Forgive head coach Karl Dorrell and his Colorado Buffaloes if they seem uncommonly excited about their appearance in the Alamo Bowl.
After all, a program that won four straight Big 12 North division titles under Gary Barnett and beat the Texas Longhorns in 2001 to earn a conference title only made two bowl appearances in the 14 years between Barnett’s ignominious termination in 2005 and Dorrell’s return to Boulder this year. A Houston Bowl win over UTEP in 2004 is the last time Colorado was victorious in a bowl game.
So the narrative for this Buffaloes team looks a lot different than the last two bowl opponents for the Longhorns.