2014 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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9th Texas Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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Date | December 29, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||
Season | 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | NRG Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Arkansas QB Brandon Allen[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | Arkansas by 6[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
National anthem | Cory Morrow[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Ron Cherry[4] (ACC) | ||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 71,115[4] | ||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Dave Pasch, Brian Griese, and Tom Luginbill | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2014 Texas Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 29, 2014, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. The ninth edition of the Texas Bowl, it featured the Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southeastern Conference and the Texas Longhorns of the Big 12 Conference. The game began at 8:00 p.m. CST (UTC−06:00) and aired on ESPN. Sponsored by dietary supplement company AdvoCare, it was officially known as the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl. Arkansas defeated Texas, 31–7.
Both Arkansas and Texas, led by relatively new head coaches Bret Bielema and Charlie Strong, entered with identical 6–6 records. Arkansas made their 40th overall bowl game appearance while Texas made their 53rd, though both teams made their first appearance in the Texas Bowl. The Razorbacks were favored to win the game by six points, with their rushing duo of Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins seen as a strong point and a contrast to Texas' passing game, which was seen as a weak point for the Longhorns due to the injury of quarterback David Ash earlier in the season.
After a slow first quarter that saw only an Adam McFain field goal, Arkansas' offense found their stride in the second quarter. The Razorbacks scored three times and built a 24–7 lead by halftime behind a pair of passing touchdowns from quarterback Brandon Allen, while a rushing touchdown by Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes late in the half proved to be the Longhorns' only points of the contest. The third and fourth quarters passed with little scoring. An additional rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter extended the Razorbacks' lead, and the game concluded with Arkansas having claimed their first victory against Texas since 2003.