More on line since Texas’ Sugar ’19 trip
There are bowl games and there are big bowl games.
Texas football will be playing in its second Sugar Bowl in six seasons, but Jan. 1 has a much different feel than the last time Longhorn Nation invaded New Orleans.
Smelling a championship? Yeah, me too, but first things first.
Washington will be every bit as tough as 2019 Sugar Bowl opponent Georgia. Conquering an SEC blue blood sent an electric bolt through the fan base because the Horns were really excited to make it to a New Year’s Six meeting for the first time since the 2009 national title game.
The days leading into the showdown with the Bulldogs had some good buzz. There was a little something on the line for a program that was starving to get back into serious national title contention. Back then, Texas was more name than game and needed a signature win to show the haters what they were made of.
At the time, that 28-21 win was viewed as somewhat of a return to the big-boy table. The Horns spanked up on Kirby Smart and Co. and silenced some of the SEC superiority talk – some of it coming from actual Bulldogs players – that was starting to work its way into total acceptance in the college football lexicon.
Texas fans traveled back home with some warm fuzzies the next day, but any thought of sustained top-10 excellence was fleeting as it turns out.
It turned out to be a wonderful weekend at the Superdome and little else.
Texas went 15-8 over what turned out to be Tom Herman’s final two seasons. The two Alamo Bowl wins weren’t enough to save his job amid a locker room that was split along several lines.
Spring ahead to 2023 and Steve Sarkisian’s crew has so much more on the line than what national pundits think about the program. This is history in the making.
A win all but guarantees Texas’ first top-five finish since 2009.
Of all the Sugar Bowls the Longhorns have played in, this one is easily the biggest.
When a national championship berth hangs in the balance and another former national title contender seeking to take a similar step up in relevance, it almost feels like a championship game.