Alamo Bowl: Mack Brown says farewell to Texas
Valero Alamo Bowl
Oregon vs. Texas
San Antonio, Texas
Dec. 30, 2013
Mack Brown’s final game as the head coach of Texas has the potential to be a fantastic swan song.
Already, Texas players have commented and tweeted about how they want to usher Brown out on a high note. The motivation and effort in this game will probably be a lot like what we saw against Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry.
And that’s a big problem for Oregon.
The Ducks won 10 games this season, but they have been a different team since the loss to Stanford. They’ve made uncharacteristic mistakes, played uninspired at times and looked – dare we say – average in the past four contests.
Quarterback Marcus Mariota, who was the Heisman frontrunner for mush of the season, has struggled down the stretch thanks to a leg injury. Mariota threw four interceptions in his final two games after throwing none in his first 10 contests.
If that’s the Oregon team that comes to play against an amped Texas team on Monday, the Longhorns are going to send Brown out on a high note.
MASCOT FIGHT
Have you ever messed encountered an angry duck? It’s not a pretty sight. I mean, just watch what happens to this poor family who’s just trying to feed some ducks while enjoying some bread themselves.
That baby will never be able to go to the park ever again.
When faced with a Longhorn, the duck has the advantage of the aerial attack and just pure feistiness. The horns are intimidating, but fear the duck in this matchup, especially since they usually run in flocks.
PREDICTIONS
Graham: Oregon 41, Texas 28. This is tough because the Oregon from early in the season would have its way with this Texas team while the Oregon of late would struggle. It’s hard to know which one will show up, but the Ducks do have better talent and Mariota has had some time to heal up. The whole Mack-Brown's-last-game thing might be early motivation, but it will wear off.
Nick: Oregon 37, Texas 28: Mack Brown! Motivation! Pride! Can we set an over/under on the number of names we'll hear mentioned for the Texas vacancy during the broadcast? Will a certain former Oregon coach now in the NFL come up? What does all of that have to do with the game? Nothing. Here's saying Oregon will, albeit possibly begrudgingly, play hard in this one and the Ducks are the better team.
Sam: Oregon 35, Texas 31. It will certainly be intriguing to observe how the Longhorns perform in Mack Brown's last game. Will they put in an inspired effort so Brown can go out with a win? I think the Longhorns will play hard, but at the end of the day, Oregon is just a better team. Texas will move the ball and put up points, but can Case McCoy come through late in a game if he's forced to air it out? I don't think so.
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is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday
