The Washington Huskies are heading to College Football’s National Championship Game after their 37-31 over the Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl.
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Washington Survives and Moves on to the National Championship #purplereign #HookEm #CFBPlayoff @FP_Coverage @FullPressNFL @RodPedersenShow @rodpedersen @ZigSportsVoice
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— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) January 2, 2024
Washington keeps their undefeated season in tact along with being the last hope for the Pac-12 to go out the right way with a championship. As it has been all season long, the Huskies had to do things the hard way. Washington had chances to end the game early in the fourth quarter; however, they kept Texas around for the Sugar Bowl to come down to one final play.
Washington outscored Texas in the second half 16-10 after the teams were tied 21-21 after the first half. This game was living up to the hype of being a shootout. Big 12 defenses on both sides of the ball. But Washington’s defensive unit was underrated all season. Like with Oregon, many people underestimated how good this unit was. They played tight coverage all night on the Longhorns wide receivers and got a big turnover after Jalen McMillan made it 28-21.
The Huskies had a chance to go up big after causing a turnover. Michael Penix Jr had an excellent day on the field. Penix finished with 430 yards passing and two touchdowns. However, on that drive, the Huskies offense got too cute. Instead of putting the game away, Washington kept Texas around, making it 31-21. The Huskies added another field goal to make 34-21, and Texas made their charge.
Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers led a 10-play, 72-yard drive to make it 34-28, capped off with Adonai Mitchell’s touchdown catch from Ewers. It was a six-point game as time was winding down. Both teams exchanged field goals as time was winding down in the fourth quarter to make it 37-31.
Then Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer almost pulled a Mario Cristobal trying to end the game. After recovering the onside kick, the Huskies looked to ice the game. Texas and Steve Sarkisian had two timeouts, so taking three knees was out of the question. With the way Dillon Johnson was running the ball, this game was over.
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However, the Longhorns defense was up to the task. That unit started to play a lot better after the Huskies tried the trick plays early in the fourth quarter. Longhorns stopped the Huskies, forcing them to punt. Not only that, but Dillon Johnson was seriously injured on the final drive for Washington. His status for the National Championship is unknown.
So, instead of getting the ball back with 20 seconds, the Longhorns have the ball with 45 seconds left and a chance to win the game. Ewers hit to big plays on the final drive to get into the red zone. First was to Jordan Whittington for 41 yards. The second was to Jaydon Blue for 16 yards to set up the finish on the Washington Huskies 12-yard line to set up the finish.
The Huskies defense continued to play stout. There was some controversy as they had to put one second back on the clock after Ewers got sacked. Ewers tried the same play to Mitchell that set up the touchdown earlier. However, the coverage was much better as the Washington Huskies survived and advanced to the National Championship Game.
The Huskies offense was on fire all night long. As mentioned in the preview to the semifinals, Washington’s offense could score at will. They did that against Texas. Penix Jr had one of the best performances in College Football Playoff history. Johnson had two scores, while Ja’Lynn Polk had 122 yards receiving and a score. Jalen McMillan had 56 yards receiving and a score. Rome Odunze had 125 yards receiving.
This Washington Huskies offense can score like Joe Burrow’s LSU Tigers of 2019 could. They can go up and down the field, and they did that on the Longhorns, and they had no answers. Meanwhile, Texas found success running the ball, however, the Huskies defense was able to come up large when they needed to winning the turnover battle.
Now the Washington Huskies will battle the Michigan Wolverines for the National Championship.