The Valero Alamo Bowl was never part of the BCS and it was not included in the brand new College Football Playoff, but that has never stopped the folks in Texas from bringing a couple of terrific teams to San Antonio each season. This year, we’ll see UCLA take on Kansas State in a big-time matchup.
2015 Alamo Bowl, UCLA vs. Kansas State: Date, time, location and more
The college football bowl game schedule continues to change, but the Alamo Bowl will keep on hosting Big 12 and Pac-12 powerhouses.
Now that all College Football Playoff games are held on New Year’s Day, the Alamo Bowl will likely take on a bigger stage on Jan. 2. The only other bowl games that day are the TaxSlayer and Armed Forces Bowls, neither of which will draw in the casual fan. The Alamo Bowl is, however, well known nationally and tends to feature a ton of scoring and some great offensive action. So while it may not be one of the prestigious New Year’s Day bowls, there will still be plenty of reasons to tune in.
Here is everything you need to get ready for this year’s game:
Date and time, ET: Friday, Jan. 2, 2015, 6:45 p.m. ET
TV channel: ESPN
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Stadium: Alamodome, 72,000
Last year’s score: Oregon 30, Texas 7
Last year’s attendance: 65,918
Last year’s TV rating: 4.6
Last year’s payout for each school: $3 million
Team with the most all-time appearances: Iowa, 4
Team with the most all-time wins: Nebraska, 3-0
UCLA Bruins (9-3, 6-3 Pac-12)
At two different points in the season, UCLA was a popular sleeper pick for the playoffs. The Bruins struggled in early season wins against Virginia, Memphis and Texas, but blew Arizona State out, 62-27, in a road game. Then came losses to Utah and Oregon, crashing expectations back to earth. A string of five straight wins, including ones over Arizona and USC, made the Bruins sudden Pac-12 South favorites, but an upset loss to Stanford in the regular season finale ended those dreams.
The Bruins are led by quarterback Brett Hundley (29 touchdowns), helping lead UCLA to 32.9 points per game. They also have one of the strongest linebacking corps in the nation, with tackle machine Eric Kendricks and physical nightmare Myles Jack.
Last bowl game: 2013 Sun Bowl, 42-12 win vs. Virginia Tech
All-time bowl record: 15-17-1
Head coach’s bowl record: Jim Mora, 1-1
Kansas State Wildcats (9-3, 7-2 Big 12)
Kansas State ended up finishing in third place in the Big 12, but they were alive in the conference race until the last week of the season. The Wildcats’ three losses stack up with anyone’s (Auburn, TCU, Baylor), but their biggest victory probably came against Oklahoma.
Jake Waters had a very good year at quarterback for the Wildcats, maturing into a better passer while still remaining a power running threat on the ground. Waters’ main target, Tyler Lockett, was one of the best playmakers in the Big 12 this season, while the defense was also one of the conference’s best.
Last bowl game: 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, 31-14 win vs. Michigan
All-time bowl record: 7-10
Head coach’s bowl record: Bill Snyder, 7-8
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