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Bryce Love, meet Ross Blacklock. You two are going to be getting to know each other really well over the next few weeks, as they will be meeting in a bowl matchup of two top-15 teams.
It's official! No. 13 @StanfordFball will be taking on No. 15 @TCUFootball in this year's Valero Alamo Bowl on December 28th! pic.twitter.com/W4oFHieLYH
— Valero Alamo Bowl (@valeroalamobowl) December 3, 2017
For the second time in three years, TCU is San Antonio-bound for the Alamo Bowl, as they fell out of the top 12 after getting man-handled by Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game Saturday. The Frogs were punished for making the newly reinstated conference title tilt, where they had to face playoff-bound Oklahoma for a second time, with the results looking much the same as the first go-round. TCU also suffers by the Sugar Bowl being a playoff host site, as that game is generally the Big 12 tie-in game, and the Frogs would have assuredly have been the pick with the Sooners going to the final four.
Regardless, TCU is getting to return to the site of their biggest comeback in history, and will face a talented Stanford team that mirrors itself in a lot of ways. Both programs lean heavily on defense, have great running backs, and good to great offensive lines. Both quarterbacks are limited but talented, with sophomore KJ Costello leading the Cardinal and senior Kenny Hill making his final ride as a Horned Frog.
Stanford running back Bryce Love is likely to finish second in Heisman voting later this month, and will present one of the toughest challenges of the season for a TCU defense that has excelled against the run. Nursing a high ankle sprain for most of the season, Love should be healed up in time to give Gary Patterson nightmares, and I can’t wait to see how he game plans against him.
Oh, and don’t forget about the always entertaining and often controversial Stanford Band...
We will have much more for you on this game in the coming weeks, but for now, here are the key details:
Valero Alamo Bowl
Who: TCU Horned Frogs (Big 12) vs Stanford Cardinal (Pac 12)
Where: San Antonio, TX
When: December 28th, 2017
Time: 8:00pm CT
TV and Streaming: ESPN and WatchESPN