Notebook: Texas Longhorns Unable to Overcome Sloppiness in Washington Huskies Defeat
The Texas Longhorns will not advance to their first national championship game since 2009, as they fell 37-31 to the same Washington Huskies team that ended their season a year ago, albeit in a game where the stakes weren't so high.
The loss will certainly sting for the Longhorns as it will close out an impressive season, which will still go down as their most successful since the days of Colt McCoy playing quarterback.
However, before Texas turns the page on an ultimately disappointing end to the season, let's empty our notebook.
Toothless Texas Defense
Jan 1, 2024; New Orleans, LA, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) runs with the ball during the third quarter against the Texas Longhorns in the 2024 Sugar Bowl college football playoff semifinal game at Caesars Superdome.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
One of, if not the biggest storylines from the loss for Texas will be their inability to affect the Huskies' star quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., and help out a struggling Longhorns secondary.
For a Texas front seven that had been wreaking havoc all season long, they were ineffective against Penix and the Joe Moore Award-winning Washington offensive line. The Longhorns couldn't corral Penix, as he wasn't sacked once.
While sacks may not tell the whole story when it comes to a front seven, even when Penix was pressured, it didn't seem to matter much as he continued to make throws even when he was off-script.
As a result of an ineffective pass rush, the Texas secondary, which has been pointed out as a "weakness" for the Longhorns, gave up 430 yards and two touchdown passes.
Sloppiness
Not only was a leaky secondary and ineffective pass rush an issue for the Longhorns, but their general sloppiness piled on. After a season where the Longhorns averaged around 56 yards in penalties per game, they were penalized 10 times for 66 yards on Monday night.
And it wasn't just the penalties that made for a sloppy performance; two turnovers proved costly. Both resulted from fumbles, the first of which came on the Longhorns' first drive of the second half as they attempted to answer Washington's opening touchdown.
However, their response lasted just one play. The ball was knocked loose from CJ Baxter's grasp and recovered by the Huskies, who were able to extend their lead to 10 points with a field goal.
Sparkless
In addition to the turnovers and penalties, the Longhorns offense struggled mightily at times. After managing to match the Huskies' high-flying offense score for score in the first half, it proved too much in the second as the Texas offense was held scoreless for the entire third quarter and for much of the fourth as the five-yard touchdown pass to Adonai Mitchell happened nearly six minutes in.
So what happened?
Like what happened defensively, the Longhorns were beaten up front for much of the night. Washington was not only able to sack Quinn Ewers twice, but they were able to pressure him throughout, helping the coverage downfield. All in addition to the fact that the first fumble of the second half put Texas in a predicament of having to pass to win as they were engaged in a shootout.
