Texas football vs. Washington: Alamo Bowl tabbed as ‘must watch’ game

Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian figured out their postseason fate over the weekend. For the third consecutive season that Texas is postseason eligible, it will take on a quality foe out of the PAC-12 in the Alamo Bowl.

The Longhorns are really making the Alamo Bowl their “home away from home”, which is something that the Longhorn Network tabbed in a tweet announcing the postseason matchup against the Washington Huskies on Dec. 4.

Texas will not be getting an easy ride in the Alamo Bowl this time around. Washington is red hot coming into the postseason, as it won six in a row to round out the regular season. The Huskies are much improved this season in the first year under head coach Kalen DeBoer.

This is sure to be a fan showdown between two offenses that have a lot of talent in the mix. It’s also intriguing to see Sark and co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Pete Kwiatkowski face their former team.

Granted, Sark and PK were not at Washington at the same time. Sark was Washington’s head coach from 2009-2013. And PK was a co-DC at Washington from 2014-2020.

Steve Sarkisian and Texas football facing Washington in the Alamo Bowl tabbed as a “must-watch” game

Moreover, the intrigue surrounding this game is being felt by more than just the Longhorns and Huskies fan bases. A piece from Brad Crawford of 247Sports published on Dec. 5 tabbed the Alamo Bowl between Texas and Washington as one of the 12 “must-watch” postseason games this year.

Texas-Washington ranked as the fifth-best among the “must-watch” bowl games this postseason.

Here’s more on what this 247Sports piece had to say on the Alamo Bowl being a “must-watch” postseason game.

"Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. announced Sunday night he’s returning for another year with the Huskies, which makes him one of 2023’s Heisman frontrunners following a spectacular 10-win season. He’ll be matched up in San Antonio with another signal caller who will garner much attention nationally next season, Quinn Ewers. Washington was heading to the Rose Bowl prior to Utah’s win over USC, so we’re expecting first-year coach Kalen DeBoer and his team to show up with a chip on their shoulder in this game."

This piece also mentions one of the more interesting storylines surrounding the Alamo Bowl, concerning the status of Texas’ star junior running back Bijan Robinson.

We don’t know yet if Bijan is planning to play in the Alamo Bowl for Sark and the Longhorns. He, along with a host of other Longhorns players that are eligible to declare for the 2023 NFL Draft, could wind up opting out of the bowl game.

If Bijan doesn’t play, that obviously hurts Texas’ chances in the Alamo Bowl against the Huskies.

I do think the most important player to watch for the Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl is redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers. It would be good to see Ewers make some strides and have a positive showing in the Alamo Bowl to head into the offseason with some confidence and momentum behind his game.

Texas heads into the Alamo Bowl with a record of 8-4 (6-3 Big 12) following a regular season finale win at home on Nov. 25 over the Baylor Bears, by the final score of 38-27. The kickoff time for the Alamo Bowl between Texas and Washington is set for 8 p.m. CT on Dec. 29 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.