No. 20 Texas, Steve Sarkisian prepare for Alamo Bowl
It won’t take much for Texas fans to remember the Alamo Bowl. The No. 20 Texas Longhorns return to San Antonio to face No. 12 Washington (10-2; 7-2 Pac-12) at the Alamodome on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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Texas coach Steve Sarkisian met with the media on Sunday evening to discuss the Horns upcoming opponent, via Zoom.
“On behalf of The University of Texas and our entire football organization, we couldn’t be more excited and thank you for the invite to be part of your great game,” said Sarkisian. This is a heck of a matchup. The University of Washington, obviously I have a little bit of history there, but it’s a great program – great history, great tradition. (Washington) Coach (Kelan) DeBoer has done a fantastic job of getting that program to where they are and winning six-straight games. All-in-all, we’re excited, we know it’s going to be a heck of a challenge. We’re very fortunate to be invited to this bowl game and we’re looking forward to the opportunity of continuing the legacy of great bowl games here at the Valero Alamo Bowl.”
This’ll be Sarkisian’s first bowl appearance as head man in Austin, which means more practices and development.
“I think that’s critical,” Sarkisian said. “As always, you’re always looking for ways to continue to develop your players, but more importantly, for our lot of our veteran players, a lot of our seniors, we didn’t get to go to a bowl game last year, we didn’t earn it. So, to earn a bowl bid this year, I think it’s great for them as well, that they get this experience against a really good opponent, but also for our younger players to continue their development. So, I think it’s a win-win for us. I know everybody’s excited about it.
Texas is facing one of the most explosive offenses in college football, led by quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Sarkisian sees it as a big challenge.
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“Well, it’s a heck of a challenge, like I say Coach DeBoer a fantastic job. These guys can light up the scoreboard quickly. (Washington quarterback) Michael Penix, I’ve had a chance to watch them a few different times, and he throws it all over the place; they have great receivers and a really good offensive line. They run the ball effectively, but it’s a very dynamic passing game, and they have a very disruptive front defensively – they get after the quarterback [and are] really well coached. I know this about the University of Washington, there’s a lot of pride in that program. It has great history and tradition, great fan base, so it’s going be a heck of a challenge for us.”
Texas and Washington have played four times, with the Longhorns owning a 3-1 all-time record. The programs last met in 2001 at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, where the Longhorns overcame a 19-point deficit to come away with a 47-43 victory.
Sarkisian has led his programs to six bowl games in his nine seasons as a head coach. He led Washington to four-straight bowl games following the 2010-13 seasons and guided USC to the Holiday Bowl in 2014. Sarkisian is 2-2 as a head coach in bowl games. His Washington team played in the 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl, a game he did not coach in after taking over the Trojans’ program. Sarkisian was the head coach for the Huskies’ Alamo Bowl appearance against Baylor in 2011.
Sarkisian’s 2022 Longhorns feature a balanced attack that is averaging 35.7 points per game (20th NCAA) and allowing just 21.2 points per game (30th NCAA).
