Texas Football: 3 problematic Washington players vs. Longhorns
The No. 2 Washington Huskies await No. 3 Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian in the College Football Playoff Semifinal game at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, LA, on Jan. 1. Texas makes its first appearance in the College Football Playoff in program history after winning the Big 12 Championship Game against the No. 18 Oklahoma State Cowboys by double digits on Dec. 2.
Washington and head coach Kalen DeBoer built on their successful run last season with an undefeated 2023 campaign that saw them beat the Oregon Ducks twice to win the PAC-12 title.
We're set up for a rematch of last year's Alamo Bowl between Texas and Washington. Last postseason, Washington got the best of Sarkisian and the Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl by a score of 27-20.
Washington's passing attack will test the Texas football secondary in the Sugar Bowl
Washington is a squad that has many weapons the Longhorns faced in the Alamo Bowl last season. But there's no doubt that this Washington squad is better than what Texas faced last postseason. The same is obviously true for the Longhorns, who won four more games than it did a season ago and has more talent and depth on both sides of the ball compared to last year.
If Texas is to topple Washington, it must do so by limiting the many weapons DeBoer and the Huskies boast on offense while getting a big outing from redshirt sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers and the ground game.
Here are three problematic Huskies players for the Longhorns in the CFP Semifinal game at the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
Jabbar Muhammad, CB
Washington's pass defense has given up a ton of yards this season. The Huskies rank 11th from the bottom in the FBS this season in passing defense (over 265 yards per game allowed through the air). Washington allowed over 250 passing yards to some suspect passing teams in the PAC-12 this season, including 267 to the Utah Utes who didn't have starting QB Cam Rising and 367 to a three-win Stanford Cardinal squad who averaged just 233 pass yards per game.
While the counting stats certainly look bad for the Washington pass defense, the reality of the situation for this secondary is that it does have some good players and true disruptors at DB. It's also noteworthy that the counting stats for passing yards are a bit deceiving since Washington was the only Power Five team to face over 500 pass attempts this season.
Starting senior corner Jabbar Muhammad and starting redshirt senior nickel Mishael Powell highlight a Washington secondary that was among the most disruptive in the PAC-12 this season. Washington led the PAC-12 in interceptions per game (1.2) and led the P5 in pass breakups (52).
Muhammad, the former Oklahoma State Cowboys grad transfer, is the player I want to highlight here. He is probably the Washington defensive back who is the most familiar with the Longhorns, having played them twice while he was a starting corner at Oklahoma State.
Muhammad is also the older cousin of Texas true freshman cornerback Malik Muhammad.
There isn't a better one-on-one cover corner for Washington than Muhammad. He is a quick and instinctual 5-foot-10 standout who has a good understanding of developing route concepts. Muhammad doesn't let opposing receivers get much separation at any level of the field in coverage.
But the ultimate reason why Muhammad is so valuable to this Washington defense is his disruptiveness and playmaking. He ranks second in the PAC-12 this season in interceptions (3) and pass breakups (12).
Muhammad has made multiple big-time plays that helped Washington win marquee games in the PAC-12 this season. He had two money-down takeaways and a couple of money down stops in a top-10 road contest in PAC-12 in a narrow two-point win for Washington over the No. 10 Oregon State Beavers in November.
And he had two clutch defensive stops on money downs for Washington in the three-point regular season win over Oregon.
It's safe to say that Muhammad makes big plays when it matters the most for this Washington secondary. He will be a key playmaker in a Washington secondary that will be tested by Ewers and this deep and talented Texas receiving corps in the Sugar Bowl next week.