Baylor vs. Washington:Alamo Bowl

Present Iteration: Valero Alamo Bowl
Past Iteration: Alamo Bowl, MasterCard Alamo Bowl, Sylvania Alamo Bowl, Builders Square Alamo Bowl
Toasting Town: San Antonio, Texas
Vintage: 1993
Combatants: Washington (7-5) vs Baylor (9-3)
Holiday Equivalent: Christmas Eve Boozing

If both offenses and bottom twenty defenses perform as expected, this could be an Alamo Bowl to remember.

Baylor Bears [SRS 14]
Best Wins: Oklahoma (6), TCU (18), Missouri (19), Texas (21)
Losses: at Oklahoma State (2), at Texas A&M (11), at Kansas State (22)
Famous Alum: Trey Wingo

Baylor beat Oklahoma, Texas and TCU. Robert Griffin III won the school’s first Heisman. It was certainly their best year since the 1980 Cotton Bowl team and probably the Bears’ best ever. Griffin gave this team a Herculean effort, completing 72 percent of his passes for 3,998 yards and 36 touchdowns. He led the nation in passer rating. He also added nine touchdowns on the ground. Beginning the season as a dark horse, he ended it as the Heisman winner and potential top ten NFL Draft pick. Also worth noting were tailback Terrence Gannaway (1,347 yards, 16TD ) and wideout Kendall Wright (101 catches, 1,572 yards, 13 TD).

Washington Huskies [SRS 49]
Best Wins: California (30), Utah (40), Arizona (61)
Losses: Oregon (4), at Stanford (5), at USC (10), Nebraska (23), at Oregon State (76)
Famous Alum: Joel McHale

This season supported arguments for and against Sarkisian’s tenure. A win here could alter some perceptions. Keith Price was no RGIII, but the sophomore ranked 12th nationally in passer rating, throwing for more than 2,600 yards and 29 touchdowns while completing 67 percent of his passes. Price was not a step back from Jake Locker. On paper he was a step forward. The Huskies also have a pounding running back, 220lb Chris Polk who contributed 11 touchdowns and his third-straight 1,000-yard season. A performance from him will keep Washington on the field, and RGIII off it.

Key: Washington must limit big passing plays. Baylor had 36 passes longer than 30 yards (2nd nationally) and nine passes longer than 60 yards (1st). Forced to be methodical, Baylor was far less efficient, especially in the red zone. Their score percentage there (75.9) was 95th in the country. Their touchdown percentage (62) was just 52nd.

For Recreational Purposes: Baylor (-9.5)source