In the final year of the Pac-12, it was not the program with the second-year coach who made the most headlines upon his arrival, the program with a returning Heisman Trophy winner as its quarterback, the program that was among the coveted first two out the door to the Big Ten.
But if you were paying attention entering 2023, it was not going to be too much of a surprise if Kalen DeBoer’s Washington Huskies, led by their own transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr., were going to outperform the half-rate payout the Big Ten had offered them and make a run to the College Football Playoff.
What Lincoln Riley’s USC Trojans lacked in toughness and consistency on both sides of the ball, DeBoer was able to instill after quietly departing Fresno State for Seattle. Week in and week out down the stretch, the Huskies did not often look the part of a dominant champion, squeaking out wins against Arizona State, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State to make it to 12-0. But they were gritty, making plays when they had to, and their lack of style points set them up as 9-point underdogs in a rematch with Oregon, a team they had already beaten.
Texas and Alabama make the College Football Playoff over two-time defending champion Georgia and undefeated FSU. Michigan and Washington also get bids.
The lack of respect may have fueled them in quickly jumping ahead of the Ducks in the Pac-12 title game en route to a 34-31 win. And, sure enough, despite being ranked No. 2 with a 13-0 record, the Huskies will be able to draw from disrespect once again in the Sugar Bowl, where they are four-point underdogs to the No. 3 Texas Longhorns.
Will this College Football Playoff semifinal serve as one more reminder not to doubt DeBoer’s team, or will it finally be the game that a flashier outfit can meet Washington’s mettle?
Steve Sarkisian’s program is built on the motto “All Gas, No Brakes,” and features a quarterback in Quinn Ewers who was hyped to be the top player in his class, much unlike Penix, who had to prove himself at Indiana before turning himself into a Heisman finalist.
But to assume the Longhorns are a bunch of entitled pretty boys would be a mistake. Texas plays behind Bevo-inspired beef along the trenches, and Sarkisian appears to have constructed a winning culture for the first time as a head coach.
Funny enough, with the turn of the calendar to 2024, this game now may as well be for Big Ten versus SEC bragging rights. But the Huskies can still make this a fairy tale ending for the Pac-12.
Here are five things to watch in the Sugar Bowl:
The Longhorns are 93rd in the country in pass defense, which would lead one to believe that Penix is going to have a field day targeting his top-notch group of receivers.
But it may not be that simple. Texas, led by stalwart defensive tackles T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II, is third nationally in rush defense, allowing just 80.8 yards per game on the ground.
Most coaches would gladly pick this arrangement — a defense that forces teams to become one-dimensional through the air. The Longhorns may give up passing yards, but it appears they have done it mostly on their terms.
Which brings me to the next point.
Johnson has been a revelation during the last half of the season, rushing for at least 80 yards in his last six games and scoring nine touchdowns over that span. His emergence after transferring from Mississippi State is one of the biggest reasons the Huskies find themselves on the precipice of their first national championship since 1991.
In Washington’s two big wins over Oregon, Johnson carried the ball a combined 48 times for 252 yards. That isn’t just helpful to a quarterback as gifted as Penix — it makes playing against this unit downright unfair.
Michael Penix Jr. led Washington to a 34-31 win over Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game in what likely will be the final football game in Pac-12 history.
Look for DeBoer to test Johnson’s effectiveness early against that Texas front.
You could make an argument for Washington’s Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan as the best group of receivers in the country.
But Texas’ Xavier Worthy and Adonai “AD” Mitchell, the Georgia transfer, have the ability to hurt opponents over the top, too, and may actually bring more pure speed than the Huskies’ group.
Washington’s pass defense ranks 120th, so expect Ewers to toss it around early and often. The Longhorns just have to do a better job than they did last season when these teams met in the Alamo Bowl — Washington won 27-20 — of turning Ewers’ yards into points. And that will happen only if Worthy and Mitchell rise to the occasion.
McMillan has battled a knee injury since going down in the third game of the season against Michigan State. Polk filled in admirably as Penix’s No. 2 option, but there’s no doubt McMillan was missed.
McMillan made numerous attempts to come back throughout the season but didn’t fully look like himself until the last game against Oregon, when he caught nine passes for 131 yards.
With four weeks to continue to heal up, McMillan could take Washington to the next level at the perfect time.
New USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen made a tremendous hire tabbing DeBoer to be the Huskies’ head man. The stoic South Dakotan had been a success at NAIA Sioux Falls from 2005-09, winning three national championships, and then worked his way up methodically as a Division I assistant to Fresno State. At Fresno, he only had one full season, in 2021, going 9-3, which was enough for Cohen to make the call.
DeBoer has never coached in a game of this magnitude, but he does not seem like the type of guy to lose himself in the moment.
Sarkisian was Nick Saban’s lead play caller at Alabama when the Crimson Tide won the 2020 national championship, so he’s familiar with the high stakes. Of course, it’s a totally different matter when it’s all on your shoulders.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian rebuilt his life after getting fired from USC because of alcohol issues, but he did so without those who helped launch his career.
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