When the Alamo Bowl match-up was first announced last week, there was a mixed reaction. Many felt that the bowl, which is consistently one of the most entertaining and highly attended bowls, missed out on a marquee match-up between West Virginia and Washington State and their star quarterbacks. However, I immediately loved that #24 Iowa State was headed to San Antonio to face #13 Washington State.
Iowa State has had a great year, finishing 8-4 and in third place of the BIG 12. Both the Cyclones and Mountaineers finished with a 6-3 conference record, but Iowa State defeated West Virginia, vaulting the Cyclones over the Mountaineers in the standings and ultimately leading to their selection to the Alamo Bowl. This trip to the Alamo Bowl, the first ever for the Cyclones, is a reward for the Iowa State and its fans. I expect to see plenty of Cyclone fans travel down from Ames to celebrate their first trip San Antonio, and that’s a win for the Alamo Bowl. Iowa State has already sold out its initial allotment of 12,000 tickets, forcing them to request even more. It looks like Cyclone fans will be invading the Riverwalk.
Looking over at West Virginia, they are going in the exact opposite direction as Iowa State. After a gutsy one point win in Austin against the Longhorns, the Mountaineers were staring at their first ever BIG 12 championship. They followed that up with a stunning loss in Stillwater against Oklahoma State, but they still had a BIG 12 crown within their grasp as they finished the regular season at home against Oklahoma. A back-and-forth high scoring game resulted in a heart-breaking loss for West Virginia, a loss that took them out of the BIG 12 Championship in Arlington.
When analyzing the end results for Iowa State and West Virginia, it’s clear that Iowa State should be in a better mood, making their trip to the Alamo Bowl more exciting for the team and fans. Beyond the initial comparison, however, comes more news that makes the selection of Iowa State look even better. Will Grier, who finished 4th in the Heisman Trophy voting, just announced he will skip his team’s bowl game in preparation for the NFL Draft. It’s impossible to know for sure, but it seems likely that Grier would have also chosen to miss the Alamo Bowl.
A team missing their quarterback that was already reeling and disappointing in how their season ended would have likely resulted in less traveling from Mountaineer fans and a more subdued Alamo Bowl. Instead, there’s now two teams who have had better seasons than usual excited to attend a prestigious bowl. Once again, the Alamo Bowl should be a thrilling game in front of a large crowd at the Alamodome.