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NCAA Football: Sugar Bowl-Texas at Washington
NEW ORLEANS — Michael Penix Jr. passed for 430 yards and two touchdowns, and Washington held off Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night to advance to the College Football Playoff championship game, earning both the sixth-year quarterback with two surgically repaired knees and the beleaguered Pac-12 one more game this season.
The second-ranked Huskies (14-0) will face No. 1 Michigan next Monday night in Houston, 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 year, with the Huskies headed to join Michigan in the Big Ten.
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.
No. 3 Texas (12-2) had four shots at the end zone after getting to the UW 12 with 15 seconds left, but Quinn Ewers missed on the last three. The final throw was a fade to a well-covered Adonai Mitchell that sailed long.
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.
Penix spent his first four college seasons at Indiana, suffering three season-ending injuries. When his former offensive coordinator at Indiana, Kalen DeBoer, took over at Washington, Penix didn’t think twice before moving to Seattle.
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.
Penix went 29 for 38 with no turnovers. He…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michael-penix-jr-leads-no-061728498.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-01-02 06:17:28
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