NEW ORLEANS — Michael Penix Jr. passed for 430 yards and two touchdowns as Washington edged Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night to advance to the College Football Playoff championship game. The struggling Pac-12 has one game left this season after undergoing surgery to repair the sixth-year quarterback's knee.
The No. 2 Huskies (14-0) will play No. 1 Michigan State next Monday night in Houston, looking to win the Pac-12's first national championship since 1991 and the first since Southern California in 2004. The other Power Five conference next year is the Pac-12, with the Huskies aiming to join Michigan in the Big Ten.
But before that, the final season of the four-team playoffs before expanding to 12 teams in 2024 will be a Pac-12-Big Ten matchup, similar to the first season when Ohio State defeated Oregon State. .
No. 3 Texas (12-2) took four shots in the end zone after reaching UW12 with 15 seconds left, but Quinn Ewers missed the last three. The final throw sailed long with a well-covered fade to Adonai Mitchell.
In his first CFP appearance for the University of Texas and his final football game before joining the Southeastern Conference as a member of the Big 12, Ewers passed for 318 yards and a touchdown. But it wasn't enough against Penix and his talented receivers.
Penix spent his first four college seasons at Indiana University, suffering three season-ending injuries. When Karen DeBoer, who had been the offensive coordinator at Indiana University, took over at Washington, Penix had no hesitation in deciding to go to Seattle.
The left-hander has stayed healthy and blossomed into a star this year, finishing as a Heisman Trophy runner-up and giving him another strong performance to earn him a chance to win a national championship.
Penix went 29-for-38 with no turnovers. He at one point had 12 consecutive goals, the longest streak of shots on target in CFP's 10-year history.
And he attacked downfield like he always does. He completed six passes of at least 20 yards, connecting with Roman Odunze six times for 125 yards and Jalin Polk five times for 122 yards.
In some ways, this game was a perfect CFP semifinal for last season, before major changes occurred in college football. The two teams will switch conferences next season and will center around their star quarterbacks who have transferred.
A wild first half included a 77-yard connection with Polk on Penix's second pass, a 1-yard TD run by Texas with defensive tackle Byron Murphy II running into the end zone, and a TD pass from Penix to Polk. It was included. The receiver tipped the ball to himself and the Longhorns closed out the second quarter with a long touchdown drive, tying the score at 21-all at intermission.
Texas of Washington made it 4-1 deep in Longhorns territory, but DeBoer wasn't deterred from converting for a 4-1 at his own UW 33.
Penix gained 255 yards in the first half alone, with five completions of 20 yards or more, but continued his momentum on the first drive of the second half, throwing a dart up the middle to Jalen McMillen for a 19-yard score. did.
Washington took a 34-21 lead early in the fourth quarter with two field goals by Grady Gross. Holding the Huskies to a field goal, Texas continued to lead, and with 7 minutes, 23 seconds left, Ewers found Adonai Mitchell, a transfer from Georgia, where he won two national titles, for a 1-yard score. It became possession.
The Superdome was like Darrell K. Royal Stadium to the west, with Texas fans easily outnumbering those from the Pacific Northwest.
Penix calmly went back to work and ran over Odunze's shoulder 32 yards down the sideline for the first-and-goal, leading to Gross' third field goal of the day from Gross, a former walk-on on scholarship. After hitting a walk-off winner in the Apple Cup.
That gave Washington a 37-28 lead with 2 minutes and 40 seconds left, as fans clad in purple tried their best to drown out the Longhorns with chants of “Let's Go Huskies!” chant.
Texas kicked a field goal with 1:09 left, cutting the lead to six points. Washington recovered the onside kick but was unable to kill time. Texas raced down the field and an impossible comeback was on the horizon.
But it succeeded in the clutch, as Washington has done all season. The Huskies' last nine wins have all been decided by 10 points or less.
