No. 12 Washington Texas defeated #20 27-20 He’s coming off an 11-hit season dating back to 2016 in the Alamo Bowl.
The Longhorns did not bother the Huskies for most of the game. UW took a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter on a TD pass from Michael Benix Jr. to Jalen McMillan. Texas cut the lead to seven with 1:40 left and got the ball back with a game-winning TD and two-point conversion opportunity with 31 seconds left. But the last ditch with no timeout wasn’t the first attempt.
The win meant Washington finished the season 11-2 in Cullen DeBoer’s first season as head coach. Washington beat Jimmy Lake nine games in a sensational 2021 season and finished the season 4-8. He signed DeBoer from Fresno State, and former Indiana offensive coordinator, former Indiana quarterback Benix quickly came in as a transfer.
The move paid off as Penix was one of the nation’s most efficient passers in 2022 and the Huskies have won seven more games than they did a season ago. Washington made one of the greatest advances of any team at the highest level of college football in 2022 and is well positioned to be a Pac-12 contender next season as well.
With one of the strongest quarterback teams in the Pac-12 college football, Penix will return in 2023. Heisman winner Caleb Williams returns to USC, while Oregon’s Bo Nix returns along with Washington State’s Cam Ward. Oregon State inherits Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei, former Notre Dame QB Drew Pine moves to Arizona State, and Kent State QB Collin Schlee moves to UCLA.
Texas, meanwhile, finishes the season 8-5. The Longhorns entered the game without running backs Bijaan Robinson and Roscon Johnson, among other transfers and NFL draft waivers. This allowed players like freshman Jonathan Brooks to play, and Brooks scored two touchdowns.
The Alamo Bowl may have been the last game in Texas before the Arch Manning era. Quarterback Quinn Ewers didn’t have a terrible game by any means — her stats would be a lot better if it weren’t for back-to-back lows by receiver Xavier Worthy in the third quarter — but the Longhorns arguably have the top QB in college football in the spring and in the summer in the presence of Manning.
Manning signed with Texas in early December and plans to sign up soon. This would allow him to practice this spring and have a chance to start as a true freshman. Or if Evers plays well as the Flash at some point in 2022, he could keep the starting job for his second season with the Longhorns.
