Longhorns can accomplish NCAA history by winning Peach Bowl and advancing in College Football Playoffs
University of Texas can become first school to win all traditional New Year’s Six bowls
The Texas football program has played in some tremendous bowl games throughout its history. Oddly enough, the Peach Bowl isn’t one of them.
The Longhorns are making their first appearance in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day. That alone is historic. But if Texas can knock off Arizona State, the program will earn an accomplishment nobody can match.
Texas can become the first program to win all New Years Six-designated bowl games — the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose, Sugar Bowls. Advancing to the College Football Playoffs semifinals would be the cherry on top.
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Currently, Texas is 31-26-2 in bowl games. When the bowl system began, the winner of the Southwest Conference normally went to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. UT won its first Cotton Bowl at the end of the 1943 season and won the 1948 Sugar and 1949 Orange Bowls.
Skip ahead to the 21st century, and Texas won back-to-back Rose Bowls at the end of the 2004 and 2005 seasons, the latter being the national championship game against USC. Then, UT checked the Fiesta Bowl box with a 24-21 win over Ohio State at the end of the 2008 campaign.
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Current Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has talked openly about his love affair with college football history. Every time he’s asked about a history-making first or program achievement, Sarkisian revels in it.
Asked Monday about the excitement of the Peach Bowl, Sarkisian said, “It’s amazing. This is a heck of a journey. This season of college football to be in the forefront of the expanded CFP and to be part of it, you know, a year ago we were one of four teams to be in the College Football Playoff, and they expanded it to 12. And I think everyone's assumption was, oh, you just go back.
“Well, we're the only one of those four teams that made it to the 12-team playoff,” he added. “So it's a credit to our staff, to our players. It's an honor to be here. The Peach Bowl does a fantastic job. And so, again, we're just embracing it and enjoying the journey, quite frankly.”
