Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
After a classic Rose Bowl between the Michigan Wolverines and Alabama Crimson Tide, Monday night delivered the final matchup in the College Football Playoff Semifinal with the Sugar Bowl. Just as everyone hoped for, the Texas Longhorns vs Washington Huskies game was a high-scoring affair.
Washington jumped out to an early lead, but Texas answered punch-for-punch. Fortunately for the Huskies, Michael Penix Jr. had one of his best first-half performances of the season, with his big plays setting up Dillon Johnson’s touchdowns. On the other side of the field, the Longhorns’ running backs put this team on their shoulders to create an explosive first half, leading us to a 21-21 tie at halftime.
In the second half, Washington seemed to be in firm control with a 34-21 lead 14:51 remaining and then again with a 37-31 lead with 1:09 to go. But an injury to Dillon Johnson stopped the clock, saving precious time for Texas. With that time, Ewers led a last-minute drive
Let’s dive into our winners and losers from the 2024 Sugar Bowl.
In the 2023 CFP Semifinal between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Georgia Bulldogs, C.J. Stroud had his moment that proved he was a bonafide superstar and it elevated his NFL Draft stock. One year later, Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was just as incredible versus Texas.
Related: 2024 Sugar Bowl highlights
It started on Penix’s first throw, a gorgeous strike right over the shoulder of wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk for a perfect throw-and-catch. Polk then made a defender miss and set Washington up at the 3-yard line, with the Huskies scoring immediately after. Minutes later, Penix Jr. showed perfect touch on a football thrown right past Ryan Watts’ helmet, with Germie Bernard reeling it in for a fantastic catch.
Penix Jr. just kept doing it. He showed surgeon-like precision on deep balls, evaded pressure and extended plays with his athleticism then delivered pinpoint throws to his offensive weapons. When the Huskies needed a closer, Penix Jr. played that role too. He completed his first 11 passes in the third quarter, eclipsing over 110 passing yards in the process. With two more scoring drives, Penix Jr. was able to put the game away.
Texas felt very confident in its defensive line coming into this matchup, even against one of the best offensive lines in college football. What we saw in the Sugar Bowl was a Longhorns’ pass rush that sporadically forced Penix Jr. to move his feet, but failed to ever bring him down or force him into off-target throws.
That’s what ultimately cost Texas in the game. Look at Penix Jr’s best throws and you’ll see a defender right there with the wide receiver. The Longhorns’ defensive backs did a pretty good job against a receiving corps with multiple starting-calibers weapons, sticking to them in coverage and forcing Penix to make perfect throws, which he did.
It was up to the Longhorns’ front seven to make Penix uncomfortable, getting hands in his face and at least bringing him down a few times. Instead, the Heisman Trophy runner-up would just sidestep an edge rusher, move into a clean pocket and throw darts downfield. Ewers and the Longhorns’ pass rush are why Texas lost the Sugar Bowl.
At times, it feels reminiscent of watching the LSU Tigers from a few years back. It’s one thing to have a Heisman-caliber quarterback who can make every throw with astonishing ball placement. When you have playmakers as Washington does, it truly does feel like the old Joe Burrow-Justin Jefferson-Ja’Marr Chase championship trio.
Polk started things with the first sensational catch in the first quarter, using that to help turn in another 100-yard game to his stat sheet. Meanwhile, Rome Odunze made plays all over the field, eclipsing 90 receiving yards and drawing a huge DPI in the fourth quarter. Odunze deserves to be a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Polk is going to be a big-play weapon and a quarterback’s best friend at the next level. When they depart, Germie Bernard can be the guy in 2024.
The 2023 NFL season should be remembered for the awful officiating. From the missed pass interference in the Green Bay Packers-Kansas City Chiefs game to the horrendous umpire mistake on a game-deciding play between the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. NFL officiating is worse than ever before.
If anyone had hopes for officials at the college level providing hope for improvement, it’s time to find something new to hope for. In the Sugar Bowl, we can point to plenty of examples. If you want replay involved, officials missing that Penix Jr. was past the line of scrimmage on his throw. On the other end of the spectrum, you have a clear Longhorns’ fumble that first didn’t count because referees ruled Jaydon Blue down, only instant replay made it clear that Blue was still standing on both feet.
You also saw a blatant block in the back on Washington’s final scoring drive in the fourth quarter that was flagged and was a then strangely picked up. If the penalty stood as first called, the Huskies’ drive might’ve stalled with Texas getting the football back in a one-score game with a lot more time left. Both the NFL and NCAA have a serious problem on their hands.