The Texas offense moved the ball against Washington in last season’s Alamo Bowl. On the surface, it was a statistically strong game for the Longhorns passing offense and quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Ewers threw for 369 passing yards in the game completing 31 of 47 passes against the Washington defense. Those numbers were fine, but not enough to get the ball in the end zone.
Texas scored two touchdowns against Washington a year ago. One came on a screen pass to Jonathon Brooks with another on a three-yard run by Brooks.
Several plays sabotaged scoring drives. An errant throw by Quinn Ewers resulted in a missed conversion on a slant to Texas receiver Xavier Worthy. A Worthy drop forfeited what could have been a long touchdown completion.
Credit the Washington defense for what it did limiting the Texas offense last year. The Huskies defense forced the Longhorns to be one-dimensional holding the Texas rush offense to 51 yards on 18 carries.
Despite Washington’s defensive effort, the Longhorns’ missed opportunities were nearly as much to blame as anything their opponent accomplished. Cashing in when it counts will play a huge role in the outcome of this game.
Let’s be clear: Washington is a bad pass defense. Certainly, they’re worse than Texas in that category. The Huskies rank No. 120 in the FBS is passing yards allowed (263.2) and No. 101 in yards allowed per attempt (6.57).
In contrast, Texas has perhaps the most complete receiving corps in the nation and a quarterback in Quinn Ewers that isn’t missing near as many opportunities this season. Ewers’ completion percentage is up by more than 12% since last year from 58.1% to a strong 70.7% completion rate.
The Longhorns offense presents a much tougher challenge for the Huskies defense. The playoff semifinal will reveal which side has the advantage in this year’s game.