2012 Valero Alamo Bowl

The University of Texas and Oregon State University have accepted invitations today to play in the 20th Anniversary Valero Alamo Bowl on Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 5:45 p.m. CST in San Antonio’s 65,000-seat Alamodome.

#13 Oregon State is led by Head Coach Mike Riley, the Beavers all-time winningest coach with a record of 81-66 in 12 seasons. Riley, who has a 5-1 record in bowl games, has helped the Beavers back to a bowl game for the first time since the 2009 Las Vegas Bowl. Oregon State finished the regular season 9-3 (6-3 Pac-12), improving their win total by six games from 2011, tied for the best turnaround in NCAA FBS.

The Oregon State offense, averaging 33.0 points per game is highlighted by senior wide receiver Markus Wheaton and redshirt freshman running back Storm Woods. Wheaton, a first team All-Pac 12 selection, owns the school record for career receptions. Woods, a Pflugerville, Texas native is the leading rusher for Oregon State with 822 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. Senior cornerback Jordan Poyer leads the Pac-12 and ranks second nationally with seven interceptions and was recently named a First Team All-American by the AFCA.

’It is a tremendous honor for the Beavers to play in such a prestigious bowl game,” head football coach Mike Riley said. ’Our team is ecstatic to represent the Pac-12 Conference and Oregon State University in the great state of Texas. We are looking forward to playing a very good Texas Longhorn team and spending part of the Holiday season in San Antonio.”

Head Coach Mack Brown will lead the Longhorns to the Alamo Bowl for the second time and to its his 14th bowl appearance in 15 seasons. Texas defeated Iowa 26-24 in the 2006 Alamo Bowl in front of a crowd of 65,875, the second-largest attendance in Alamo Bowl history. The game finished with a television rating of 6.0, which equated to the second-highest in Alamo Bowl history. Brown has a 12-7 bowl record in his career and 9-4 at Texas, including wins in six of their last seven bowl appearances.

The #23 Longhorns come to San Antonio with a record of 8-4 (5-4 Big 12). Case McCoy and David Ash have split time at quarterback for the Longhorns, who averaged 441.0 yards and 36.1 points per game throughout the season. Malcolm Brown, a San Antonio native and one of the Longhorns many options at running back, finished the season strong, scoring two touchdowns in the season finale against #6 Kansas State.

"We are excited about the opportunity to play in the Alamo Bowl against a great Oregon State team," head coach Mack Brown said. "I've known (Oregon State head coach) Mike (Riley) for a long time, have tremendous respect for him and am looking forward to a great game."

The 20th Anniversary Valero Alamo Bowl will be the third all-time meeting between Oregon State and Texas, with the Longhorns holding a 2-0 record. Both prior games were played in Austin, with Texas winning 35-0 on September 27, 1980 and 61-16 on September 26, 1987.

The Valero Alamo Bowl hosts more than 20 events during the college football season. The bowl season culminates following the non-stop excitement of Bowl Week and game itself, which selects the #1 team from the Pac-12 and #2 from the Big 12 after BCS picks have been made.