No. 2 Washington survived a dramatic comeback attempt by No. 3 Texas to advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship for the first time in program history. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. put together one of the finest performances in CFP history, throwing for 430 yards and two touchdowns to outduel Texas' Quinn Ewers and cement himself in the history books.
The Huskies had an opportunity to ice the game, but an injury to running back Dillon Johnson stopped the clock as Washington faced fourth down late in the fourth quarter. After the Longhorns received the punt, Ewers connected with wide receiver Jordan Whittington on a couple of occasions to set up a dramatic final sequence in the red zone. The Longhorns star QB let one rip into the end zone with 1 second remaining, but it fell out of the corner as Washington began its celebration.
Penix completed at least three passes to six different receivers and contributed to 100-yard performances by both Rome Odunze and Ja'Lynn Polk. He also unleashed his legs, adding 31 yards rushing in the win. Washington jumped out to a 7-0 lead after its first drive of the game and never trailed. Much of the second half was spent up by multiple scores before Texas used a late surge from Ewers to pull back.
Ewers got off to a slow start, completing just 10 of his first 20 passes for 102 yards. After suffering a brutal hit from Washington edge rusher Bralen Trice, Ewers came to life, throwing for 216 yards in the final period alone. Ultimately, it was not enough to overcome the Washington lead. Ewers threw for 318 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Only nine completions were to wide receivers prior to the final drive.
- Penix's 430 yards passing ranks as the fourth-best performance in CFP history, trailing only Alabama's Mac Jones in 2020 and a pair of Joe Burrow performances for LSU in 2019. Both Jones and Burrow went on to win the national title.
- Texas running backs C.J. Baxter and Jaydon Blue combined to average 6.8 yards per carry but received the ball only 16 combined times. Texas threw the ball 35 times on 63 plays.
- Washington running back Dillon Johnson aggravated his foot injury during the game but did not miss snaps. While his 49 yards on 21 carries did not stand out, his physical running helped convert multiple key drives. He was carted off the field postgame.
- Five different Washington pass-catchers cleared 48 yards receiving, while Polk and Odunze combined for 247 yards.
- Washington is the first Pac-12 team to win a College Football Playoff Game since 2014 (Oregon).
Read on below for takeaways from Washington's Sugar Bowl win over Texas on Monday in New Orleans.