Texas’ sour ending to its Sugar Bowl loss to Washington comes as CFP rally comes up short

NEW ORLEANS — Over the course of its 14-game season, Texas accumulated 6,685 yards of offense.

The Longhorns needed 13 more.

Stationed at the Washington 13-yard line in the waning seconds of Monday night’s Sugar Bowl, No. 3 Texas threw three straight incomplete passes, including two into the end zone, a sequence that closed out a 37-31 loss to No. 2 Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Longhorns ended their season with a 12-2 record one game shy of playing for a national championship.

“It’s tough, especially losing a close game like this,” quarterback Quinn Ewers said. “I think we all played our hearts out. And I don’t question anybody’s effort in that room, in that locker room at all. But I couldn’t be more proud of the way that we attacked this year because I know most of y’all didn’t believe that we would be here right now.”

Texas wide receiver Jordan Whittington makes a catch over Washington cornerback Jabbar Muhammad during Monday night’s 37-31 Sugar Bowl loss. The Longhorns’ season ended at 12-2; the Huskies will face Michigan in next week’s CFP championship game.

Trailing by as many as 13 points in the second half, Texas began to frantically rally. A 1-yard touchdown catch by Adonai Mitchell made it a 34-28 game with 7:23 left. After Washington kicked a short field goal, UT countered with Bert Auburn’s 25-yard kick with 69 seconds left to cut it to 37-31

Washington recovered an onside kick after Auburn’s field goal, but a sequence that featured three UT stops, two Texas timeouts, an offensive injury stoppage and a punt return catch interference penalty led to Texas getting the ball back at its 31-yard line with 45 seconds remaining. Catches by Jordan Whittington and Jaydon Blue then pushed the Longhorns to the Washington 12.

The Longhorns would not get any closer to the end zone.

On first…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/texas-sour-ending-sugar-bowl-085316373.html

Author : Austin American-Statesman

Publish date : 2024-01-02 08:53:16

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