Replay: No. 20 Texas football meets No. 12 Washington in Alamo Bowl matchup

For the third time in four years, the Texas Longhorns find themselves in San Antonio at the end of December, squaring off against a Pac-12 opponent in an Alamo Bowl full of important stakes and storylines. Texas (8-4) will end its season either 9-4 or 8-5 and will have to beat a higher-ranked team to add another Alamo Bowl trophy to the case back in Austin.

No. 12 Washington (10-2) finished in a three-way tie for second in the Pac-12 and is led by dynamic quarterback Michael Penix Jr., the transfer from Indiana who has two 1,000-yard receivers to target. The 20th-ranked Longhorns will be without their Doak Walker Award winner, Bijan Robinson, as well as fellow running back Roschon Johnson, each of whom have opted out of Thursday night's game as they prepare for the NFL draft. Same goes with linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. Third-string back Jonathon Brooks is expected to assume Robinson's rushing mantle for the Longhorns.

Follow along below for live updates this morning and throughout the contest:

Texas falls to Washington, 27-20

Washington has won the Alamo Bowl. Texas came up short in its final drive. Quinn Ewers threw incomplete downfield to Xavier Worthy on first down, a pass that nearly was intercepted, and was sacked on second down. He threw it out of bounds on third, and on fourth-and-16 with three seconds left, Ewers threw a 49-yard despeartion shot downfield that Casey Cain came up with. That bumped Cain's yardage total to 106, which led all receivers, in the for-what-it's-worth department.

Texas forces the punt, has one last shot (:31)

Texas forced Washington into a three-and-out, forced a Huskies punt, and it comes down to this: the Longhorns trail 27-20, are out of timeouts, and will get the ball at their own 15-yard line.

Huskies recover the onside kick (4th, 1:34)

Texas, which hasn't attemped an onside kick all season, just tried an onside kick with the Alamo Bowl on the line. The Huskies smothered Bert Auburn's spinner, though, and will take over at Texas' 46 with 1:39 to go, up 27-20. Texas has two timeouts left.

Texas is making it interesting (4th, 1:40)

The Longhorns are at least back in this game. Time's against them, but what was a 27-10 deficit has become a 27-20 game after Bert Auburn's 26-yard field goal.

Still, Texas had its shots at a touchdown. The Longhorns got the ball by stopping Washington on fourth down, thanks to a nice play from Anthony Cook. Casey Cain made a couple of grabs on the drive. On third-and-5 from the Washington 8, Ewers was unable to locate Cain in the end zone. The Longhorns took the three points.

Brooks scores, Texas cuts into Huskies' lead (4th, 9:50)

Jonathon Brooks bulled in from three yards out and the Texas Longhorns made quick work of an 11-play, 74-yard drive that took up only 3:11. Still, when you're trailing by 17 points, every minute counts. Washington now leads Texas 27-17. A pair of 19-yard passes to Xavier Worthy and Gunnar Helm were the big plays of the drive. It was Brooks' second touchdown of the night.

Uh oh, Horns: Huskies extend their lead (4th, 13:08)

Things are trending Washington's way. The Huskies went up 20-10, then forced the Longhorns into a punt, and then chewed up 6:57 of clock, extending a 14-play drive over the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth and capped it with an impressive shoestring catch by Jalen McMillan for an 8-yard touchdown. It's now a 27-10 Huskies lead and the Longhorns have a lot of work to do. If Texas is going to get back into this one, it's going to have to start with Quinn Ewers.

Worthy suffers back-to-back costly drops (3rd, 5:04)

So, this just happened:

On back-to-back plays, Quinn Ewers launched a 35- to 40-yard shot downfield to Xavier Worthy, who had at least one step on his defenders on both plays. And both times, Worthy dropped a perfectly-placed throw from Ewers, who certainly has struggled all season long on these types of throws, but not tonight.

Texas really could have used an answer to Washington's last touchdown. Worthy's second drop likely would have gone in for a 66-yard score. Instead, it's another Longhorns punt. Washington still leads 20-10.

The Huskies strike right back (3rd, 6:44)

Washington, its 13-3 lead cut to 13-10 after the Texas touchdown, has answered with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Taj Davis. The Huskies now lead 20-10.

The big play on the drive came on a daring fourth-and-1 play at Washington's own 34-yard line. Michael Penix Jr. lined up under center for the first time tonight, and the Huskies flashed all sorts of players in motion, obviously trying to draw the Longhorns offside as the play clock wound down. But then, with only a few seconds left, the Huskies quick-snapped and Penix surged forward just enough for the first down.

There were other big plays too, though, including a 16-yard strike to Jack Westover that ended with a hard tackle by Jaylan Ford that flipped the Washington tight end over. The ball came out as he hit the ground. Texas recovered, but it was ruled that Westover was down.

Jonathon Brooks gets Texas back on the board (3rd, 12:31)

It took two quarters, but Jonathon Brooks has made an impact on tonight's Alamo Bowl. But it was a pass, not a run.

On second-and-6 from Washington's 34-yard line, Quinn Ewers tossed it to Brooks on a screen pass in front of the right sideline, and the redshirt freshman threaded his way for a touchdown. It was his first career touchdown catch and it had made this a 13-10 game. The other big play on the drive was a Ewers' improvised pass to Xavier Worthy across the middle for 21 yards to the 34.

So far, Ewers is 18-of-25 for 202 yards and one touchdown. Worthy has nine targets, with six catches for 65 yards.

Texas heads into halftime in search of offense (halftime)

Washington has added to its lead at the end of the first half. Peyton Henry's 24-yard field goal as time expired has the Huskies up 13-3.

The big play was an 18-yard strike to Rome Odunze down to Texas' 17. The Huskies called their final timeout with 22 seconds left, on a second-and-6 at the Longhorns' 13. Michael Penix found Devin Culp for seven yards on a screen pass over the middle for a first down, and the clock was stopped on a Ryan Watts injury with 15 seconds left. (Remember, Washington was out of timeouts.) On second-and-goal from the 6 with 12 seconds left, Penix threw it out of the end zone with seven seconds left. On third down, Odunze couldn't hold onto a slant heater from Penix.

Another punt for Texas, which still trails (2nd, 4:50)

Another Texas drive has ended with a punt. Quinn Ewers found Ja'Tavion Sanders for 17 yards to get the drive going, but on third-and-three — a probable Bijan Robinson run if he were playing — Jordan Whittington couldn't come up with a shoestring catch on the run, sending Daniel Trejo out for the third time.

So far, this has been a matchup of misfiring offenses — Washington's befuddled by Michael Penix Jr.'s erratic start (10-of-19 for 88 yards and one pick) and Texas' by its ineffective running game. Really, it's been that narrative sandwiched around Wayne Taulapapa's 42-yard touchdown run and Jerrin Thompson's interception that probably saved points on Washington's opening drive that have told the story of this game. Together, Keilan Robinson and Jonathon Brooks have 8 carries for 19 yards.

Where have you gone, Bijan Robinson? (2nd, 9:25)

How much is Texas missing Bijan Robinson? On that fourth-and-1 on the last drive, Steve Sarkisian called a slant pass to Xavier Worthy. Turnover on downs. And on third-and-1 on this drive, Keilan Robinson was stuffed for no gain. This time, on fourth-and-1, Sarkisian called for the punt. So far, Keilan Robinson has five carries for 14 yards, an average of 2.8 yards per carry. Jonathon Brooks had three carries for 5 yards, or 1.8 yards per.

Bijan Robinson is over on the sideline, wearing a Longhorns T-shirt. The Doak Walker Award winner is chatting with Roschon Johnson, who's also opting out of tonight's game.

No harm, no foul for Longhorns (2nd, 11:13)

Washington stubbed is toe not once but twice after getting the ball on the turnover of downs. Those stubs turned a third-and-4 into a third-and-14 after a false start and a delay of game. On third-and-long, Michael Penix Jr. launched downfield toward Rome Odunze, but Anthony Cook broke up the pass. Was it pass interference? Likely, but it wasn't called. There was drama over the punt (Jordan Whittington came thiiis close to a block, but instead ran into the punter; he was flagged only five yards, not 10).

Texas trails 10-3 and will start at its own 17.

Texas' promising drive dries up at the 37 (2nd, 13:08)

Texas' drive has ended with a turnover on downs. Quinn Ewers started the second quarter with back-to-back short passes to Ja'Tavion Sanders and Savion Red, but on fourth-and-1 from Washington's 37, Ewers couldn't connect with Xavier Worthy crossing the middle. The Huskies have taken over from there.

Huskies take a 10-3 lead after one quarter

The first quarter is over. Washington leads 10-3 after that Wayne Taulapapa touchdown, but the Longhorns are driving. Texas will have a second-and-8 from the Huskies' 44-yard line to open the second quarter. Jonathon Brooks (three carries), Xavier Worthy (2 catches for 19 yards) and Ja'Tavion Sanders (a catch on the first play) — besides Quinn Ewers, the three most important offensive players for Texas tonight — all were involved in this drive. Ewers converted a third-and-2 near midfield with a 5-yard keeper, too.

Huskies strike on a long touchdown run (1st, 3:17)

Perhaps Bijan Robinson sucked most of the energy about the running backs in this Alamo Bowl, and even to an extent beyond that the expected spotlight on Jonathon Henry. But it's Washington's Wayne Taulapapa who's landed the first real body blow tonight: a 42-yard touchdown run complete with a stiff-arm of Ryan Watts that has the Huskies now leading 10-3. Still, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. looks off. He had thrown six straight incompletions until he found Rome Odunze for 12 yards on a third-and-seven on this drive, and a first-down blitz forced him to throw wild a few plays later. He's 7-of-14 for 78 yards and an interception so far.

Texas: We'll call your field goal (1st, 7:52)

Texas has answered Washington's field goal with a field goal of its own. Bert Auburn's 30-yard kick has tied this one up 3-3.

A holding penalty on the kickoff scooted Texas back to its own 10-yard line to start the drive. On the first play, Washington defensive end Jeremiah Martin was flagged for a facemask on Keilan Robinson, a 15-yarder, and Quinn Ewers then found Xavier Worthy for 18 yards and then Jordan Whittington for 11 on back-to-back plays, and before you knew it, the Longhorns were on the Huskies' side of the field. A screen to Robinson on third-and-10 came up just short, but on fourth-and-1, Ewers found Casey Cain out of the backfield for a big 27-yard gain down to the 10.

That brought in Jonathon Brooks for the first time. Ewers threw incomplete to Whittington in the end zone, Gunnar Helm was flagged for a five-yard false start back to the 15, and after a short toss to Brooks, the Horns faced a third-and-goal from the 12. Ewers found Cain on a fade route in the end zone, but Cain was out of bounds.

Washington settles for a field goal (1st, 11:44)

The Huskies had great field position coming off that blocked punt, but didn't do much with it. Texas' defense looks like it's playing with high energy to start this game. Michael Penix Jr. threw incomplete on first down, a second-down run yielded just one yard and Anthony Cook broke up a sideline catch on third-and-long. Peyton Henry's 46-yard field goal was good, and Washington is up 3-0 early.

Texas' opening drive goes backward, way backward (1st, 12:01)

Texas' first drive literally went backward, but along the way we saw Keilan Robinson, not Jonathon Brooks, make his first start of the season at running back, we saw Texas give up its 18th sack of the season, we saw Quinn Ewers underthrown Xavier Worthy — who's wearing No. 1 tonight — and we saw Daniel Trejo's first punt of the night get blocked.

That's right. This game has started with a Texas pick and a Washington blocked punt. The Huskies have the ball at Texas' 30.

Well, that didn't take long (1st, 13:50)

Washington took one play to make an early statement, as a running back pitch-back flea-flicker resulted in a 34-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Ja'Lynn Polk down to Texas' 40-yard line. Penix aired it out to Taj Davis, who had a step on Anthony Cook, in the end zone on the very next play, but he overthrew him. On third-and-10, Penix was picked off by Jerrin Thompson, who was in the right place at the right time.

It was either a bad pass or a bad route. Either way, the Longhorns have taken over at their own 27.

Aaaand we're off (1st quarter, 15:00 left)

This Alamo Bowl is officially underway. Texas has kicked off and the Huskies are going to start off at their own 25. Washington is the home team tonight, so the Longhorns are wearing their road whites. Texas won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, so the Huskies will open with the ball.

If Texas-Washington is anything like the Oklahama-Florida State Cheez-It Bowl, then we're in for a good one. The 13th-ranked Seminoles held off OU's comeback bid in the final minute in a 35-32 thriller. Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis threw for 418 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Johnny Wilson had eight catches for 202 yards. Dillon Gabriel was 14-of-24 for 243 yards and a touchdown pass to Jalil Farooq, and the Sooners had a pair of 100-yard rushers in Jovantae Barnes (27-108-1) and Gavin Sawchuk (15-100-1). The Seminoles end their season at 10-3; the Sooners fell to 6-7.

Texas vs. Washington history

This will be only the fifth time Texas and Washington will meet each other and for the third time in a bowl game. Texas leads the series 3-1.

1974: Texas 35-21, in the fourth game of the season

1975: Texas 28-10, in the second game of the season

1979: Washington 14-7, in the Sun Bowl

2001: Texas 47-43, in the Holiday Bowl

Texas' last five bowl games: 4-1

We're about 30 minutes away to kick. Here's a look at the last five bowl games Texas has played in. The Horns are 4-1 heading into tonight's Alamo Bowl:

2014: lost to Arkansas 31-7 in the Texas Bowl, as the Longhorns mustered only 59 total yards all game

2017: def. Missouri 33-16 in the Texas Bowl, as UT punter Michael Dickinson won bowl MVP honors

2018: def. Georgia 28-21 in the Sugar's Bowl, and the Longhorns were baaack — at least for one season

2019: def. Utah 38-10 in the Alamo Bowl behind Sam Ehlinger's four total touchdowns

2020: def. Colorado 55-23 in the Alamo Bowl, as Casey Thompson said hello but Tom Herman was about to say goodbye

The sighs of Texas: who won't be on the field

We're about an hour away from kickoff, and tonight's Alamo Bowl for Texas is very much about the future. With running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown all opting out of tonight's game, we're going to get an early look at what next season's running game will look like. Jonathon Brooks gets his shot tonight as the lead back, Keilan Robinson can prove he's durable enough and Jaydan Blue remains a four-star unknown commodity.

But those three opt-outs not only played pivotal roles in Texas' season — Robinson, who won the Doak Walker Award, rushed for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns; Johnson was key as Robinson's backup and also was a leading voice in the locker room; and Overshown was the team's second leading tackler whose career was marked by big plays — but they all three also were integral in the Longhorns' 55-23 win over Colorado in the 2020 Alamo Bowl.

Robinson scored three touchdowns that night, including the first two of the game that had Texas up 14-0 after one quarter, and finished with 183 yards, 66 of those coming on one run. Johnson's 21-yard touchdown run closed out the scoring for the night and Overshown tied for the team lead in tackles and added an interception and a fumble recovery.

Washington, meanwhile, wasn't expected to have any opt-outs for the game.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Replay: Texas loses to Washington in Alamo Bowl game to end season