For years, the idea that “Texas is back” has been thrown around with the Longhorns nowhere near competing for a national championship.
Under Tom Herman, Texas made it to the Big 12 Championship Game in 2018 before Herman was unable to meet expectations in Austin. Herman was fired after the 2021 season, giving Steve Sarkisian his third chance to be a head coach.
In just his third year at Texas, Sarkisian has returned the Longhorns to national prominence, going 12-1 in 2023 and bringing the Big 12 Championship back to Austin for the first time since 2009.
Texas will face Washington in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, with kickoff scheduled for 8:45 p.m. ET.
Let’s take a look at a few Texas players to watch with the College Football Playoff semifinals just days away.
Quinn Ewers, sophomore quarterback
One year ago, not many people would have believed that Quinn Ewers would be the player leading Texas back to college football relevance.
Now, Ewers is not only the leader of an offense playing for a chance at a national championship, but he’ll be one of the frontrunners for the 2024 Heisman Trophy should he return to Austin for his junior season, which is believed to be the case.
Ewers is coming off an all-time performance in the Big 12 title game against Oklahoma State, where the sophomore QB set records on the field.
Ewers set a Big 12 title game passing record, throwing for 452 yards and passing Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford on the list. The Longhorns’ offense had the most yards in any half of a Big 12 title game over the past 20 seasons, and Ewers became the first player to throw for four touchdowns in a half of the championship game, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
After missing two games due to injury, Ewers finished the year on a tear, throwing for 1,246 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions in the final four games of the year.
Ewers has thrown for 3,161 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2023, and the sophomore QB drastically improved his completion percentage, going from completing just 58.1% of his passes in 2022 to 70.7% in 2023.
Texas will be facing a Washington defense that allows 263.2 passing yards per game, eighth in the Pac-12.
T’Vondre Sweat, senior defensive lineman
While Texas will certainly need to score in order to keep up with the explosive Washington offense, it’s the Longhorns’ defense that has the most pressure.
With T’Vondre Sweat, the Texas defense finished the year fourth in the country in rushing yards allowed per game (80.3) and is coming off a Big 12 title game in which they were able to limit Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Ollie Gordon II to just 34 yards on the ground.