Underdog Should Bark in Texas vs. Washington

Texas vs. Washington, 9 ET

The Alamo Bowl, where we get a matchup of two strong squads that are looking to defend the glory of their schools. Ah, maybe not, we might actually only get a game between two ranked teams and one of those squads will be missing their best player. Even with that, there is still an opportunity for this to be a fun game and we are going to look for a play to make this even more enjoyable.

Texas comes into the game with an 8-4 record, and I really don't care what anyone says, I think this was a pretty successful season for the Longhorns. I know that the overall record isn't exactly pretty, but they played well in almost every game and dealt with a bunch of injury blows over the season. Now, the big news in this one is that star running back, and likely first-round pick, Bijan Robinson is not going to play in the game. Less important, but still relevant is that his backup is not playing and neither are a few other guys on Texas - some important, and some are still starters but not quite as much of difference maker as someone like Robinson. The big question for me here is how do they account for that loss of production?

Washington comes into the game with a stellar 10-2 record. They played great for most of the season and their only losses came at the hands of UCLA and Arizona State in back-to-back games. Both of those were one-score games. They then reeled off six straight wins so I have to assume they are fine. Led by quarterback Michael Penix Jr, I expect them to attack the Longhorns early and often through the air. Washington should be at almost full strength for this game and I like Penix playing in his first game. He's already talked about wanting this one - not that quotes always mean anything but it is good to see a player care about a game that ultimately doesn't matter that much.

Here's my one concern, the game is in Texas. That can always be a tough place to play so I am a little hesitant to just take Washington on the moneyline, though I think they are the better team. I will play it for them to win outright, but maybe just a half-unit. I'll take the points (3.5) for a full unit.

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