TEXAS LONGHORNS NOTES:
THE OPENING KICKOFF
• The University of Texas continues its 131st season of football on New Year’s Day when the Longhorns face Washington in the 2024 Allstate Sugar Bowl. The College Football Playoff semifinal between the Longhorns (12-1) and Pac-12 Champion Huskies (13-0) will kick off at 7:45 p.m. CT from inside Caesars Superdome and air nationally on ESPN. • Texas will be making its first College Football Playoff appearance in program history, climbing from No. 7 in the penultimate CFP ranking last week to No. 3 after a dominant victory over No. 18 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship game, winning 49-21. • The Longhorns won the Big 12 title for the first time since 2009 and the fourth time in program history. • Texas won the first-ever Big 12 Championship in 1995 and the four overall titles are the second-most in conference history. • Washington defeated Oregon for the Pac-12 crown, the Huskies’ first since 2018, and has won 20 consecutive games, the longest active streak among FBS programs. • Texas’ No. 3 ranking in the College Football Playoff is the highest in program history. The Horns had been selected at number seven in the first five CFP rankings, the best mark in program history, prior to climbing to third. • The Longhorns checked in at No. 3 in the latest Associated Press poll, the fourth time this season UT his been ranked in the top-3, and at No. 4 in the Coaches poll, the second time the Horns have been in the top-4 in 2023. • Texas (No. 3/4) is ranked in the AP Top-10 for the 13th consecutive week and the Coaches poll Top-10 for the eighth-straight week, the longest streak for UT in both polls since the 2009-10 seasons. • The Longhorns’ 13-1 start is the best for the program since 2009. • UT has won seven consecutive games, the longest winning streak for Texas since 2008-09 (17 games). • Texas currently boasts 948 all-time wins, the fourthmost in college football history. UT holds an all-time record of 948-391-33 (.703).
LONGHORN BOWL HISTORY
• Texas is making its 59th all-time bowl appearance this season, the third-most in the country behind only Alabama and Georgia. • The Longhorns have an all-time record of 31-25-2 (.552) in bowl games. • This year’s Sugar Bowl will be UT’s fifth all-time appearance in the game. The Longhorns are 2-2 in the Sugar Bowl, with their last appearance being a 28-21 victory over Georgia in 2019. Prior to that, the Horns won the 1948 Sugar Bowl, 27-7 over Alabama, lost the 1958 Sugar Bowl, 39-7 to Ole Miss, and fell in the 1995 Sugar Bowl to Virginia Tech, 28-10. • The Cotton Bowl (22 appearances), Alamo Bowl and Bluebonnet Bowl (six appearances) are the only bowl games that the Longhorns have appeared in more frequently than the Sugar Bowl, while this year’s fifth appearance will match the number of times Texas has played in the Holiday Bowl. • Texas will be making its 18th trip overall to Louisiana. The Longhorns have a 10-6-1 record in the Pelican State with a 7-0-1 record in New Orleans against Tulane, a 1-4 mark against LSU in Baton Rouge and a 2-2 Sugar Bowl record. The Horns are 2-1 all-time in the Superdome (a win over Georgia and a loss to Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl and a 2002 win over Tulane). • Texas will be playing a current member of the Pac-12 Conference for the 14th time. UT holds an 8-5 record in those instances.
SERIES HISTORY VS. WASHINGTON
• Texas and Washington will face off for the sixth time in series history. The teams met in last season’s Valero Alamo in San Antonio. The Longhorns and Huskies will meet in back-to-back seasons for the first time since a home-and-home series in 1974-75. • Texas holds a 3-2 record all-time against Washington, including a 1-2 record in neutral-site meetings. UT fell to Washington in the 2022 Alamo Bowl, (27-20) after previously besting the Huskies at the 2001 Holiday Bowl (47-43) and Washington claiming the win at the 1979 Sun Bowl (14-7). Texas won a home-and-home series against Washington in the early 70’s winning in Austin by a score of 35-21 in 1974, then topping the Huskies in Seattle in 1975, 28-10.
A TEXAS WIN WOULD …
• Be Texas’ 949th all-time victory, the fourth-winningest program in college football history. • Give the Longhorns their first CFP semifinal win and advance Texas to the CFP national championship for the first time in program history. • Move Texas to the National Championship Game for the first time since 2009. • Give Steve Sarkisian his 72nd victory as a head coach and 26th at Texas in his 120th career game as a head coach. • Mark the first 13-1 start for a Steve Sarkisian led team and the best for the Longhorns since 2009 (13-1). • Be the Longhorns’ first 13-win season since 2009. • Extend Texas’ winning streak to eight-straight games, the longest since 2008-09 (17 games). • Mark Texas’ second consecutive neutral-site victory.
THIRD SEASON OF SARKISIAN ERA
• Texas Football Head Coach Steve Sarkisian is in his third season at the helm of the Longhorns and his 10th season as a head coach overall. • Last season, the Texas offense ranked 24th in the nation and third in the Big 12 Conference with 34.5 points per game, the fourth-straight top-25 scoring output for a Sarkisian-led offense. • The offensive showing also marked the eighth top-25 scoring offense in Sarkisian’s career. • Marked the seventh time a Sarkisian offense averaged at least 34 points per game. • Jonathon Brooks surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the season in the victory over Kansas State, marking the 12th consecutive year a Sarkisian offense (as head coach or offensive coordinator) has had a 1,000-yard rusher. • Texas has had both a 1,000-yard rusher and 500-yard rusher in all three of his seasons at UT. Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson rushed for over 1,000 and 500 yards, respectively, in 2021 and 2022, while Jonathon Brooks topped 1,000 yards this season and CJ Baxter has surpassed 500 yards on the ground this year.
VICTORY COUNT
• For the third time in program history, Texas heads into a bowl game with 12 wins (2005, 2009). • Texas has three wins this season over teams in the final College Football Playoff Top-25 rankings: Alabama, Oklahoma State, Kansas State • The Longhorns have eight wins over teams playing in bowl games.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONS
• Texas won the Big 12 Championship for the first time since 2009 with a 49-21 victory over Oklahoma State. • UT has won four Big 12 titles (1996, 2005, 2009, 2023), the second-most in conference history. • Texas has played in seven Big 12 Conference Championships, the second-most in conference history. ALL-AMERICA ROUNDUP • Four Longhorns earned All-America honors this season, the most for Texas since 2009. • DL T’Vondre Sweat earned unanimous All-America accolades after being selected first-team All-America by the and American Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America, the Sporting News and Walter Camp Football Foundation. • Sweat became the fifth Texas defensive tackle to be a unanimous All-American, joining Scott Appleton (1963), Brad Shearer (1977), Steve McMichael (1979) and Kenneth Sims (1981). Overall, he is the sixth defensive lineman to earn the honor and first since Brian Orakpo in 2008. • WR/PR Xavier Worthy earned second-team honors as a punt returner from the FWAA and the Sporting News and as an all-purpose player by the AFCA. He was named to the AP All-America Third Team. • DT Byron Murphy II was tabbed a second-team All-American by the AP and Sporting News. • OL Kelvin Banks Jr. was named a second-team All-American the American Football Coaches Association.
RECORD-SETTING CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
• Texas had 422 yards of offense and 35 points in the first half of the Big 12 Championship Game. • Texas finished the game with 662 yards of total offense, it is the fifth time they’ve surpassed 500 total yards of offense this season. • The 49 combined points in the first half is the most points scored in a half in Big 12 Championship game history. The previous record was 46 (Colorado vs Texas, 2001). • QB Quinn Ewers, the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player, completed 35-of-46 passes for 452 yards and four touchdowns, breaking the Big 12 Championship Game record and establishing career-highs for completions and passing yards, while also equaling the Big 12 Championship Game and his personal best with four touchdown passes. • Texas became the only Power 5 team over the last 20 seasons to put up 400 yards of offense and 35 points in a single half of a conference title game. • Texas’ 662 yards of offense in the Big 12 title game were 7th-most ever in a game for Longhorns. Meanwhile, the Longhorns defense held an OSU offense that was averaging 433 yards per game to 281 (89 of which came on the Cowboys final drive when Texas led 49-14).
FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
• Over the last 2 games, Texas has averaged 595 yards of offense (345 pass/250 rush) and 53 points. By contrast, the defense has allowed an average of just 239.5 yards (169 pass/70.5 rush) and 14 total points in that stretch. • Texas has scored over 30 points in the second half against Texas Tech and the first half against Oklahoma State, the first time this season with back-to-back games of 30-point halves. TAKING THE LEAD • Texas led the Big 12 Championship game from start to finish, extending its streak heading into CFP of 11-straight quarters with the lead, dating back to a 3-0 deficit in first quarter at Iowa State. • All totaled, the Longhorns have trailed just twice at any point in their current 7-game winning streak — having led for 412 of the last 420 minutes / trailing for less than 8 minutes — and the largest deficit was 3 points in those 7 games.
SCORING IN BUNCHES
• Texas scored 30 points or more points in each of the first nine games of the season for the first time in program history. • The Longhorns were one of three teams to score at least 30 points in each of their first nine games this season. The other two were Michigan and Oregon. • UT has scored at least 30 points in 11 of 13 games this season, 13 of the last 16 games and 20 of 26 games since the start of the 2022 season. • The Longhorns scored at least 21 points in a quarter in each of the first four games this season with two of those occurrences taking place in the fourth quarter. • In the home opener against Rice, the Longhorns opened the second half with three consecutive touchdown drives. • UT trailed Alabama 16-13 heading into the fourth quarter, but quickly scored a pair of touchdowns on back-to-back drives early in the frame to take 27-16 lead. Texas added a touchdown on their next drive to go up 34-24. • In week three, Texas and Wyoming were all square, 10-10, heading into the fourth quarter. The Longhorns collected touchdowns on their first two drives then added a third on a Jerrin Thompson pick-six that closed out the scoring, 31-10. • Against Baylor, the Longhorns scored three rushing touchdowns in the second quarter to build a 22-point halftime lead on the way to a 38-6 road win. • UT has had at least one quarter in nine of 13 games in which they have scored at least two touchdowns.
COMPLIMENTARY FOOTBALL • Texas ranks fifth in ESPN’s College Efficiencies rankings with an overall rating of 86.6. The Longhorns rank 18th in offensive efficiency (76.7), seventh in defensive efficiency (84.0) and 20th in special teams efficiency (61.0), joining Alabama as the only teams to rank among the top-20 in all three categories. • Heading into Bowl season, Texas ranks seventh among Power 5 programs in total offense (475.9) and 16th in total defense (321.7), one of four programs to rank among the top-20 in both categories. The others are Georgia, Miami and Oregon. • The Longhorns are one of eight FBS schools (and six Power 5 programs) scoring at least 36 points (36.2) and allowing 18 or fewer points (17.5) per game. The list also includes Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State and SMU.
SPECIAL TEAMS SPOTLIGHT
• Placekicker Bert Auburn is one of nation’s steadiest kickers, making 28 field goals this season including a stretch of 19-straight made field goals at one point in 2023. • Punter Ryan Sanborn is averaging 45.5 per punt with 13 punts of 50+ and 13-of-35 inside 20 while the Longhorns net punt average is 41 yards. • Punt returner Xavier Worthy is second in the nation averaging 17.9 yards per returns with a 74-yard touchdown. • Kick returner Keilan Robinson is 20th in the nation averaging 24.0 yards per return with a 95-yard touchdown.
DRAWING A CROWD
• Texas has played in front of capacity crowds in each of the last 12 games. • At Alabama, 100,077 fans filled Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. • The following week, 101,777 Longhorns fans packed Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. • In the Big 12 opener in Waco, Baylor announced a capacity crowd of 49,165, the eighth-largest attendance figure in McClane Stadium history. • The Longhorns drew 102,986 fans for the Big 12 home opener against Kansas, the fourth-largest crowd in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium history. • The 2023 Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma had a capacity crowd of 92,100 fans inside the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. • In Texas’ first game at Houston since 2001, the Longhorns and Cougars drew 42,812 fans to TDECU Stadium. • The Horns welcomed 101,670 fans back to DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium for the game against BYU. • The Texas-Kansas State game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial stadium drew the fifth-largest crowd in stadium history: 102,846. • Back on the road, Texas played in front of 50,812 fans at TCU inside Amon G. Carter Stadium. • In the final road game of the season, 61,500 fans packed Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa for the Longhorns’ game against the Cyclones. • Texas hosted 102,452 fans at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in the regular-season finale against Texas Tech. • The Big 12 Championship Game had 84,523 fans in attendance at AT&T Stadium.
WASHINGTON HUSKIES NOTES:
THE GAME:
The No. 2-ranked Washington football team (13-0) takes on No. 3 Texas (12-1) in the 2024 Allstate Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1 at Caesers Superdome in New Orleans. The winner of this College Football Playoff game will advance to face the winner of Michigan-Alabama one week later in Houston. The Sugar Bowl kicks off 5:45 p.m. PT and will air on ESPN television.
HUSKIES’ BOWL HISTORY:
Washington will be making its 42nd bowl game appearance in New Orleans. The Huskies enter the game with an 20-20-1 overall record in bowl games, dating back to the 1924 Rose Bowl, where the UW tied Navy, 14-14. This game vs. Texas marks the first-ever trip to the Sugar Bowl by a Pac-12 team.
SPECIAL TEAMS EXCELLENCE:
Through 13 games, Washington is No. 10 in the nation in punt return defense, having allowed an average of 1.8 yards in returns over the season. UW is also No. 10 in FBS in kick return defense (15.8 yds. per return).
EXPERIENCE AND YOUTH:
Washington’s current roster includes a total of 34 players – 17 each on offense and defense – who have started at least one game for the Huskies prior to 2023. Entering the year, the 17 offensive players had totaled 145 starts in the Purple & Gold, while the 17 defensive players (which includes former offensive line starter Ulumoo Ale) had 156 starts between them. Tight end Devin Culp entered the 2023 season with the highest total of starts under is belt among offensive players, with 18, while safety zx0Asa Turner, with 23 career starts entering 2023, led the defensive side. The list of Dawgs with starting experience doesn’t take into account the 10 current Huskies who transferred to UW after having started at another four-year college, nor does it account for starting “specialists.” Washington 119-man roster entering the year included just 15 players in their final year of eligibility, along with 29 true freshmen, 15 redshirt freshmen, 35 sophomores and 25 juniors. Potentially, 104 current Huskies could return for 2024, while 79 enter the 2023 season with three or more years of eligibility remaining.
LONG PLAYS:
Washington has notched 83 scrimmage plays of 20 or more yards this season, the third-highest total in the nation. UW is also tied for third in the nation with 41 plays of 30 yards or more. Those totals include 67 passes of 20 or more yards, and 32 of 30 or more, from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Those totals are both No. 2 in the nation. Penix also leads FBS with 166 completions of 10 yards or more, 14 more than the next closest QB. Additionally, Rome Odunze leads the nation with 60 receptions of 10-plus and is also No. 2 with 28 of 20-plus yards, while Ja’Lynn Polk has 17 20-plus yard receptions (17th in the nation). Meanwhile, UW’s defense has allowed 52 plays of 20 or more yards this season, 31 fewer than the Husky offense has had. UW has allowed just seven rushing plays of 20-plus yards. Last year, Washington finished the season with 62 passing plays for 20 or more yards, tied for eighth-most in the nation (five teams that ranked higher played more games than UW’s 13). Washington led the nation last year with 193 pass plays for 10 or more yards.
13 WINS:
Washington has won 13 games for the first time in UW history, and finished the regular season unbeaten for the first time since 1991, when the Huskies went 11-0 in the regular season before beating Michigan in the 1991 Rose Bowl. Prior to that, the Huskies hadn’t gone unbeaten and untied in the regular season since 1916. The Dawgs also won 12 or more games for just the third time ever (12-0 in 1991; 12-2 in 2016).
HUSKIES vs. LONGHORNS HISTORY:
The Huskies and Longhorns will be facing one another in a bowl game for the second year in a row, having played in the Valero Alamo Bowl last year. It’s the first (and only) time since the 1992 and 1993 Rose Bowls (Michigan that UW has faced the same team in a bowl game in consecutive years. Washington and Texas have squared off against one another just five times, despite sharing a significant connection. In 1956, Darrell Royal was hired as Washington’s new head football coach, having served the previous two years as head coach at Mississippi State. A former Oklahoma player and Bud Wilkinson disciple, Royal’s tenure on Montlake lasted just one season before Texas came calling. He moved to Austin where he was so successful (180 wins, 11 Southwest Conference titles, 3 national championships) that they named the Longhorns’ stadium after him. It took nearly two decades to arrange a series against his former team as the Huskies and Horns played a home-and-home in 1974 and 1975. They’ve since played one another two more times, in bowl games. Here are brief recaps of the five Washington-Texas games:
UW VS. THE BIG 12:
Before the 2022 Valero Alamo Bowl, the Huskies hadn’t faced a Big 12 opponent in eight years, dating back to a loss to Oklahoma State in the 2015 Cactus Bowl, which followed the 2014 season, former head coach Chris Petersen’s first at UW. Prior to that, the most recent meeting vs. a Big 12 team was in the 2011 Valero Alamo Bowl (Baylor). With the win over Texas last December in San Antonio, Washington is 14-12 all-time vs. the current (2023) makeup of the Big 12 Conference. The Huskies are 1-4 vs. Baylor; 1-0 vs. Iowa State; 1-0 vs. Kansas; 4-1 vs. Kansas State; 1-2 vs. Oklahoma; 1-2 vs. Oklahoma State; 1-0 vs. TCU; 2-3 vs. Texas; and 2-0 vs. Texas Tech. Washington is 3-4 against current Big 12 teams in bowl games: 14-7 win over Texas in the 1979 Sun Bowl; 28-17 win over Oklahoma in the 1985 Orange Bowl; 24-20 loss to Kansas State in the 1999 Holiday Bowl; 47-43 loss to Texas in the 2001 Holiday Bowl; 67-56 loss to Baylor in 2011 Alamo Bowl; 30-22 loss to Oklahoma State in the 2015 Cactus Bowl; 27-20 win over Texas in the 2022 Alamo Bowl.
QUICK HITTERS:
UW has the nation’s longest active FBS winning streak, at 20 … the win streak is the third-longest in UW history, after 40 (1908-16) and 22 (1990- 92) … Washington is 24-2 overall under head coach Kalen DeBoer, whose career head coaching record is now 103-11 … the Huskies are No. 1 the nation in passing offense and are No. 12 in total offense … UW is also No. 10 in the nation in punt return defense (1.8 per return) and rank No. 10 in kick return defense (15.8 per return) … Rome Odunze has 1,428 receiving yards, just 26 shy of Reggie Williams’ school record (1,454 in 2002) … in less than two full seasons, Michael Penix Jr. is up to third in UW history in career TD passes, with 64 … he has thrown multiple TDs in 20 of his 26 games at UW … his 8,859 career yards rank him 4th at UW … through 13 games, Penix is No. 1 in FBS passing yards and pass yards per game, No. 3 in pass TDs, No. 6 in total offense, and No. 11 in pass efficiency … four different UW receivers – Jalen McMillan, Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Germie Bernard (2) – have scored a rushing TD this season … prior to this season, UW had had just eight games in its history in which two players had 100 receiving yards (including two last year) … this season, that has happened in 6 games … Penix is currently No. 1 in the nation in pass plays of 10-plus (166 plays) while Rome Odunze leads the nation with 60 receptions of 10-plus yards … not counting the 4-game 2020 season, the Huskies have won 10 or more games in 5 of the last 7 seasons … over the last five games of the season, which included four games vs. ranked teams (two of them in the top-10), UW has averaged 162.0 rushing yards per game, led by 136.6 from Dillon Johnson … UW’s last 10 games have all been decided by 10 or fewer points – all of them Husky wins, of course … in 2010, UW earned its first bowl-game berth since 2002 … since then, Washington has gone to a bowl game in 10 of 12 seasons (all but 2020 and 2021) … counting this year’s game, the Dawgs will have played in 10 different bowl games over that 12-game stretch, with repeats only in the Alamo (2011 & 2022) and Las Vegas (2012 & 2019) Bowls.
