Bowl season continues on as the much-anticipated College Football Playoff matchup between No. 2 Washington and No. 3 Texas is set for a prime-time kickoff in New Orleans.
The game will feature an intriguing matchup at quarterback with Michael Penix Jr., anticipated to be one of the earliest names off the board at signal-caller after completely turning his career around after his transfer from Indiana and becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Penix finished the season with a 65.9% completion rate, passing for 4,218 yards today with 33 touchdowns and nine interceptions at the helm of the No. 19 offense in the country.
Wide receiver Rome Odunze and running back Dillon Johnson have also been key components in keeping the passing and rushing game humming, respectively, and could create some problems for Texas. Over Washington’s past five games, Johnson has averaged more than 135 rushing yards, experiencing a major upswing since transferring over from Mississippi State.
MORE: Watch Texas vs. Washington live on Fubo (free trial)
Texas is the slight favorite here with a loaded quarterback room that features both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning, with the coaching power of Steve Sarkisian as the team also has one of the best offenses in the nation.
But the suspect passing defenses of both teams may affect the outcome, which is already expected to be very close.
The Longhorns have the No. 93 pass defense in college football, giving up an average of 250.8 yards per contest. The Huskies are even worse at No. 120 among 133 teams in the FBS, surrendering 263.2 passing yards per game.
How this one shakes out and who moves on to the big game will be something to watch.
The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights for Texas vs. Washington on Monday night. Follow along for the latest scores and highlights from the game.
Texas vs. Washington score
Team 1 2 3 4 F Texas 7 14 0 7 Washington 7 14 10 3
Texas vs. Washington live updates, highlights from College Football Playoff semifinal
(All times Eastern)
Washington 34, Texas 28
12:09 p.m.: Texas is back in it, scoring its first points of the second half. Quinn Ewers completes a short, 1-yard pass to the right into the hands of Adonai Mitchell.
12:05 p.m.: Texas is in scoring range at the Washington 10 after Quinn Ewers hits Malik Agbo on a 6-yarder.
11:50 p.m.: That’s Washington ball. The ruling on the field that Jaydon Blue was down is overturned. It’s recovered by Huskies defender Bralen Trice at the Washington 24.
11:44 p.m.: Washington tacks on a 40-yard field goal from Grady Gross to build on what is now a 13-point lead.
11:41 p.m.: The announced attendance for the Sugar Bowl is 68,791 fans.
Washington 31, Texas 21
11:37 p.m.: The third quarter ends on a 5-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Germie Bernard. Washington will start the fourth quarter at the Texas 18.
11:21 p.m.: Grady Gross’ 26-yard field goal is good. The Huskies choose to take the 10-point lead instead of going for the touchdown on fourth down.
11:15 p.m.: Texas’ CJ Baxter fumbles and it’s recovered by Washington’s Asa Turner deep in Longhorns territory. Huskies start at the Longhorns 31.
11:14 p.m.: Michael Penix Jr. is continuing to have a standout night. Less than five minutes into the third quarter, he is 17-of-20 passing for 311 yards with 2 touchdowns.
11:10 p.m.: Michael Penix Jr. hits Jalen McMillan for the 19-yard touchdown.
11:07 p.m.: Michael Penix Jr. keeps for the 12-yard rush to the Texas 45, crossing into Longhorns territory.
Washington 21, Texas 21
10:39 p.m.: Touchdown Texas. CJ Baxter takes it up the middle for the 3-yard score to tie the game at 21-21 with 17 seconds left in the second quarter.
10:33 p.m.: Tim Tebow’s Sugar Bowl record for passing yards is 482 in 2010. Michale Penix Jr. is on track to beat that with 255 passing yards to this point.
10:29 p.m.: What a catch by Ja’lynn Polk. It bounces off his hands and then he reels it in for the 29-yard touchdown. Washington leads Texas, 21-14 with 1:27 to go until halftime.
10:26 p.m.: Michael Penix Jr. finds Jack Westover for 15 yards and Washington advances to the Texas 29.
10:14 p.m.: Washington will start its next drive at its own 24.
10:05 p.m.: Washington goes for it on 4th & 1 and does not get there. Dillon Johnson took the direct snap, but Texas read it perfectly.
10:02 p.m.: Texas might be fortunate to have this game where it is with the way the secondary is getting beaten right now. Penix completes to Odunze for a massive 52-yard gain, and the Heisman runner-up is now up to 190 yards on just six completions.
Rome Odunze vs Ryan Watts pic.twitter.com/ZNAgO1Kgbb
— NMD Grant (@NMDgrant) January 2, 2024Texas 14, Washington 14
09:58 p.m. TOUCHDOWN: Texas takes advantage of the muffed punt and evens the score on a big man touchdown by DT Byron Murphy II. The special teams mistake costs the Huskies just when they had a chance to take control of the game.
After the muffed punt, Texas ties it pic.twitter.com/eDGuN5nYaq
— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) January 2, 2024
09:53 p.m. FUMBLE: Disaster for the Huskies! Germie Bernard can’t hold onto the punt, and it’s recovered by Texas just outside the red zone. The Longhorns have an instant scoring opportunity.
Just not a good night for special teams 😭
TEXAS HAS THE FOOTBALL BACK pic.twitter.com/BsJC73JVCr
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) January 2, 2024Washington 14, Texas 7
09:46 p.m. TOUCHDOWN: For the second time tonight, Dillon Johnson caps off a pass-heavy drive with a rushing touchdown. Washington regains the lead and goes up 14-7.
09:41 p.m.: Big completions to Germie Bernard and Rome Odunze have Washington driving and deep into Texas territory. Penix continues to find success downfield.
Washington 7, Texas 7
09:19 p.m.: Texas responds with a 5-yard touchdown run by Jaydon Blue.
09:16 p.m.: Quinn Ewers completes his second pass of the night with a 31-yarder to CJ Baxter.
09:11 p.m.: Great pass from Michael Penix Jr. there. He finds Ja’lynn Polk on a 77-yard deep shot to the right. Dillon Johnson follows it up with a 2-yard touchdown run and Washington leads, 7-0 less than 4 minutes into the first quarter.
09:08 p.m.: A 31-yard return gave Texas some juice on the first drive of the game, but Quinn Ewers fails to complete all 4 of his passing attempts and the Longhorns punt. Washington starts its first drive at its own 11 after the punt is downed by Michael Taaffe.
09:05 p.m.: After a 31-yard return from Blue set Texas up with solid field position, it’s 3rd&10 with the ball at the Texas 45 for the Longhorns.
Pregame: The Longhorns come into this game with essentially a home field advantage as the stands are almost completely orange with the stadium now totally filled.
Texas fans traveled well to this one (as would be expected given the distance compared to Washington).
Whole lot of orange and hard to spot any purple at the Sugar Bowl. Homefield advantage for the Longhorns. pic.twitter.com/B2kmvhYwxs
— Crissy Froyd (@crissy_froyd) January 2, 2024
Pregame: Washington wins the toss and elects to defer. Quinn Ewers and the Texas offense will go to work first.
Pregame: The Sugar Bowl broadcast will now begin on ESPN2 and then will move to ESPN when the Rose Bowl broadcast concludes.
Pregame: The kickoff has been delayed for the Sugar Bowl due to the overtime situation with Alabama-Michigan. The game is now set to kick off in 18 minutes.
Pregame: Michigan ties Alabama at 20-20 with roughly one and a half minutes remaining in regulation. If the game goes into overtime, the start of the Sugar Bowl will be delayed.
Pregame: Texas is well-represented with the stadium beginning to fill up with almost entirely orange, as would be expected given the distance from New Orleans between the two teams respectively.
Pregame: Bevo has arrived.
Bull pic.twitter.com/1uiNvSYmWw
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 2, 2024
Pregame: Texas arrives to Caesars Superdome.
Business ready 🤘 pic.twitter.com/wn3Rey8ikB
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 2, 2024
Arrived 🤘 pic.twitter.com/4EL6iM7hoH
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 1, 2024
Pregame: Washington arrives to Caesars Superdome.
Dawgs in the house. #PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/zavXqDzt1r
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) January 1, 2024
QB1 dialed pic.twitter.com/gM4s7z0SxY
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) January 1, 2024
Long time comin’ … pic.twitter.com/ZUpr9Dj73x
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) January 1, 2024
Texas vs. Washington start time
Date: Monday, Jan. 1Start time: 8:45 p.m. ET l 5:45 p.m. PT
Monday night’s Sugar Bowl contest between the Longhorns and the Huskies is set to kick off at 8:45 p.m. ET at the Superdome in New Orleans, La.
MORE: Texas vs. Washington CFP semifinal player props, odds, picks
What channel is Texas vs. Washington on today?
Game: No. 3 Texas vs. No. 2 WashingtonDate: Monday, Jan. 1TV channel: ESPNLive stream: ESPN+, Fubo
Monday night’s Sugar Bowl game between the Longhorns and the Huskies will be broadcast across multiple ESPN networks.
ESPN is rolling out its Megacast for the College Football Playoff, once again providing alternate broadcasts across its family of networks with just about the same setup as last season’s semifinals.
Telecast TV channel Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show ESPN2 Command Center ESPNU Skycast ESPN News Spanish-language ESPN Deportes
College Football Playoff schedule
Date Bowl Matchup Time (ET) TV Jan. 1 Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal) No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama 5 p.m. ESPN, Fubo Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal) No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas 8:45 p.m. ESPN, Fubo Jan. 8 CFP National Championship Game TBD vs. TBD 7:30 p.m. ESPN, Fubo