The Texas Longhorns secured a spot in the Peach Bowl by defeating the Clemson Tigers at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. However, with every win, lessons are still to be learned, and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski acknowledged them in media availability ahead of the CFP quarterfinals.
The Texas defense, comprising four of the five Longhorns named to the Associate Press All-American teams, including Jahdae Barron on the first team and Michael Taaffe, Alfred Collins, and Anthony Hill Jr. on the second, has witnessed one of the most significant improvements in its defensive capabilities.
“It starts with trust, getting the guys believing and trusting in the coaches, and in turn, by their performances and how they practice and go on playing, they earn the trust of the coaches,” Kwiatkowski said.
Austin native quarterback Cade Klubnik put on an exceptional performance for the Tigers against the Longhorn defense, throwing for 336 yards and securing three touchdowns. Klubnik’s performance stood out as the best against the No. 2 defense in the country, surpassing any quarterback this season.
In the upcoming quarterfinals, Texas will face off against Sam Leavitt, a West Linn, Oregon, native. Leavitt’s season saw him earn three times the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award during the regular season and was crowned the conference Offensive Freshman of the Year.
Leavitt showcased his talent, completing 63.16% (192-for-304) of his passes for an impressive 2,663 yards. He amassed 24 touchdown passes and only five interceptions in 12 games. Additionally, Leavitt demonstrated his versatility as a runner by rushing for 383 yards and five touchdowns. In the past six games, he has continued his impressive run, amassing 16 touchdown passes and only one interception.
Leavitt’s season-high of 304 passing yards came in the Sun Devils’ resounding 42-21 victory over Oklahoma State. He achieved three games with 275 or more passing yards, including a standout performance with 291 yards and three touchdowns in the regular-season finale against Arizona.
“What I learned from the Clemson game is, we play good quarterbacks and quarterbacks get hot,” he said. “It goes back to the week of preparation, that we are preparing in the right way to take whoever we’re playing’s best shot. That was the main thing out of it.”
The Texas Longhorns will take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl from Atlanta on New Year’s Day.