Washington will meet Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1.
It will be a rematch of last year’s Alamo Bowl — but this time the stakes are much, much higher.
No. 2 seed Washington (13-0) won the Pac-12 championship with a 34-31 win over Oregon in the conference championship game on Friday.
No. 3 seed Texas (12-1) jumped four spots from No. 7 in the CFP rankings Sunday after winning the Big 12 championship with a 49-21 win over Oklahoma State. The Longhorns are leaving the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference next season.
This will be the sixth all-time meeting between Washington and Texas, and fourth straight in a bowl. The semifinal will be a bowl rematch of quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. of Washington and Quinn Ewers of Texas. Washington held off a late rally by the Longhorns to win 27-20 in the Alamo Bowl last year.
The Huskies have won eight of their last nine games by single digits, including the last four in a row by a total of 15 points. They’re in the playoff for the second time. The Huskies lost 24-7 to Alabama in the 2016 semifinal at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
Texas’ only loss this season was 34-30 to Oklahoma in October. The Longhorns are in the playoff for the first time on the strength of a 34-24 regular-season win at Alabama and a dominating performance in the Big 12 title game.
No. 1 seed Michigan (13-0) will play No. 4 Alabama (12-1) in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. The national championship game is Jan. 8 in Houston.
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