No. 2 Washington persevered through a late comeback attempt from No. 3 Texas to claim a 37-31 victory and set up a clash with No. 1 Michigan for the national title on Jan. 8.
The Huskies (14-0) outscored the Longhorns 16-10 in the second half after the teams were tied at 21-21 at halftime. Grady Gross’ third field goal of the game with 2:44 to go gave the Huskies a two-possession lead at 37-28.
But then things got interesting. Texas got a field goal with just over a minute left to cut Washington’s lead to six and the Huskies recovered the onside kick. However, Washington didn’t run much time off the clock because Texas had two timeouts and running back Dillon Johnson suffered an apparent foot injury on third down.
Instead of getting the ball back with about 20 seconds to go, Texas had one last chance with 45 seconds to go because the clock stopped after Johnson’s injury. The Longhorns were able to get down to the Washington 12-yard-line but Quinn Ewers’ pass to AD Mitchell in the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.
Texas (12-2) couldn’t do much to stop Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. as the Heisman runner-up had one of the best passing performances in College Football Playoff history. Penix was 29-of-38 passing for 430 yards and two touchdowns.
The vaunted Washington deep passing game showed up with a vengeance on Monday night and it was apparent from Washington’s fourth play of the game when Penix hit Ja’Lynn Polk for a 77-yard catch to set up the Huskies’ first TD of the night.
After the game was tied at halftime, Washington scored 10 straight points to open the third quarter thanks to a Texas fumble. The Huskies have thrived in close games all season long, especially down the stretch. Following a 10-point win over USC, Washington beat Utah by seven, Oregon State by two, Washington State by three, and Oregon by three in the Pac-12 title game before Monday night’s scare.
Should Washington have taken a knee?
The strategy for Washington after recovering the onside kick seemed sensible and obvious. Since Texas had two timeouts, Washington couldn’t kneel the ball three times and end the game. The Huskies needed to get a first down.
Johnson ran the ball on first and second down and Texas called a timeout after each. The third-down run was similar to the first two plays — Johnson ran up the middle.
