Longhorns earn third trip to Alamo Bowl in 4 years
AUSTIN — The 30th edition of the Valero Alamo Bowl will pit No. 12 Washington against No. 20 Texas.
For the Longhorns (8-4), it'll be a familiar trip. This will mark the third time in four years they've ended their season in the Alamodome. Overall, Texas is 4-1 in San Antonio's long-running bowl game.
This will be Washington's (10-2) second appearance. And if this game goes anything like its first, the Alamo Bowl's 30th anniversary should be a doozy.
On Dec. 29, 2011, Baylor and Washington combined for 123 points, 1,397 yards of offense and 17 touchdowns inside the Alamodome, all bowl game
regulation records. Star quarterback and 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III led the Bears to a 67-56 win over the Huskies in his final college game.
Washington’s coach in that game? Steve Sarkisian, now in his second season at Texas.
Sarkisian took his first head coaching job at Washington in 2009. The Huskies went 34-29 overall and 1-2 in bowl games during his five-year tenure. In December 2013, Sarkisian accepted an offer to become USC’S head coach following the midseason firing of Lane Kiffin.
Texas lurched to a 5-7 record in Sarkisian’s first season. That campaign, which included a sixgame losing streak, kept the Longhorns from qualifying for a bowl for the third time since 2015.
Texas suffered a few missteps under Sarkisian in Year 2, but the program took some positive steps forward to finish third in the Big 12 standings.
Notably, the Longhorns downed Big 12 champion Kansas State on the road and routed Oklahoma 49-0 in the Red River Showdown. All four of Texas’ loses — to then-no. 1 Alabama, Texas Tech, No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 4 TCU — came by one score. And with No. 3 TCU in the College Football Playoff semifinals and No. 9 Kansas State earning a trip to the Sugar Bowl, the Longhorns remained as the top Big 12 option for this year’s Alamo Bowl despite a string of recent appearances.
“We didn’t get to go to a bowl game last year, we didn’t earn it,” Sarkisian said Sunday. “So to earn a bowl bid this year, I think it’s great for them that they that they get this experience against a really good opponent.”
Washington has been one of the nation’s most explosive teams all year long thanks to the ascent of fifth-year junior quarterback Michael Penix Jr and some electric playmakers.
An Indiana transfer, Penix threw for an Fbs-leading 4,354 yards during the regular season with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Receivers Jalen Mcmillan and Rome Odunze combined for 141 receptions, 2,128 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns.
The Huskies rank first nationally in passing offense and second in total offense under firstyear coach Kalen Deboar, who spent the previous two seasons at Fresno State. And after dropping consecutive one-score road games to UCLA and Arizona State, Washington closed its season with six straight wins, including victories over then-no. 23 Oregon State and No. 6 Oregon.
“Certainly, a lot of attention goes to what Michael Penix has done,” Deboar said Sunday. “He played an important role in kickstarting our offense and just gave our whole team a lot of belief and confidence in what we were capable of doing. And we’ve just been riding the momentum here through the month of November.”
The 2022 Alamo Bowl will be played Thursday, Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. in the 65,000-seat Alamodome and will be televised on ESPN.