Prepare for points in the Alamo Bowl

In 2011, Steve Sarkisian was head coach of the Washington Huskies. His third season in Seattle saw U-Dub go 7-5 in the regular and earn a berth in the Alamo Bowl versus Baylor.

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The Bears were led to victory by Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, who directed the Baylor offense up and down the field. Griffin III had 295 yards passing and 55 yards rushing with one score on the ground and one through the air. Those 55 yards rushing were part of a 482-yard, eight-touchdown showing by the Bears’ ground game.

“I hope it doesn’t go that way again,” Sarkisian, now the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, said Wednesday. “My neck was sore after that. I felt like it was a tennis match.”

While a 67-56 outcome isn’t likely in Texas’ Alamo Bowl matchup with Washington, points are almost assuredly in order. Washington boasts the No. 1 passing offense and the No. 2 total offense in the country.

“Obviously Washington has got a very explosive offense,” Sarkisian said. “These guys are fantastic playmakers. They’ve got a great scheme, really good quarterback, good up front.”

However, the Husky defense is No. 71 in yards per play allowed and No. 91 in passing yards allowed. Texas likely believes it can score on U-Dub, and they’ll try to do just that Thursday night.

“I think every game takes on a life of its own,’ Texas offensive coordinator Kyle Flood said Tuesday. “We’ll be prepared to do whatever we need to do to score one more point than them.”

One of the things that might prevent Texas from achieving what Flood set out to do is Washington’s ability to convert on third down and keep the ball out of the hands of Quinn Ewers, Jonathon Brooks, or Xavier Worthy.

Husky offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb credited his players on Monday for boosting Washington into the top spot in the country in third down conversion percentage. He also credited quarterback Michael Penix Jr. for making the plays needed on money downs to keep drives going.

“We’ve been able to do a really good job of protecting Mike, taking care of him, and when he’s back there and has time, I think he can make great decisions,” Grubb said. “And as Mike already mentioned, I think when we give them an opportunity, the guys on the outside, they’ll make that play.”

Penix Jr. has faith in his receivers, with Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan both recording thousand-yard seasons.

“Once that time does come, I’m 100 percent confident wherever I throw it, somebody is going to come down with it in a purple jersey,” Penix Jr. said Monday.

Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski called Penix Jr. poised, accurate, and consistent on Monday, and said his players know they’ll have to be vigilant on defense downfield. His players believed the same.

“They can make plays in space and they make contested catches,” Texas defensive back Anthony Cook said Monday. “We’re going to have a challenge on our hands, but like any challenge as far this season, we embrace it, so we’re looking forward to it.”

The Longhorns will look to exceed Washington on the scoreboard, and have several avenues available to do so. Husky co-defensive coordinator William Inge commented Tuesday about the threat Xavier Worthy posed to his defense. Worthy said Tuesday he hopes to live up to those expectations.

“Coming into this game we knew their offense was a very close offense,” Worthy said. “So we just want to match what they’ve got going on on the offensive side of the ball.”

No matter what happens, Sarkisian knows the direction he doesn’t want the game to go.

It might end up there anyway.

“We’re going to have to score; we understand that,” Sarkisian said. “But hopefully we don’t have to get ourselves to 60. That would not be good for us and probably not for them, either.”