Pac-12 Bowl Preview: Washington faces Texas without Longhorn star Bijan Robinson

The Washington Huskies will face former coach Steve Sarkisian in the Alamo Bowl; the Texas Longhorns will play without star RB Bijan Robinson.

The Washington Huskies exceeded expectations in the first year with Kalen DeBoer as their head coach. As a reward, they are headed to the Alamo Bowl to face the Texas Longhorns in a matchup of two top-25 teams.

Washington finished the year 10-2 with losses to UCLA and Arizona State in back-to-back weeks. The Huskies finished the year with six straight victories, including wins over Oregon State and Oregon.

DeBoer was named Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year with Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith. Both programs have bright futures in the Pac-12. DeBoer earned an A in our grades for coaches in their first year, and he could cap it off with a bowl game victory against former Washington coach Steve Sarkisian, who is now the leader of the Longhorns.

The Huskies are 8th in the nation in points per game (40.8) as well as 4th in yards (521.7) and 2nd in passing (376.7). Michael Penix Jr., the transfer QB from Indiana, did well in Washington this past season. He announced he will return for another season in a loaded conference at QB.

The Huskies also have a pair of running backs with 10 or more touchdowns in Wayne Taylapapa (10) and Cameron Davis (13) as well as two 1,000-yard receivers — Rome Odunze (1,088) and Jalen McMillan (1,040).

The Longhorns finished 8-4. Quarterback Quinn Ewers had an up-and-down first season, finishing with 1,808 yards and 14 scores. Bijan Robinson was the heart and soul of this offense; the running back finished with 1,580 yards and 18 scores (both top-10 marks in the country).

However, Robinson won’t play in the Alamo Bowl; the potential first-round choice will prepare for the 2023 NFL draft, and that helps Washington even more.

Washington has an advantage since Texas will play without its best player, but it is worth noting that the Longhorns’ defense has played pretty well down the stretch. It will have its hands full with Washington’s offense, which is one of the best in the country.

Texas remains favored in the game, but Washington is a difficult opponent even with the Longhorns having a home-state advantage.

[mm-video type=video id=01gm9qwfp301nx1fxmsa playlist_id=none player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gm9qwfp301nx1fxmsa/01gm9qwfp301nx1fxmsa-5f1ce800029f353b16aab280fdc8f9aa.jpg]

[listicle id=54738]