Boxing and the Superdome have gone hand-in-hand over the years.
It was the setting for Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks in the “September to Remember.” It was also the setting for “The Super Fight” between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard, and similar to that classic, there is a similar one brewing between Texas and Washington.
After Georgia’s loss in the SEC Championship Game against Alabama, the title for the nation’s longest winning streak was passed to the Pac-12 Champion Washington Huskies, as they extended their streak to 20 games. The last time Washington had a winning streak at 20 or more games was between 1990 and 1992 when the Huskies won 22 in a row under legendary coach Don James, who went on a string of three consecutive Pac-10 championships and Rose Bowl appearances (2-1).
Fast forward over 30 years, there is a new “boss” over “The Greatest Setting in College Football” in Kalen DeBoer, who has the Huskies within two games of becoming national champions. Standing in their way is a “familiar” foe in the third-ranked Texas Longhorns. The familiarity came just a bowl season ago when the two tangled in the Alamo Bowl.
In the contest, Washington edged Texas 27-20 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Huskies had a three-possession lead to start the fourth quarter, and Texas cut it to a one-possession game via a 26-yard Bert Austen field goal with under two minutes to go.
Following the game, DeBoer said, “Another big night for the ’22 Huskies; it starts with these guys up here (Michael Penix Jr., Wayne Taulapapa, Bralen Trice). They all played huge, huge roles in what happened tonight. It was a culmination of everything we’ve worked on.”
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Taulapapa is now in the NFL, but both Trice and Penix have carried that momentum throughout the 2023 season. Penix, who was the Heisman runner-up to Jayden Daniels, led the nation with 4,218 yards and had 33 touchdowns on the season. Penix, throughout the 2023 campaign, always seemed to make the right throw and was extremely selfless in the Huskies’ approach.
This became more evident in the Arizona game when the Wildcats limited the throwing lanes for Penix. But this allowed running back Dillon Johnson to step up and assert himself in the Huskies’ offense.
After Johnson’s 139 total yards and two touchdowns against the Wildcats, Johnson became the perfect complement to the No. 1 passing attack in the country. Johnson averaged 109.1 yards per game and nearly five yards per game. Against Oregon State, Johnson had his foot stepped on, leaving him less than 100% and forcing him to wear a walking boot.
With nearly a month off from the Pac-12 Championship Game, the layoff has allowed Johnson’s foot to heal, “It’s the first time that I’ve been able to get my foot back together, and it’s been a blessing because the resting time came at the perfect time,” Johnson said. “God blessed me with some strong high pain tolerance because there’s no way I would have been able to play if I didn’t. And whoever made medicine, bless their heart, because I wouldn’t have been able to play without that, either. So I appreciate them, too.”
As the season progressed, the Huskies’ confidence in each other and themselves continued to grow as they overcame steep challenges against their “Beaver State” rivals. They outlasted the Men of Troy in Southern California, an offensive epic that saw a combined 94 points and 1,087 yards of total offense at The Coliseum.
When Selection Sunday revealed Washington would face a familiar foe in Texas, the familiarity with the foe may have inspired confidence in one way or cockiness in another.
Media Days in New Orleans has seen key plays on both sides exchange blows like Duran and Leonard did in the original “Super Fight.”
Penix, who has been the cool, calm, and collective leader of the Huskies, said,
“I’m not gonna lie, their D-line is good, but they haven’t faced our O-line, they play good ball. But I wouldn’t say we’re playing the [San Francisco] 49ers’ D-line or the [Philadelphia] Eagles’ D-line. So, we’ll be good.”
— Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. on Texas’ defensive line
Penix may have never heard of the “Don’t Mess With Texas” slogan, and All-American defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat clapped right back.
“It’s just another O-line to me. I mean, they’re a great group of guys. And they want to win, just like we want to win. Everybody will see Monday at 7:45.”
— Texas DL T’Vondre Sweat
When Sweat was reminded that Washington’s offensive line won the 2023 Joe Moore Award for best offensive line unit in the country, Sweat did not flinch in his reply, “I won awards, too. They’re just awards. Now, they’ve gotta face guys like us. We’ll see Monday night how it all goes down.”
With heavyweight shots exchanged, the fight brewing has all the makings to be a classic in the Superdome, let’s hope no one cries “No Mas.”
