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The Alamo Bowl will feature possibly the most exciting matchup of the entire 2015 bowl season, as No. 15 Oregon and No. 11 TCU get together to set off some fireworks. The Horned Frogs and Ducks have two of the nation's most explosive offenses, and the likelihood of a shootout is very high in the Alamodome.
Star TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin will miss the game after being arrested in San Antonio earlier this week. When the Frogs have to turn to backup Bram Kohlhausen, they're just not the same team.
Oregon overcame a rough start to the season to get to where it is now. It was 3-3 at one point, but after Vernon Adams got healthy for the second half of the season, the Ducks started rolling teams just like the good old days. It's hard to make people forget about Marcus Mariota, but Adams did his best down the stretch to light up scoreboards like his Heisman-winning predecessor.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: 6:45 p.m. ET Jan. 2, ESPN
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Spread: TCU is favored by 1 point.
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Addicted To Quack for Oregon fans and Frogs O' War for TCU fans.
Three big things to know
1. What a matchup of offenses. The two dominant figures in this game were supposed be the quarterbacks, Vernon Adams and Trevone Boykin. Adams has shown in his one season in Eugene that he is very much the real deal. TCU's offense will need to keep up without its star.
2. Will Josh Doctson play? Doctson was one of the best wide receivers in the country this year, and TCU's offense completely loses a dimension when he's not there. He missed the last three games of the regular season with a wrist injury, but wasn't ruled out for the bowl game. His status has been in doubt for weeks, however.
3. Someone make a stop. Anyone. This is the type of game that could swing on a single second-half stop, it's just a matter of which team is making it. Neither team fared particularly well in Defensive S&P+ this year (TCU 56th, Oregon 88th), so they'll certainly be at a disadvantage compared to their offensive counterparts.
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