By Marisol Nicholson
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 3 Texas Football will be heading to New Orleans, La. to face No. 2 Washington in the 2024 Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2024. The College Football Playoff semifinal between the Longhorns (12-1) and Pac-12 Champion Huskies (13-0) will kick off at 7:45 p.m. CT from inside Caesars Superdome and air nationally on ESPN.
Texas will be making its first College Football Playoff appearance in program history, climbing from No. 7 in the penultimate CFP ranking last week to No. 3 after a dominant victory over No. 18 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship game, winning 49-21 on Saturday.
The Longhorns won the Big 12 title for the first time since 2009 and is riding a seven-game winning streak, the longest for the program since 2008-09 Washington defeated Oregon for the Pac-12 crown on Friday, the Huskies’ first since 2018, and has won 20 consecutive games, the longest active streak among FBS programs.
Texas’ No. 3 ranking in the College Football Playoff is the highest in program history. The Horns had been selected at number seven in the first five CFP rankings, the best mark in program history, prior to climbing to third. The Longhorns checked in at No. 3 in the latest Associated Press poll, the fourth time this season UT his been ranked in the top-3, and at No. 4 in the Coaches poll, the second time the Horns have been in the top-4 in 2023.
The 2024 Sugar Bowl marks the 59th all-time bowl appearance for the Longhorns, the third-most in the country behind only Alabama and Georgia, and the 42nd for the Huskies.
Texas and Washington have played five times, with the Longhorns owning a 3-2 all-time record. The programs met last season in the 2022 Valero Alamo Bowl, where the Longhorns fell, 27-20.
The winner of this year’s game, the 90th annual Sugar Bowl Classic, will advance to the College Football Playoff Championship on Monday, January 8, in Houston. The other Playoff Semifinal pits No. 1 Michigan against No. 4 Alabama and will be played at the Rose Bowl, which kicks off at 4 p.m. (Central), also on ESPN.
Washington, as the higher seed, will be the home team and will occupy the home bench on the west sideline of the Caesars Superdome while Texas will occupy the visitor bench on the east sideline.
Steve Sarkisian has now led his programs to seven bowl games in his 10 seasons as a head coach. He led Washington to four-straight bowl games following the 2010-13 seasons and guided USC to the Holiday Bowl in 2014. Sarkisian is 2-3 as a head coach in bowl games. His Washington team played in the 2013 Fight Hunger Bowl, a game he did not coach in after taking over the Trojans’ program. Sarkisian was the head coach for the Huskies’ Alamo Bowl appearance against Baylor in 2011.
Sarkisian’s 2023 Longhorns feature a balanced attack that is averaging 36.0 points per game (16th NCAA) and allowing just 17.5 points per game (13th NCAA), while ranking ninth in total offense (475.9) and 23rd in total defense (321.7).
Texas Football Bowl Notes
• The 2024 Allstate Sugar Bowl will mark UT’s 59th all-time bowl appearance, the third-most in college football history. The Longhorns own a bowl record of 31-25-2.
• Texas and Washington will face off for the sixth time in series history. The teams met in last season’s Valera Alamo in San Antonio. The Longhorns and Huskies will meet in back-to-back seasons for the first time since a home-and-home series in 1974-75.
• Texas holds a 3-2 record all-time against Washington, including a 1-2 record in neutral-site meetings. UT fell to Washington in the 2022 Alamo Bowl, (27-20) after previously besting the Huskies at the 2001 Holiday Bowl (47-43) and Washington claiming the win at the 1979 Sun Bowl (14-7). Texas won a home-and-home series against Washington in the early 70’s winning in Austin by a score of 35-21 in 1974, then topping the Huskies in Seattle in 1975, 28-10.
• Texas will be playing a current member of the Pac-12 Conference for the 14th time. UT holds an 8-5 record in those instances.
• This year’s Sugar Bowl will be UT’s fifth all-time appearance in the game. The Longhorns are 2-2 in the Sugar Bowl, with their last appearance being a 28-21 victory over Georgia in 2019. Prior to that, the Horns won the 1948 Sugar Bowl, 27-7 over Alabama, lost the 1958 Sugar Bowl, 39-7 to Ole Miss, and fell in the 1995 Sugar Bowl to Virginia Tech, 28-10.
• Texas will be making its 18th trip overall to Louisiana. The Longhorns have a 10-6-1 record in the Pelican State with a 7-0-1 record in New Orleans against Tulane, a 1-4 mark against LSU in Baton Rouge and a 2-2 Sugar Bowl record. The Horns are 2-1 all-time in the Superdome (a win over Georgia and a loss to Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl and a 2002 win over Tulane).
COURTESY TEXAS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
