Did Washington QB Michael Pennix Take a Shot at the Big 12?
One of the most anticipated bowl games of the season is nearing as the third-ranked Texas Longhorns will head to New Orleans to take on No. 2 Washington in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
The winner will move on to their first National Championship game in the College Football Playoff era, while the loser will fall short of what was surely an attainable goal after the seasons that each of these teams have had.
Texas hasn’t lost a game since falling to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry back in October, while Washington comes into the contest with an unblemished 13-0 record. Despite that, the Longhorns are the ones with Vegas’ seal of approval, entering the weekend as 3.5-point favorites.
Whether it’s that, or just the confidence that the Heisman runner-up has in his team, Michael Penix Jr. seems to have a chip on his shoulder coming into this contest. Washington just won the Joe Moore Award, presented annually to the nation’s top offensive line, and has done a fantastic job protecting Penix and opening up running lanes all season. While they’ve yet to see a defensive line like Texas is bringing to the Superdome, Penix doesn’t seem too worried.
“I’m not going to lie, their D-line is good. But at the same time, they haven’t played our o-line,” Penix said. “They play good ball, but I wouldn’t say we’re playing the 49ers’ D-line or the Eagles’ D-line, so we’ll be good.”
Penix went a step further though, and seemed to take a shot at more than just the Longhorns, but at the Big 12 as a whole.
“They had some good D-linemen last year,” Penix said if the Texas team he faced in the 2022 Alamo Bowl. “One or two might have left. They were good last year too. They usually have big boys over there on that side that can make plays. But I don’t know, but it’s different seeing them on film and being in the game. You see it on film, but at the same time, you’re watching a game against Texas Tech, K-State, all the teams they play, and I don’t feel like those teams have the offensive line that we have. So it’s like, we’ll have to see when it comes game day.”
There was little doubt that the battle to watch in this game was always going to be the Washington O-Line vs. the Texas D-line, but now there’s going to be a little extra sauce for the battle in the trenches. If T’Vondre Sweat, the 2023 Outland Trophy winner, wasn’t motivated enough as it is, he certainly will have something to prove now.
The Sugar Bowl will kick off at 7:45 p.m. CT on Monday, January 1, on ESPN, with the winner heading to the National Championship to face either Alabama or Michigan at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
