NEW ORLEANS — Michael Penix Jr. passed for 430 yards and two touchdowns, and Washington held off Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night to advance to the College Football Playoff championship game, earning both the sixth-year quarterback with two surgically repaired knees and the beleaguered Pac-12 one more game this season.
The second-ranked Huskies (14-0) will face No. 1 Michigan next Monday night in Houston, looking for their first national championship since 1991 and the Pac-12's first since Southern California in 2004. Washington is one of 10 schools fleeing the Pac-12 for other Power Five conferences next year, with the Huskies headed to join Michigan in the Big Ten.
But first, the final season of the four-team playoff before expansion to 12 in 2024 comes down to a Pac-12-Big Ten matchup, just like the first when Ohio State beat Oregon.
No. 3 Texas (12-2) had four shots at the end zone after getting to the UW 12 with 15 seconds left, but Quinn Ewers missed on the last three. The final throw was a fade to a well-covered Adonai Mitchell that sailed long.
In Texas' first CFP appearance and final football game as a member of the Big 12 before it goes to the Southeastern Conference, Ewers passed for 318 yards and a touchdown. But it wasn't enough against Penix and his array of talented receivers.
Penix spent his first four college seasons at Indiana, suffering three season-ending injuries. When his former offensive coordinator at Indiana, Kalen DeBoer, took over at Washington, Penix didn’t think twice before moving to Seattle.
The left-hander stayed healthy and blossomed into a star, the Heisman Trophy runner-up this year, and now has a chance to win a national championship after another brilliant performance.
Penix went 29 for 38 with no turnovers. He completed 12 straight at one point, the longest on-target streak in the CFP’s 10-year history.
And he did it attacking down field as usual. He completed six passes of at least 20 yards, connecting with Rome Odunze six times for 125 yards and Ja’Lynn Polk five times for 122.
It was in some ways a perfect CFP semifinal for the last season before massive changes in college football: two teams switching conferences next season, led by star quarterbacks who transferred in.
A wild first half included a 77-yard connection with Polk on Penix’s second pass of the game, defensive tackle Byron Murphy II plunging into the end zone for a 1-yard TD run for Texas, a Penix-to-Polk TD pass where the receiver tipped the ball to himself and the Longhorns capping the second quarter with a long touchdown drive to tie it at 21-all at the intermission.
There was a fourth-and-1 stop by Texas of Washington deep in Longhorns territory, which didn’t deter DeBoer from going for a fourth-and-1 at his own UW 33, and converting.
Penix had 255 yards and five completions of over 20 yards in the first half alone, and then kept it rolling on the first drive of the second half, throwing a dart down the middle to Jalen McMillen for a 19-yard score.
Washington added two field goals by Grady Gross to take a 34-21 lead early in the fourth quarter. Holding the Huskies to field goals kept Texas in the game, and when Ewers found Adonai Mitchell, the Georgia transfer with two national titles, for a 1-yard score with 7:23 left, it was a one-possession game.
The Superdome sounded like Darrell K. Royal Stadium west, with Texas fans easily outnumbering the visitors from the Pacific Northwest.
Penix calmly went back to work, hitting Odunze over the shoulder for 32 yards down the sideline to set up a first-and-goal that led to the third field goal of the day for Gross, a former walk-on who was put on scholarship after hitting a walk-off winner in the Apple Cup.
That put Washington up 37-28 with 2:40 left, and had its purple clad fans doing its best to drown out the Longhorns with a “Let’s go Huskies!” chant.
Texas kicked a field goal with 1:09 left cut the lead to six. Washington recovered an onside kick, but couldn’t kill the clock. Texas flew down the field and had an improbable comeback in sight.
But as Washington has done all season, it came through in the clutch. The Huskies' last nine victories have all been decided by 10 points of fewer.
Game highlights
Second half
The Longhorns again made it a one-score game by marching down the field for a field goal with just over one minute left in the game.
Washington tacked on a late field goal to put them up nine with under 3 minutes left in the game.
Texas answered with a touchdown to make it a one-score game.
Washington opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a field goal 10 seconds in to give them a 34-21 lead.
After UT fumbled on its first possession of the second half, the Huskies added a field goal to increase their lead to 31-21.
Washington got the ball to start the second half and marched down the field and into the endzone. Penix fired a strike to Jalen McMillan to give the Huskies a 28-21 lead.
First half
C.J. Baxter punched in a short touchdown to tie the game with just under 20 seconds left in the first half.
Penix found Polk to give the Huskies the lead as halftime approached.
The Longhorns tied the game thanks to a special teams turnover they converted into a short touchdown run to even the game at 14-14.
The Huskies responded with a touchdown drive of their own early in the second quarter, capped by Dillon Johnson's second touchdown of the game.
Klein Cain's Jaydon Blue scored UT's first touchdown of the game, which tied it up 7-7.
Penix hit Polk for a long gain to set up the game's first touchdown.
Pregame information
2024 Sugar Bowl
No. 3 Texas (12-1, Big 12) vs. No. 2 Washington (13-0, Pac-12), Jan. 1, 7:45 p.m. CT
FanDuel Sportsbook College Line: Texas by 4 1/2
Series record: Texas leads 3-2.
What's at stake?
A berth in the national championship game in Houston on Jan. 8. By advancing, Washington would get a shot at its third national title in program history, and its last as a member of the Pac-12 before moving next season to an expanded Big Ten. Texas is looking to claim its fifth national title, and its last as a member of the Big 12 before moving to the SEC.
Key matchup
Washington's offensive line against the Texas defensive front. The Huskies this season took home the Joe Moore Award, which recognizes the top offensive line in all of college football. They've allowed just 11 sacks in a high-octane offense that helped quarterback Michael Penix Jr. lead the nation in yards passing with 4,218.
The Texas defensive line is anchored by arguably the best set of tackles in the country in All-American T’Vondre Sweat and second-team All-American Byron Murphy II. Texas ranked third nationally in yards allowed rushing with 80.8 per game and had 32 sacks this season, tied for 36th nationally.
Players to watch
Texas: WR-PR Xavier Worthy totaled a career-high 73 receptions for 969 yards and five touchdowns. As a punt returner, he ranks second in the nation, averaging 17.9 yards per return with a 74-yard touchdown.
Washington: Penix was the Heisman Trophy runner-up behind LSU QB Jayden Daniels. Penix has led the nation in passing for two seasons since transferring from Indiana. His 466 pass attempts were fifth most in all of FBS and he completed 66% of them. His 33 TD passes are tied for third-most nationally.
Facts and figures
Washington has the nation's longest active winning streak at 20 games.
Texas, which also ranks third in the AP Top 25 poll, is making its first CFP semifinal appearance. Its last bid for a national title came in the 2009-10 BCS Championship game at the Rose Bowl, won by Alabama.
The Longhorns won the Big 12 title for the first time since 2009 and the fourth time in program history.
The Longhorns have won seven straight games, the longest winning streak for Texas since 2008-09 (17 games).
Texas is 2-2 all-time at the Sugar Bowl, beating Georgia 28-21 the last time it was in the game, the 2018-19 season.
Washington is making its first visit to the Sugar Bowl, and it's also the first Pac-12 team to play in one.
The Huskies enter the game with a 20-20-1 overall record in bowl games, dating back to the 1924 Rose Bowl, where the UW tied Navy 14-14.