By Kelly Reed
Game Info
#3 Texas Longhorns vs #2 Washington Huskies
Monday – January 1 – 7:45 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Caesars Superdome – New Orleans, LA
Records Before the Game
#3 Texas Longhorns (12-1 Big 12)
#2 Washington Huskies (13-0 Pac-12)
How They Got Here
The Texas Longhorns continue their revenge tour with one more stop on their planned trip to the NRG Stadium for a shot at the national title. The Longhorns have the weapons to compete with any school in the nation on offense and defense. They survived the Big 12 gauntlet with their lone loss coming in the final minutes of the Red River Shootout against the Oklahoma Sooners. The Longhorns dealt with an injury to their star QB Quinn Ewers who missed a few games as well losing their beast of a running back in Jonathon Brooks for the season in their battle with the TCU Horned Frogs. The Longhorns closed out the season by playing well against Iowa State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State (Big 12 Championship game) to earn their first Big 12 title since 2009. The Washington Huskies on the other hand pretty much dominated every opponent that faced in 2023. The Huskies pretty much beat every team on their schedule by double digits. Sure there was the close rivalry game with Washington State for their regular season finale and all three of their games against schools from Oregon, the Beavers once; and the Ducks twice. There has been much debate whether or not Texas and/or Alabama should have made it to the CFP. Clearly Michigan and Washington are deserving. The CFP Semifinal games if close and entertaining will prove that the committee got it right, but for now let’s focus on the game in New Orleans between the Longhorns and the Huskies.
#3 Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns are led by QB Quinn Ewers who seems to savor the bright lights and big moments of big games. He has performed well in the past when given the opportunity. Ewers has passed for 3,161 yards for the season to go with 21 CDs and 6 interceptions. He will look to big time receiver Xavier Worthy early and often in this one. Worth is a game changer who in addition to soft hands can run the Jet Sweep effectively and returns punts will some pizzazz. Other receivers that will get looks are the Georgia Bulldog transfer Adonai Mitchell and Jordan Whittington who have come up big several times this season. TE Ja’Tavion Sanders is something special with his large frame and solid routes to get open. The season ending injury to Jonathan Brooks cannot be overlooked. He was the key player that defenses focused on stopping earlier in the season. In his absence the Longhorns will look to the four-headed beast of Jaydon Blue, CJ Baxter, Savion Red and Keilan Robinson. This running back by committee has been productive and Coach Sarkisian will utilize them as needed. The Texas Longhorns on defense is formidable upfront. Their interior linemen of T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy has been a nightmare for opposing coordinators. Expect them to be chasing down the Huskies ball carriers relentlessly. The secondary of the Longhorns has been the Achilles heel of the team. Expect Washington to attempt to exploit them early and often. Kicking duties are handled by K Bert Auburn and P Ryan Sanborn.
#2 Washington Huskies
The Washington Huskies might be the most overlooked team in the CFP. Don’t let that catch you off guard. They are hungry for success and are looking forward to a rematch with Texas. In last season’s Alamo Bowl they took it the Longhorns and won in convincing manner. They are led by Heisman finalist QB Michael Penix Jr. who passed for 4,218 yards with 33 TDs and 9 interceptions. He won’t be easily rattled by the Longhorns pursuit nor will he make poor decisions. He’ll tuck the ball if needed rather than rush the turnover usually which often leads to him gaining yards on the ground and moving the chains. His main target is stud WR Rome Odunze. He is the catalyst for everything productive with the Huskies offense. For the season he has racked up 1,428 yards on 81 receptions to go with 13 TDs. The ground game is handled by RB Dillon Johnson who has a knack for finding the end zone himself. He has 8 rushing scores on the season. The Huskies will receive additional help with the return of WR Jalen McMillan who will also stretch the field making the Texas secondary that much more susceptible to the big play. Defensively the Huskies are solid and aggressive. They haven’t had to play from behind much this season so they’ve been able to blitz on passing downs with success. K Grady Gross has been perfect on extra point attempts and has only missed on four field goals all season.
Prediction
This is the game that tells the world if the CFP committee made the right choice going with the Texas Longhorns. Expect a high scoring affair. Washington is solid and Texas is peaking at the right time.
Final Score
Longhorns – 42
Huskies – 38
