Michael Penix Jr. passed for 287 yards and two second-half touchdowns and No. 12 Washington dominated the line of scrimmage throughout on the way to a 27-20 win over short-handed No. 20 Texas on Thursday in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.

The Huskies (11-2) posted their first 11-plus-win season since 2016 and just the fifth in program history. Washington, which finished 4-8 in 2021, played in its first bowl game since 2019.

Wayne Taulapapa rushed for 108 yards, including a 42-yard first-quarter touchdown, on 14 carries for the Huskies.

Quinn Ewers passed for 369 yards and one touchdown for Texas (8-5). Casey Cain had four catches for 106 yards and Xavier Worthy had seven catches for 84 yards but dropped two deep balls in the third quarter.

Bert Auburn booted a 26-yard field goal with 1:40 to play to bring Texas to within one score, after which the Huskies recovered the ensuing onside kick. The Longhorns got the ball back with 31 seconds remaining but could not muster any magic.

The Longhorns played without their top two running backs, All-American and Doak Walker Award winner Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, both of whom opted out of the bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft.

The Huskies struck first Thursday, utilizing a short field provided by a blocked punt by Edefuan Ulofoshio to produce a 46-yard field goal by Peyton Henry with 11:44 to play in the opening quarter. Texas answered on a 30-yard field goal from Auburn that tied the game four minutes later.

Taulapapa ripped off his long scoring run on Washington’s next possession to cap a 10-play, 88-yard march. The score remained unchanged until a 24-yard field goal by Henry on the final play of a surprisingly defensive first half that ended with the Huskies up 13-3.

The Longhorns got back in the game on their first possession of the third quarter when Jonathon Brooks caught a screen pass from Ewers and sprinted 34 yards for a touchdown to make it 13-10.

Penix put Washington back in front by 10 points with a 6-yard scoring pass to Taj Davis with 6:44 to play in the third. He then engineered a 14-play, 90-yard drive that was capped off by an 8-yard TD pass to Jalen McMillan (who made an amazing shoestring catch) to push the Huskies’ lead to 27-10 with 13:08 remaining.

Texas responded with a 3-yard touchdown run by Brooks to cap an 11-play, 74-yard march to get back to within 27-17.

–Field Level Media

No. 12 Washington and No. 20 Texas look to move closer to a return to national prominence when they square off Thursday in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.

The contest pits two of the nation’s best offenses, although the Longhorns will be depleted on that side of the ball. Two of their top running backs — consensus All-American and Doak Walker Award winner Bijan Robinson and key backup Roschon Johnson — have both opted out.

Texas (8-4) won three of its last four games, including a 38-27 home win over Baylor in its regular-season finale on Nov. 25. The only loss in that stretch was 17-10 against College Football Playoff participant TCU on Nov. 12.

After missing the postseason in 2021 in coach Steve Sarkisian’s first year with the Longhorns, Texas had a bounce-back season. The Longhorns’ four losses this year were by a combined 18 points.

“We didn’t get to go to a bowl game last year, we didn’t earn it,” Sarkisian said. “It’s great that the team gets this experience against a really good opponent. You’re always looking for ways to continue to develop your players. It’s a win-win for us.”

Texas still has plenty of firepower, with freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers triggering the attack and All-Big 12 honorees Xavier Worthy and Ja’Tavion Sanders his primary targets.

The 2022 Alamo Bowl marks the 58th all-time bowl appearance for the Longhorns, the third-most in the country behind only Alabama and Georgia. Texas owns a bowl record of 31-24-2.

The Huskies (10-2) are riding a six-game winning streak, including a 51-33 Apple Cup victory at Washington State on Nov. 26 to close out the regular season. Washington is making its first bowl appearance since the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl.

Head coach Kalen DeBoer led the Huskies back to the postseason and an improvement of six wins in his first year in Seattle. Washington’s 10 wins were the most ever at the school under a first-year head coach.

“We’re at the point now with this year’s team where we feel that we can play with anyone. We really do,” DeBoer said. “We feel like we’re that championship-caliber football team, without a doubt. We respect all and fear none. That’s really been something that’s resonated with our guys, and the belief we have that we are that team and we are capable of that.”

The Huskies are led by quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who finished eighth in this year’s Heisman balloting. Penix has had a remarkable campaign, going the second half of this season as the nation’s top passer and finishing with 4,354 yards through the air. He heads into the Alamo Bowl just 104 yards shy of the Washington single-season passing yards record.

The Alamo Bowl will be the Huskies’ 41st bowl appearance.

Texas and Washington have played four times, with the Longhorns owning a 3-1 all-time record. The programs last met in 2001 at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, where Texas overcame a 19-point deficit en route to a 47-43 victory.

–Field Level Media