Remember the Alamo Because ESPN Just Made it Bowl Interesting

Outside of forecasting the College Football Playoff, which is usually a solid bet to be the holiday destination for Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and some other chosen one, picking bowl-game pairings is almost an impossible chore.

Admit it, did anyone four months ahead of the following postseasons predict the University of Washington would face the Crimson Tide in 2016, Penn State a year later or Ohio State 12 months after that?

How about just one of those weighty match-ups?

Didn't think so.

That said, ESPN analysts in their take-a-wild-stab-at-it bowl projections came up with this little made-for-cable TV jewel of game:

Washington vs. Texas.

Huskies and Longhorns.

Pac-12 against SEC wannabe.

Alamo Bowl, Wednesday, December 29, 6:15 p.m. PT, San Antonio, Alamodome.

Oh yeah, it's Sarkisian vs. Lake.

Husky coaches No. 28 and No. 30.

He who jilted Seattle and he who is in it for the long haul.

Steve Sarkisian, if you recall, was the guy who was all of 34 years old when he came on board as a first-time head coach for the UW following the 0-12 Ty Willingham meltdown season of 2008. Sark admittedly acted like an out-of-control frat boy at times, partying too much. When he had a coaching carrot dangled in front of him, he couldn't get out of town fast enough.

While some fans like to credit Sarkisian with pulling the Huskies out of the college football dumpster, he is best remembered by those with higher program standards as the lone modern-day football coach to use the UW merely as a stepping stone to land another job.

Walked away after they built him a new stadium.

Left behind the greatest office he'll ever have with a view and all the trimmings.

Over the past 64 years, every other Husky football coach has either retired or was fired when they backed away.

Not Sarkisian.

He resigned to join a Pac-12 rival.

He lasted 18 games at USC, or a season and a half.

Some people call that karma.

Sarkisian, after suing that particular private university over his termination, called it personal demons and went somewhere to dry out.

So now he's at the University of Texas, which is just 80 miles from San Antonio and the Alamo Bowl.

It's a place where the late Darrell Royal remains the gold coaching standard.

He won 3 national championships in 20 seasons with the Longhorns.

Royal came to Texas in 1956, of course, after a single season at Washington.

Yep, he, too, used the Huskies as a stepping stone.

Remember the Alamo.

It could be the perfect grudge match.

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