Horns accept bid to Texas Bowl

WELLS: Quotes from Strong and Bielema on Texas Bowl

The Longhorns are headed to Houston.

Texas has accepted a bid to play in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium on December 29th and play former SWC foe Arkansas (6-6).

Texas coach Charlie Strong led the Horns to a 6-6 mark in his first year in Austin. After starting 2-4 and 3-5, not making a bowl seemed likely on the 40 Acres for only the second time since 1997. But UT rallied winning four straight, including a 33-16 win over No. 24 West Virginia at DKR in November.

For the third consecutive year, UT is staying in Texas for its bowl game. The Longhorns played in the Alamo Bowl (San Antonio) in 2012 and 2013.

Details from Texas press release:

The game will be played at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans, and be televised on ESPN. Ticket information (http://www.texassports.com/news/2014/12/7/FB_1207140104.aspx)

This will be the 78th meeting between the Longhorns (6-6, 5-4) and the Razorbacks (6-6, 2-6), including the second time in the postseason. Arkansas beat Texas, 27-6, in the 2000 Cotton Bowl, though the Longhorns lead the series 56-21. The last meeting between the teams was a 52-10 Texas victory on Sept. 27, 2008.

Texas will be making its 53rd bowl appearance, the second-highest total on the NCAA all-time list.

“We’re excited to be playing in the Advocare Texas Bowl and against an old SWC rival in Arkansas,” Texas head coach Charlie Strong said. “It will be a tremendous opportunity for our team to play in front of so many of our fans and especially for our seniors who will be doing it for the last time as Longhorns. We’ve been back at work and getting prepared for the bowl game and know Arkansas presents an unbelievable challenge. They are a really good, physical team that has played their best ball in the second half of the season. We look forward to getting to Houston and being a part of this great bowl.”

The game will pit two of the best defenses in the nation.

The Longhorns ended the regular season ranked 26th in the FBS in total yards allowed (348.3 per game), No. 12 in passing defense (186.3 ypg), No. 8 in yards allowed per play (4.67), 16th in passing efficiency defense (108.34 rating), tied for seventh in sacks (3.25 pg) and 33rd in points allowed (23.3 pg).

The Razorbacks are 15th nationally in scoring defense, surrendering just 20.3 points per game, as well as 22nd in rushing defense (124.0 ypg), 24th in total defense (345.4 ypg) and fourth in red zone defense (.688).

Three seniors have produced most of the Longhorns offensive output. John Harris (64-1,015) and Jaxon Shipley (58-571) have combined for 122 receptions and 1,586 receiving yards, while Malcolm Brown has posted a team-high 683 rushing yards. Harris’ yardage ranks eighth on the UT single-season list.

Junior Johnathan Gray has chipped in 628 rushing yards and sophomore Tyrone Swoopes, in his first season as a starter, has completed 211 of 359 passes for 2,352 yards and rushed for another 294. Swoopes ranks 15th on the UT single-season passing yards list and 11th on the total offense chart (2,646).

For Arkansas, a pair of 1,000-yard runners lead the 26th-ranked rushing offense in the country. Junior Johnathan Williams leads the team with 1,085 yards to go along with 11 touchdowns, while sophomore Alex Collins has run for 1,024 yards and a team-high 11 TDs. The Razorbacks are averaging 220.2 yards per game on the ground.

Arkansas is making its first bowl appearance since a 29-16 win against K-State in the 2012 Cotton Bowl. The Razorbacks are 13-23-3 all-time in bowl games.

Texas Bowl Notes

• Texas will be facing a SEC team for the first time since playing Alabama in the BCS Championship game following the 2009 season (37-21 loss). It will be the 20th bowl game matchup with a SEC opponent, with Texas holding a 11-7-1 record. Texas’ most common SEC opponent is Alabama (4-1-1 record).

• This will be the second time Arkansas and Texas meet in a bowl game. The Razorbacks won the 2000 Cotton Bowl by the score of 27-6.

• Texas now has 53 all-time bowl appearances which trails just Alabama (61) on the NCAA all-time list. Nebraska is third with 51. UT has a record of 27-23-2 (.538).

• Head coach Charlie Strong will be making his fifth appearance in a bowl game in five seasons as a head coach. Strong had a 3-1 bowl record at Louisville.

• This will be the seventh time Texas has played in a bowl game in Houston. The Longhorns made six appearances in the now defunct Bluebonnet Bowl with a record of 3-2-1. Texas played in the final Bluebonnet Bowl game, a 32-27 victory over Pittsburgh on Dec. 31, 1987.

• UT had a school-record stretch of 12 straight bowl appearances from 1998-2009, which bettered the previous mark of nine straight from 1977-85.

• With a 24-21 victory over No. 10 Ohio State in the 2009 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Texas won bowl games in five consecutive years for the first time in school history (2004-08 seasons). The Horns did win five straight previously (1963-64, ’66, ’68-69), but the streak was interrupted by seasons that did not result in a bowl.