The 2023 Texas Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 27, 2023, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The 17th annual Texas Bowl featured Oklahoma State from the Big 12 Conference and Texas A&M from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game began at approximately 9:00 p.m. EST and was aired on ESPN.[4][5] The Texas Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The bowl was sponsored by tax preparation software company TaxAct and was officially named the TaxAct Texas Bowl.

2023 TaxAct Texas Bowl
17th Texas Bowl
1234 Total
Texas A&M 33143 23
Oklahoma State 101470 31
DateDecember 27, 2023
Season2023
StadiumNRG Stadium
LocationHouston, Texas
MVPRashod Owens (WR, Oklahoma State)[1]
FavoriteTexas A&M by 3.5[2]
RefereeChris Coyte (Big 10)[3]
Attendance56,212
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
ESPN Radio
AnnouncersRoy Philpott (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), and Taylor McGregor (sideline) (ESPN)
Marc Kestecher (play-by-play) and Kelly Stouffer (analyst) (ESPN Radio)
International TV coverage
NetworkESPN Deportes
Texas Bowl
 < 2022 (Dec.) 2024

Teams

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Consistent with conference tie-ins, the bowl featured the Oklahoma State Cowboys of the Big 12 Conference and the Texas A&M Aggies of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

This was the 29th meeting between Oklahoma State and Texas A&M; entering the game, the Aggies led the Cowboys in the all-time series, 18–10. This was also the third time the two teams faced each other in a bowl game; Texas A&M won both prior meetings, the 1981 Independence Bowl and 2019 Texas Bowl.[6]

On two occasions, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M were in the same conference, playing together in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during 1915–1924 and in the Big 12 during 1996–2011.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

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The Cowboys entered the game with a 9–4 record (7–2 in the Big 12) and ranked 20th in the College Football Playoff rankings. Having defeated Oklahoma on November 4, 27–24, the Cowboys won the tiebreaker for second place in the Big 12 and advanced to the 2023 Big 12 Championship Game, which they lost to Texas, 49–21.

This was Oklahoma State's second Texas Bowl, following the aforementioned loss to Texas A&M in the 2019 game.

Texas A&M Aggies

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The Aggies entered the game with a 7–5 record (4–4 in the SEC), having finished in fourth place in their conference's West Division.

This was Texas A&M's fourth Texas Bowl, setting a new mark for most appearances in the game. In addition to their 2019 triumph over Oklahoma State, the Aggies won the 2011 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas (when the bowl operated under than name) and lost the 2016 Texas Bowl.

Game summary

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2023 TaxAct Texas Bowl
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Texas A&M 3 3 14323
No. 20 Oklahoma State 10 14 7031

at NRG StadiumHouston, Texas

  • Date: Tuesday, December 27, 2023
  • Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST (8:00 p.m. CST)
  • Game weather: N/A (indoor stadium with retractable roof)
  • Game attendance: 55,212
  • Referee: Chris Coyte
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), and Taylor McGregor (sideline)
  • Box score
Game information
First quarter
  • (8:38) OSU – Alex Hale 19 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 85 yards, 4:42; Oklahoma State 3–0)
  • (4:34) TAMU – Randy Bond 37 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 56 yards, 4:04; Tied 3–3)
  • (0:21) OSU – Rashod Owens 13 yard pass from Alan Bowman, Logan Ward kick (Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 4:13; Oklahoma State 10–3)
Second quarter
  • (11:31) TAMU – Randy Bond 24 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 68 yards, 3:50; Oklahoma State 10–6)
  • (9:29) OSU – Gunnar Gundy 10 yard run, Logan Ward kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:02; Oklahoma State 17–6)
  • (0:35) OSU – Ollie Gordon II 1 yard run, Logan Ward kick (Drive: 13 plays, 83 yards, 2:37; Oklahoma State 24–6)
Third quarter
  • (9:44) TAMU – Amari Daniels 2 yard run, Randy Bond kick (Drive: 6 plays, 60 yards, 3:23; Oklahoma State 24–13)
  • (7:17) OSU – Rashod Owens 18 yard pass from Alan Bowman, Logan Ward kick (Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:27; Oklahoma State 31–13)
  • (4:08) TAMU – Marcel Reed 20 yard run, Randy Bond kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:09; Oklahoma State 31–20)
Fourth quarter
  • (5:07) TAMU – Randy Bond 51 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 47 yards, 2:57; Oklahoma State 31–23)

Statistics

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Statistics TAMU OSU
First downs 20 29
Plays–yards 60–445 64–570
Rushes–yards 25–73 29–134
Passing yards 372 436
Passing: compattint 21–35–2 35–50–2
Time of possession 27:31 32:29
Team Category Player Statistics
Texas A&M Passing Marcel Reed 20/33, 361 yards, 1 INT
Rushing Marcel Reed 10 carries, 29 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Jahdae Walker 8 receptions, 137 yards
Oklahoma State Passing Alan Bowman 34/49, 402 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Ollie Gordon II 27 carries, 118 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Rashod Owens 10 receptions, 164 yards, 2 TD

References

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  1. ^ @jacobunruh (December 28, 2023). "Here is Texas Bowl MVP Rashod Owens. #OKState" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023-24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023-24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  4. ^ Straka, Dean. "2023-24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  5. ^ Lewis, Barry. "2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  6. ^ "Winsipedia – Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Texas A&M Aggies". Winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
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