Three lessons from Washington’s victory over Texas in the Sugar Bowl to set up a matchup with Alabama and…

Three lessons from Washington’s victory over Texas in the Sugar Bowl to set up a matchup with Alabama and.

Texas kept up the tempo in a punch-and-counter game, answering for every touchdown Washington scored in the first half. The Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal came down to the wire as Texas overcame Washington after the team had pulled away in the second half on Monday night. However, Texas’ two incomplete passes in the final seconds were the sole reason Washington managed to win 37–31.

With two timeouts remaining and Dillon Johnson hurt for Washington, Texas had a significant advantage that allowed them to begin a drive with forty-one seconds left. Jaydon Blue’s sideline catch set up the Longhorns for a march to the Washington 28-yard line.

In program history, Washington will have one more chance to win a national championship, and it will be its final one as a Pac-12 member before switching to the Big Ten the following season. In an attempt to win their fifth and final national championship as a Big 12 team before joining the SEC in 2024, Texas was unsuccessful.

When Adonai Mitchell, a former Georgia wide receiver, grabbed a 1-yard pass with 7:23 left to get within six points, Texas first made it interesting. However, Washington answered with a field goal to ensure the win.

For the first time since Michigan defeated Alabama 31–10 at Ann Arbor in the 2021 season, the Huskies will take on Michigan, which defeated Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

These are the three things we learned from the Sugar Bowl:

Texas’s second-half drought
In the second half, Texas seemed to run out of steam. In the third quarter, the Longhorns managed just 34 yards, including 5 passing yards on just 5 plays. The prospects of a trip to Houston seemed to vanish as the two drives ended in a punt and a fumble.