It’s easy to point to the fact that Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson dropped this one in favor of saving themselves for the NFL Draft as the reason for Texas’ disappointing performance in Thursday night’s Alamo Bowl loss to no. 12 Washington. Because yes, that’s probably the biggest culprit.
Without Robinson, their award-winning Doak Walker, and Johnson, the all-around running back and team leader, the Longhorns’ running game proved stale in San Antonio. Quinn Ewers finished his first season as a Texas starter strong, and the defense disrupted things just enough to throw Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. into the ring. out of his game, but the defense eventually wore out and the lack of running punch was too much to overcome.
Our takeaways from Texas’ 27-20 loss:
What this loss means
Texas ends its season with an 8-5 record, which is definitely not as good as 9-4. That will likely mean the 20th-ranked Longhorns end the season outside the Top 25. There are now question marks at running back and linebacker, who have been two of Texas’ best units all through throughout the season. We’re likely to see heavy gate action, whether it’s current players like Xavier Worthy or Jordan Whittington heading elsewhere for scenery changes or instances where the Longhorns bring ready-made starters to the receiver, running back , linebacker and defensive back. That means Steve Sarkisian’s first year will be remembered for his 5-7 record and his second could well be the loss of the bowl. And that means the Big 12 is now 1-5 in bowl games with two to go.
Who will lead Texas in 2023?
Chances are he’s not even on campus yet. Five-star running back Cedric Baxter Jr. Like Bijan Robinson in 2020, the No. 1 high school running back prospect in the country — retired from Florida last week, and who knows what the rushed performance tonight stands for the way Steve Sarkisian works the transfer portal.
Keilan Robinson, with questions about his durability, got the start and finished with 8 carries for 27 yards. Jonathon Brooks, who was expected to be Texas’ first running back, had 18 yards on six carries. He flashed for a 34-yard touchdown on a screen play, but averaged 3.0 yards per carry.
Not having Robinson was felt throughout the night. Sarkisian opted for an oblique pass on the fourth-and-first in the first half rather than what would normally have been a run from Bijan behind a strong attacking line. Later, third and first, Keilan Robinson was stuffed with no gain. The Longhorns kicked.
Three big games from tonight’s loss
Fourth down trick. What a play call. Washington went for the fourth and first of its own 34 with 10:30 left in the third quarter. Which made no sense, leading 10-13, and when Michael Penix Jr. lined up under center for the first time all night, then the Huskies flashed all kinds of players on the move, and then as Penix let the game clock ticking, it looked like an obvious ruse to blast an offside Longhorn. But just when you thought it was the call, the Huskies broke it and Penix pounced for a first down. They then scored a touchdown to go up 20-10.
42-yard run by Wayne Taulapapa. It not only gave Washington a 10-3 lead, but it was the Huskies’ first sensational moment of the night. And really, one of the only ones, as it turned out.
The fall of Xavier Digne. And Xavier Worthy’s drop. With Texas coming off a 20-10 loss, the Longhorns badly needed an answer in the third quarter. But on back-to-back plays, Quinn Ewers found an open Worthy for shots from 35 to 40 yards down the field, and both times Worthy dropped the hold. Ewers’ placement on both passes was perfect. And Worthy’s second drop should have gone for 66 yards.
Textera
Quinn Ewers finished 31 of 47 for 369 yards and a touchdown. Casey Cain (4-106) and Gunnar Helm (1-19) had great games. Ja’Tavion Sanders had five grabs for 36 yards.
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