Longhorns to Face Washington Huskies in Alamo Bowl

Texas will face off against Washington for the fifth time since 1971.

Remember the Alamo? The Texas Longhorns know it quite well. 

The No. 20 Longhorns will return to San Antonio to face No. 12 Washington in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29. Texas will be playing in the Alamodome for the third time in four years. 

With Kansas State winning the Big 12 title over No. 3 TCU, the Wildcats will represent the Big 12 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl against No. 5 Alabama. The Horned Frogs (12-1, 9-0 Big 12) did enough during their undefeated regular season run to make the 2022 College Football Playoff, along with No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Michigan and No. 4 Ohio State. 

The Alamo Bowl usually plays host to the second-ranked teams in both the Big 12 and Pac-12. However, with both schools having multiple representatives in the New Years Six bowl cycle, the Longhorns (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) and Huskies (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12) will take the place of both as the third-ranked teams in the conference. 

Texas produced better results in Year 2 of the Steve Sarkisian era, but still showed several similarities from a season ago. Despite picking up wins over Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown and Kansas State on the road, the Longhorns blew a pair of second-half leads to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, respectively, ultimately factoring into their third-place finish. 

Washington over exceeded expectations under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who played at Indiana while DeBoer served as the Hoosiers offensive coordinator, led the nation in passing yards (4,354) and finished with 34 touchdowns against three interceptions. 

The Huskies last played in the Alamo Bowl when Sarkisian served as head coach, losing to Bayor, 66-57. That season, Washington went toe-to-toe win Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III.

Even prior to recent memory, the Longhorns are far from strangers playing in the Alamo Bowl. Since its inaugural game in 1993, Texas has been a record-leading six times. The Longhorns have gone five times since 2006, including this upcoming matchup. 

The Longhorns and Huskies have met four times on the gridiron since 1974. Texas currently holds an all-time 3-1 record over Washington, including winning its last matchup in the Holiday Bowl back in 2001. 

Sarkisian said he did not know which players would opt out of the bowl game following the Longhorns' 38-27 season finale win over Baylor. It's expected that running back Bijan Robinson, along with several seniors, will not participate and begin preparing for the 2023 NFL Draft. 

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