Texas vs. Colorado Predictions, Odds


  • December 29, 2020
  • By Joe Williams
  • VegasInsider.com

Tuesday's College Football bowl action will include in Texas with an old-school Big 12 rivalry taking shape when the Colorado Buffaloes (4-1, 3-1 Pac-12) take on the Texas Longhorns (6-3, 5-3 Big 12) in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

Alamo Bowl Betting Resources

Alamo Bowl Betting Odds

  • Spread: Texas -11
  • Money-Line: Texas -360 Colorado +300
  • Total: 63.5

Odds Subject to Change

How to Handicap Texas vs. Colorado

The Buffaloes will be glad to see a crowd of 11,000 fans at the Alamodome in San Antonio, as their friends and family will be allowed to attend. However, with the game deep in the heart of Texas, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a majority of the crowd wearing burnt orange.

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Colorado was limited to just five games in Pac-12 play, and they were 4-0 SU/ATS until the regular-season finale against Utah in Boulder.

The Buffs picked up a 48-42 win over UCLA in the opener, a 35-32 win at Stanford on Nov. 14, and a narrow 20-10 win over San Diego State, a replacement game announced at the last minute back on Nov. 28. They also pushed past Arizona 24-13 on Dec. 5, covering a 9.5-point spread, it’s highest of the season.

Texas opened its season with a 59-3 win over UTEP, and they followed that up with a 63-56 overtime win at Texas Tech on Sept. 26, and the offense looked like it might be unstoppable.

However, they were stopped in a 33-31 loss at home against TCU, losing outright as 11-point favorites. They were also dumped 53-45 in four overtimes in the Red River Rivalry game.

While another loss to Oklahoma had head coach Tom Herman on the hot seat, he steered his Steers to a 4-1 SU/2-2-1 ATS mark down the stretch in the final five regular-season affairs. That includes a win over then No. 6 Oklahoma State in overtime, 41-34, in Stillwater on Halloween.

They wrapped up the season with a season-high 69 points in a 38-point rout of Kansas State on Dec. 5, hitting the ‘over’ (53.5) themselves.

Betting Analysis – Texas Longhorns

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • 2020: 6-3 SU, 3-5-1 ATS, 6-3 O/U

Texas enters as favorites, and rightly so, since they’re unofficially the home team. They went 5-1 SU as a favorite, but just 2-3-1 ATS in those six contests.

They were 3-1 SU/2-2 ATS in four games away from home, too, including their neutral-site loss against Oklahoma in 4OT on Oct. 10. The ‘over’ was a perfect 4-0 in non-home games this season for the ‘Horns, too.

When Texas has the ball, all eyes will be on QB Sam Ehlinger. The gunslinger registered 2,406 passing yards with 25 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 60.1 percent of his passes, while going for 382 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.

He had nice rapport with WR Brennan Eagles, who led the team with 469 receiving yards and five scores while averaging 16.8 yards per grab. However, Eagles elected to opt out for the Alamo Bowl to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft.

WR Joshua Moore was a nice secondary option with 386 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, and he’ll be the de facto No. 1.

RB Bijan Robinson led the team with 520 rushing yards and three touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. RB Roschon Johnson went for 386 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per tote.

On defense, sack leader Joseph Ossai announced he will forgo the bowl game and his senior season, as he heads for the NFL. He was also second in the country with 16 tackles for loss in 2020.

Betting Analysis - Colorado Buffaloes

  • 2020: 4-1 SU, 4-1 ATS, 3-2 O/U

The Buffaloes are a tremendous running team, with 218.4 yards per game on the ground to rank 18th in the country. RB Jarek Broussard gobbled up 813 yards with three touchdowns, with all three coming in the opener against UCLA.

While he didn’t find the end zone on Dec. 5, he did register a career-high 301 rushing yards against Arizona. He was held to 80 yards in the finale against Utah, snapping a four-game streak with at least 121 rushing yards.

QB Sam Noyer threw for exactly 1,000 yards while completing 58.4 percent of his passes in five games. He tossed six touchdowns and was picked off five times while also running for five scores. He is considered questionable for this game due to a shoulder injury. If he cannot go it would likely be Tyler Lytle getting the nod.

In the pass game, WR Dimitri Stanley had big shoes to fill with Laviska Shenault Jr. moving on to the NFL. Stanley stepped up with 16 grabs, a team-high 249 yards and a touchdown in five games.

Lavontae Shenault was on the roster, though, and he was second on the team with 193 yards while leading the club with 17 receptions. And Brenden Rice, whose father is Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, had 120 yards and two scores.

Rice scored a receiving touchdown and punt return for score in the same game when he turned the trick against Utah in the finale, the first Colorado player to do that since Walter Stanley on Sept. 12, 1981.


Colorado RB Jarek Broussard was a handful for opponents this season, racking up 813 rushing yards. (AP)

Historically Speaking

Last Meeting

Texas and Colorado used to play in the Big 12 together, and the Longhorns lead the all-time series 11-7, with five consecutive wins.

However, the schools haven’t met on the gridiron since Oct. 10, 2009, a 38-14 win by the ‘Horns, who were led by QB Colt McCoy.

Bowl History

The Buffaloes lost in the 2016 Alamo Bowl to Oklahoma State, 38-8, in their most recent bowl appearance. Before that Colorado hadn’t been bowling since the 2007 Independence Bowl, a loss to Alabama.

They haven’t won since the 2004 EV1.net Houston Bowl, when they topped UTEP by a 33-28 count. That’s their only win in the past six bowl appearances.

They have actually faced Texas in a postseason game before, losing 38-21 in the 1975 Bluebonnet Bowl.

The Longhorns are back in the Alamo Bowl for the second straight season.

They topped Utah in San Antonio by a 28-21 score last season, and they topped Georgia in the Sugar Bowl the year before.

Texas has appeared in the Alamo Bowl four times before, going 3-1 with their lone setback in Mack Brown’s final game at the helm against Oregon in 2013.

Notable Betting Trends

Texas is 6-1 ATS in the past seven non-conference games, and 5-1 ATS in the past six against the Pac-12.

They’re also 5-2 ATS in the past seven bowl games.

Colorado is just 2-6-1 ATS in the past nine against the Big 12, and 2-5 ATS in their past seven neutral-site games as an underdog.

Texas is also 7-1 ATS in the past eight meetings against Colorado.

Alamo Bowl Predictions

  • Score Prediction: Texas 45, Colorado 29
  • Best Bet: Over 63.5

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