27th Valero Alamo Bowl at a glance
The matchup: No. 11 Utah (11-2, 8-1 in Pac-12 South Division, first) vs. Texas (7-5, 5-4 in Big 12, four-way tie for fourth)
When, where: Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., Alamodome
Utah in the Alamo Bowl: First appearance
UT in the Alamo Bowl: 2-1
UT's last Alamo Bowl appearance: 2013, lost to No. 10 Oregon 30-7
Utah-UT series history: Texas leads 1-0
Last meeting: Texas 21, Utah 12, Sept. 18, 1982, Austin
Utah bowl record: 17-5
Utah's last bowl appearance: Lost to Northwestern 31-20, Holiday Bowl, Dec. 31, 2018, San Diego
UT bowl record: 29-24-2
UT's last bowl appearance: Beat Georgia 28-21, Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1, 2019, New Orleans
SAN ANTONIO – For the Texas Longhorns, Tuesday night's Valero Alamo Bowl is more about stockpiling some much-needed momentum for next season than trying to salvage something from a disappointing regular season.
UT started the season with high expectations after being ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press preseason poll, but the Longhorns turned out to be as ordinary as every day's wash, to borrow from legendary coach Darrell Royal.
UT finished 7-5 overall and 5-4 in the Big 12, tying three other teams for fourth. The Longhorns lost to LSU by a touchdown on the first Saturday night of September, and also fell to Oklahoma, TCU, Iowa State and Baylor.
Even before trouncing Texas Tech in its regular-season finale, UT fans already were looking ahead to 2020. That will come soon enough.
But first, the Longhorns must play their final game of the year against Utah in the 27th Alamo Bowl, which has been played annually at the Alamodome since 1993. Kickoff is at 6:30.
"We're thrill to be challenged by a Utah team that played for their conference championship and won 11 games," UT coach Tom Herman said Monday at the coaches' final news conference before the game. "They played unbelievably great defense and, obviously, are a challenge on offense with their ball control.
"We've got a challenge but we feel that we've had a good couple weeks of preparation and we're excited for it."
Utah went 11-2 for the season and first in the Pac-12 Conference's South Division at 8-1.
North Division champion Oregon beat the Utes 37-15 in the Pac-12 title game, crushing any hopes Utah had of earning a berth in the College Football Playoffs. The Utes were ranked fifth going into the game.
Utah has made it clear there won't be any hangover from the loss to Oregon. From all indications, the Utes are relishing squaring off against Texas.
"Texas is Texas," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "What can you say? They've got talented players, class program, a lot of history, one of those programs in the country that's kind of iconic. So it's great for our guys to be able to line up and play against a team like that, a program like that.
"The state of Texas is a recruiting dream, so to that have that fertile of a recruiting ground right in your back yard, there's a lot of reasons why they're a good football team and have been for years and years."
The Alamo Bowl appearance will be the fourth for UT, which is 2-1 in the game. The Longhorns beat Iowa in 2006 and Oregon State in 2012, and lost to Oregon in Mack Brown's last game as UT coach in 2013.
Utah is making its first appearance in the Alamo Bowl. Texas and Utah have met only once before in football, with the Longhorns taking a 21-12 victory in their 1982 season opener at home.
Texas sophomore safety Caden Sterns, a 2018 Steele graduate, will be one of the best players on the field Tuesday night. He ranks among the Longhorns' top defenders with 46 solo tackles, 16 assists and four interceptions.
"To get to come back means a lot to me," Sterns said. "Being from here, it's a game that means tons to me. It gives me a chance to go back and relive my high school days, so it should be really fun for me."