and Alabama considering the chances they had to win those games. Despite losing at Missouri in their final game, Arkansas were considered a dangerous opponent in a bowl game as there is unlikely to be a better six win team in the country this year.
For Texas the season started with a sense of déjà vu as they were comfortably beaten for the second year in a row at home by BYU. The inconsistent nature of the team became frustrating after an impressive shutout victory over Kansas was followed a few weeks later by giving up 45 pts at home to Iowa State, although they won the game. Through November they posted three straight wins over Texas Tech, West Virginia and Oklahoma State with the defense showing real signs of improvement. Unfortunately they imploded offensively against TCU on Thanksgiving but it’s fair to say Charlie Strong’s team is in a better state now than when they started the season.
The game takes place on Monday, December 29th at NRG stadium in Houston which is only a relatively short drive from Austin, Texas for the Longhorns fans. But Arkansas fans have become used to travelling to neutral site games in Texas as they have a yearly contest at AT&T stadium in Arlington with Texas A&M and they always travel well to the game.
The key to this game will be whether Texas has the ability to stop the Arkansas running game. Forcing Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen to throw the ball and make plays is not how the Razorbacks are likely to win this one, especially seeing as Allen was banged up in their final two games. Stopping the run is easier said than done as the Longhorns were much better at stopping the pass so this could be a bit of a mismatch for them.
For Arkansas defensively they’ll have watched the tape of the Thanksgiving Day game against TCU and look to emulate that. Putting pressure on Longhorns quarterback Tyrone Swoopes has caused the young passer to make mistakes which have led to his ten interceptions this season. The Razorbacks will be looking to force an early turnover in this game, build a lead and then control the clock with their strong rushing offence.
Prediction: Texas will make this a close game but Arkansas will be too strong over the course of the whole game
Arkansas 23-14 Texas
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Bowl logo photo courtesy of Advocare V100 Texas Bowl
