Washington: 2025 LA Bowl Champions

 

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Denzel Boston discovered what it was like to be an LA Bowl football fan at SoFi Stadium.

Washington: 2024 Sugar Bowl Champions

 

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The remarkable comeback story of Michael Penix Jr. is a victory away from a perfect ending for Washington.

Penix passed for 430 yards and two touchdowns, and the Huskies held off Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night to advance to the College Football Playoff title game, earning both the sixth-year quarterback with two surgically repaired knees and the beleaguered Pac-12 a chance to go out a champion.

The second-ranked Huskies (14-0) will face No. 1 Michigan next Monday night in Houston with a 21-game winning streak, 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 season, with the Huskies headed to join Michigan in the Big Ten. The conference is not going away, but its days as a potential football power are likely done.

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.

"Huskie Nation stand up," Penix told the UW crowd in the postgame trophy ceremony. "We goin' to the natty!"

No. 3 Texas (12-2) had four shots at the end zone after getting to the Washington 12 with 15 seconds left, but Quinn Ewers missed on the last three passes. The final throw was a fade to Adonai Mitchell that was knocked away by Washington's Elijah Jackson.

"Those guys are the most resilient guys I have ever been around," Washington coach Kalen DeBoer said.

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.

"They were a second away from playing for a national championship," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "They should be proud of themselves. Penix got hot and (Washington) made some big plays down the field."

Penix spent his first four college seasons at Indiana, suffering three season-ending injuries, one to each knee and one to his throwing shoulder.

When his former offensive coordinator at Indiana, DeBoer, took over at Washington, Penix didn't think twice before moving to Seattle, and then decided to take advantage of an extra year of eligibility and returned for a second year.

"He's been on a mission since he chose to come back, and a lot of the other guys followed his lead," DeBoer said

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.

"It was the tough times. I feel like everything I've been through built me for this," Penix said.

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, Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II plunging into the end zone for a 1-yard TD run, a Penix-to-Polk TD pass when 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 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 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 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 east, 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.

"Just was looking to give my guys an opportunity to go make a play," Ewers said of his final throws. At the end of the day, that's all you can really do.

Washington came through in the clutch — again.

"They've done it all year, coming up with big-time stops in big-time moments," Penix said.

The Huskies' last 10 victories have all been decided by 10 points or fewer. The close games have brought doubters.

"We're always disrespected, always made the underdogs," said defensive end Bralen Trice, another upperclassman who returned this season to make title run.

THE TAKEAWAY

Texas: Came in with a vaunted defensive line led by All-America defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat and second-team All-American Murphy. They were tough to run against, as usual, but they didn't get much pressure on Penix through an offensive line that was named the best in the country. Throughout the week both sides seemed a little tired of talking about the line matchup when the Huskies had the ball. Ultimately, the Huskies' big guys came out on top, not allowing a sack.

Washington: On the Huskies' final offensive play as they tried to burn clock, star running back Dillon Johnson was shaken up, which stopped the clock and gave Texas an extra 30 seconds or so for their own drive. There was no word on Johnson's status for the matchup with Michigan.

UP NEXT

Texas: Will Ewers be back for the Longhorns or is it Arch Manning time in Austin? Stay tuned.

Washington: The Huskies are 5-8 all-time against Michigan, including 2-2 in Rose Bowls.

Washington: 2022 Alamo Bowl Champions

No. 12 Washington knocked off No. 20 Texas 27-20 in the Alamo Bowl to get its first 11-win season since 2016.

The Huskies weren’t troubled by the Longhorns for much of the game. UW took a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter thanks to a TD pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Jalen McMillan. Texas cut the lead to seven with 1:40 to go, and got the ball back with a chance for a potential game-winning TD and two-point conversion with 31 seconds left. But the last-ditch drive with no timeouts remaining didn't get a first down.

The win means Washington finishes the season at 11-2 in Kalen DeBoer’s first season as head coach. Washington fired Jimmy Lake nine games into a tumultuous 2021 season and finished the season at 4-8. It hired DeBoer from Fresno State and the former Indiana offensive coordinator quickly landed the former Indiana QB Penix as a transfer.

That move paid off as Penix was one of the nation’s most productive passers in 2022 and the Huskies won seven more games than they did a season ago. Washington made one of the biggest improvements of any team at the top level of college football in 2022 and is well-positioned to be a contender in the Pac-12 again next season.

Penix will be back in 2023 as the Pac-12 will boast one of the strongest quarterback groups in college football. Heisman winner Caleb Williams is returning for USC while Oregon’s Bo Nix is coming back along with Washington State’s Cam Ward. Oregon State landed Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei, former Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne is transferring to Arizona State and Kent State QB Collin Schlee is transferring to UCLA.

Texas, meanwhile, finishes the season 8-5. The Longhorns entered the game without running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson among other transfers and NFL draft opt outs. That allowed players like freshman Jonathan Brooks to get playing time and Brooks scored two TDs.

The Alamo Bowl might have also been the last game of the pre-Arch Manning era at Texas. QB Quinn Ewers didn’t have a terrible game by any means — his stats would look a lot better if it wasn’t for drops on back-to-back plays in the third quarter by star receiver Xavier Worthy — but the Longhorns will have the highest-profile QB competition in college football over the spring and summer thanks to Manning’s presence.

Manning signed with Texas earlier in December and plans to be an early enrollee. That will allow him to practice this spring and potentially get the chance to start as a true freshman. Or if Ewers plays well like he has flashed at times in 2022, it’s very possible that he could keep the starting job for his second season with the Longhorns.

Washington: 2019 Las Vegas Bowl Champions

Washington coach Chris Petersen stunned the college football world earlier this month when he announced that the Las Vegas Bowl vs. Boise State -- a program that he helped build -- would be his last with the Huskies. His Washington team sent him out in style with a 38-7 win over Boise State on Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The game-sealing touchdown was fitting for a Petersen team. Up 24-7 early in the fourth quarter, running back Richard Newton took the toss, rolled right and found Terrell Bynum for a 13-yard touchdown. A trick play in a bowl game from a coach who announced his presence to the college football world with a trick play in a bowl game more than a decade ago.

The biggest play in Boise State history was called by Petersen in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma that capped off a perfect 13-0 season in 2006 -- his first with the program. Down one in overtime after scoring a touchdown, Petersen went for the win with the famous "Statue of Liberty" play. Quarterback Jared Zabransky faked a pass, handed off to Ian Johnson behind his back, and Johnson scampered into the left side of the end zone to give the Broncos the win. It was the third trick play that Petersen called that night.

Petersen rode off into the sunset as the coach of the Huskies on Saturday night, but it might not be the end of his career. He left the door open to return to coaching after he recharges his batteries. Whether that happens or not, his legacy is set in stone as somebody who built Boise State into the most powerful Group of Five program and led Washington back to being Pac-12 power.

Here's a look and how Petersen has fared during his head coaching career:

YEARS	TEAM	OVERALL	IN CONFERENCE
8 ('06-'13)	Boise State	92-12	57-6
6 ('14-'19)	Washington	56-26	34-20

He might not have been the only Husky riding off into the sunset on Saturday night, though.

Junior quarterback Jacob Eason went 22 of 32 for 210 yards with one touchdown and was in complete control of the offense from the outset. Eason is the third-ranked quarterback and No. 20 overall in the CBS Sports NFL Draft prospect rankings. Eason hasn't announced whether he is returning to play for new coach Jimmy Lake or jumping to the NFL. If this was his last college game, he went out with a bang under the bright lights in Las Vegas.