The 2019 Alamo Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2019, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST (6:30 p.m. local CST) on ESPN. It was the 27th edition of the Alamo Bowl, and was one of the 2019âÂÂ20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. Sponsored by Valero Energy, the game was officially known as the Valero Alamo Bowl.
The game was played between the Utah Utes of the Pac-12 Conference and the Texas Longhorns of the Big 12 Conference. This was second time that the two programs have met; their prior meeting was in 1982, won by Texas.
Utah entered the game with an 11âÂÂ2 record (8âÂÂ1 in conference), and ranked 12th in the AP Poll. They finished the regular season atop the Pac-12's South Division, having only lost to USC. In the Pac-12 Championship Game, the Utes faced Oregon and were defeated, 37âÂÂ15. Utah was 1âÂÂ1 against ranked opponents, defeating Arizona State and losing to Oregon. This was the first appearance for the Utes in the Alamo Bowl.
Texas entered the game with a 7âÂÂ5 record (5âÂÂ4 in conference). They finished in a four-way tie for third place in the Big 12. The Longhorns were 1âÂÂ3 against ranked opponents; losing to LSU, Oklahoma, and Baylor while defeating Kansas State. This was Texas' fourth Alamo Bowl, tying the Longhorns with Iowa and Oklahoma State for the most appearances. Texas entered the game with a 2âÂÂ1 record in prior Alamo Bowl appearances.