Texas, Washington look to Alamo Bowl as a springboard back to national prominence

In a lot of ways, No. 20 Texas and 12th-ranked Washington, who will square off on Thursday in the 30th Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, are near-mirror images. Both teams have explosive offenses led by talented quarterbacks as well as real make-a-difference defenses.

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Given those similarities, winning will come down to preparation, execution, and in-game adjustments. It’s been more than a month since the Longhorns and Huskies completed their regular seasons with victories, but both coaches said Wednesday in their final media availability before the bowl game that their respective teams are ready and raring to go.

“Our players have put in a lot of work, and we needed to,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We’ve had to prepare hard and prepare well and I think our kids have done that. I think our staff has done that. Now we’re at that point that everybody is ready to play the game.”

Washington coach Kalen DeBoer was quick to say the Longhorns had his team’s attention from the start.

“Once they flipped on the film and really started diving in to Coach Sark and UT and understanding what we were going to face, they knew they had to put the work in, and they’ve been doing that,” DeBoer said. “We’re excited about the challenge that lies ahead.”

Both teams are looking to take the next step back into national prominence.

Texas has not won the national championship since 2005, hasn’t produced a Big 12 title since 2009, and has not played in a New Year Six bowl game since the Sugar Bowl after the 2018 season. The Huskies have one national championship in program history in 1991 and last won the Pac-12 title in 2018, but didn’t play in a bowl in either 2020 or 2021.

The Longhorns’ four losses this year were by a combined 18 points. After missing the postseason in 2021 in Sarkisian’s first year with the Longhorns, Texas had a real bounce-back season, winning three of its final four games to finish on the cusp of playing for the Big 12 Championship.

But there is a driving desire in the Texas camp to keep the momentum rolling.

“We’re trying to build something that is sustainable, that can withstand the test of time,” Sarkisian said. “We don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. We want to be able to build this the right way, and I think we are doing that. I think our players recognize that.

“But validity is winning, right? You are what your record says you are. That’s why I think this game is obviously very important to all of us. We’re going to have to play really well in this game to (win).”

DeBoer, the Pac-12 co-coach of the year, led the Huskies back to the postseason and made a six-win improvement in his first year in Seattle. Washington’s 10 wins were the most-ever at the school under a first-year head coach. It’s two losses were in back-to-back weeks on the road against UCLA and Arizona State and by a combined 15 points.

The Huskies have won six straight games since that October blip by staying the course and controlling what they can control.

“That’s just the way we’ve gone about it from day one,” DeBoer said. “A year ago I was asked what’s going to be a successful season, what’s it going to take wins-wise, and it was never about that. It was about us every day being the best we can be, and that continuous improvement that happens throughout the course of a year. It starts with what we can control.”

DeBoer didn’t hesitate to point out that the bowl game would add another level of intensity to his team’s workmanlike attitude.

“Our guys have been up to the task, and we’re trying to get back to that grit and that determination that it took to win some big games in November and the mindset that you have to have in those games,” he explained. “It’s going to take all of that and then some (to beat Texas).”

More things to note in the Valero Alamo Bowl

The Longhorns will be without running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson but need to take the pressure off quarterback Quinn Ewers. It will be up to Jonathon Brooks and Keilan Robinson to make that happen.

“The one thing Jonathon can do, he’s a natural runner with the football in his hands, and whether it’s between the tackles, on the perimeter, he’s got great ball skills,” Sarkisian said. “So the biggest thing for us is for him just to go out and be him, not try to do more than what he’s already shown us. He’s more than capable to be a very good football player for us.”

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Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. finished eighth in this year’s Heisman balloting, one place above the Longhorns’ Bijan Robinson. He had a remarkable campaign, going the second half of this season as the nation’s top passer and finishing with 4,354 yards through the air. He heads into the Alamo Bowl just 104 yards shy of the Washington’s single-season passing yards record.