The 85th annual Allstate Sugar Bowl will feature No. 15 Texas (9-4) from the Big 12 Conference and No. 5 Georgia (11-2) from the Southeastern Conference Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019, in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
The University of Texas Football program has been selected to represent the Big 12 Conference in the 2019 Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. Kickoff against Georgia will be at 7:45 p.m. CT on ESPN.
"What a tremendous reward it is for our players to compete in a prestigious New Year's Day bowl game like the Sugar Bowl," head coach Tom Herman said. "I'm extremely proud of what the team has accomplished this season and earning a spot in a big-time game like this, against a tremendous opponent like Georgia, is a huge step for our program. We couldn't be happier with this opportunity and are excited to get back to work and prepare to try to go 1-0 in the Sugar Bowl."
Texas is 9-4 overall and ranked No. 15 in the CFP. The Longhorns lost 39-27 to No. 4 (CFP) Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game. Georgia is 11-2 overall and ranked No. 5 in the CFP Top 25. The Bulldogs lost to No. 1 Alabama, 35-28, in the SEC Championship Game. Both programs have four wins over ranked opponents this season, tied for second-most in the country.
The 2019 Allstate Sugar Bowl marks the 55th all-time bowl appearance for both programs, second-most in college football history. It will be UT's fourth appearance in the Sugar Bowl all-time. The Longhorns are 1-2 in the Sugar Bowl. Texas owns a 3-1 series record against the Bulldogs entering the matchup on Jan. 1.
In just his fourth season as a head coach, Herman has led his program to a NY6 Bowl Game for the second time. He owns a record of 38-14 as a head coach, including 16-10 at the helm of Texas. Herman is 2-0 in bowl games that he has coached in, winning the 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl over Florida State and the 2017 Texas Bowl against Missouri. His 2016 Houston program also played in the Las Vegas Bowl, a game that he did not coach in after taking over the Longhorns' program. This will mark Herman's second appearance in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, as he was the offensive coordinator of Ohio State in 2014, when it defeated Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal, 42-35, on Jan. 1, 2015.
"I've had the chance to experience the awesome hospitality and atmosphere around the Sugar Bowl when we played Alabama there in the 2014 College Football Playoff and know our players, coaches and fans will really enjoy being a part of it," Herman added.
The Longhorns feature one of the nation's top quarterbacks in sophomore Sam Ehlinger, who has completed 256-of-398 passes for 3,123 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also leads the Big 12 Conference with 13 rushing touchdowns. His 38 touchdowns accounted for are tied with Vince Young (2005) for second-most in school history. Ehlinger's 3,123 passing yards are sixth-most in school history for a single season.
Texas also has one of the most prolific receiving duos in school history in juniors Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Collin Johnson. The duo has combined to catch 144 passes for 2,054 yards and 16 touchdowns. They are just the third duo in school history to combine for at least 2,000 yards in a season. Humphrey has 79 catches for 1,109 yards and nine touchdowns. His 1,109 yards are the fifth-most in school history while his nine touchdowns are tied for seventh-most. Johnson has totaled 65 catches for 945 yards and seven touchdowns.
Two Longhorns were named Big 12 Players of the Year just last Wednesday. Senior defensive end Charles Omenihu was named the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, while freshman safety Caden Sterns became the seventh Longhorn to earn the conference's Defensive Freshman of the Year honor.
Omenihu has totaled 43 tackles with 16 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. His 16 TFL are the most in a season by a Longhorn since 2013, as are his 9.5 sacks which rank second in the Big 12 Conference. Linebackers Gary Johnson and Anthony Wheeler lead the way in tackles with 85 and 84, respectively.
As a team, UT ranks third in the conference in total defense, while their rushing defense ranks second. In the Big 12 Championship Game, the Longhorns held Oklahoma without a touchdown in the first quarter, snapping the Sooners' 24-game streak of doing so. It also held OU to 129 rushing yards on 40 attempts, after OU had gone six consecutive games with 290-or-more rushing yards. The Longhorns' defense ranks 15th nationally in the red zone.
Longhorns to watch
DEFENSE
Charles Omenihu • Sr. • DE • Rowlett, Texas
Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year, earned Big 12 first team honors, also received votes to earn honorable mention as the Defensive Player of the Year.
Racked up 43 tackles as senior, including 16 for a loss with 9.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries.
Kris Boyd • Sr. • DB • Gilmer, Texas
First-team All-Big 12 selection thanks to 63 tackles (46 solo) with 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
He has been a lockdown at the corner position, with 16 pass breakups and an interception. He also has a quarterback hurry, forced fumble and a fumble recovery on the year.
Caden Sterns • Fr. • DB • Cibolo, Texas
Earned first team honors at defensive back in addition to his Defensive Freshman of the Year honors.
His four interceptions are tied for the most ever by a Longhorn true freshman, while he has added 62 tackles (46 solo), three TFL, one sack and four pass breakups. He also blocked a field goal that was returned for a touchdown in the win over USC.
Tre Watson • Gr. • RB • Corona, Calif.
Racked up nearly 700 yards on 167 carries this season.
Rushed 14 times for a season-high 93 yards and added eight yards receiving in the 24-10 win over Iowa State, it was a season-high in individual rushing yards allowed by the Cyclones in 2018.
Andrew Beck • Sr. • TE • Tampa, Fla.
A fifth-year tight end who has played in 49 career games with 28 starts, was a second team preseason All-Big 12 by Phil Steele in 2018.
Was named to Mackey Award watch list in 2018 and named a semifinalist for the 2018 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award. Earned first team All-Big 12 honors.
Sam Ehlinger • So. • QB • Austin, Texas
Named third team preseason All-Big 12 by Athlon in 2018 and has 3,732 amassed career passing yards and 13 career 200-yard passing games.
Was named 2018 Academic All-Big 12 First Team. Named 2018 semifinalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and earned a honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in 2018.
D'Andre Swift • So. • RB • Philadelphia, Pa.
Tallied more than 1,000 yards rushing on 155 rushes with 10 touchdowns. Rushed for 187 yards against Auburn.
Also caught 27 passes for 267 yards and 2 scores.
Jake Fromm • So. • QB • Warner Robins, Ga.
Ranks third among all FBS quarterbacks in passing efficiency (175.8) and eighth in completion percentage (68.4), sixth nationally in yards per pass attempt (9.33), 13th in yards per completion (13.64).
One of 11 finalists for the 2018 Manning Award, given to the nation's top quarterback.
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
When Alabama defeated Penn State on December 31, 1975, in the Superdome, the game launched a new era for the Sugar Bowl, one that has tracked through four decades of legendary games, coaches and athletes, and one that projects well into the foreseeable future.
The iconic building, now known as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which recently celebrated its 40th birthday, has truly risen above its counterparts. While most of the other “early” domes have been demolished or mothballed, the Superdome remains at the pinnacle, continuing to host the largest sporting events in the nation including Super Bowls, Final Fours and college football national championships, as well as the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the New Orleans Saints on an annual basis.
The Superdome stands as one of America’s architectural marvels and has now emerged as Louisiana’s most recognizable landmark. However, in August, 2005, the whole world saw what happened here when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans. The image of the Superdome with its torn roof, surrounded by flood waters, was a lasting one.
Now that image has transcended into a symbol of the recovery of the city—the rebuilt Superdome with its gleaming white roof and its fabulous night-time glow poised on the threshold of downtown. Those who doubted that it could be done—that the Dome and the city could come back—now see a nine-acre round billboard that has a clear message. The Superdome and New Orleans are back big time.
New Orleans is world-renowned for its distinct music, Creole cuisine, unique dialect, and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The historic heart of the city is the French Quarter, known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street. The city has been described as the "most unique" in the U.S., owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage.
The city anchors the larger New Orleans metropolitan area which had an estimated population of 1,275,762 in 2017, making it the most populous metropolitan area in Louisiana and the 46th-most populated in the U.S.
SUGAR BOWL HISTORY
Herman's second year at the helm
A Texas Ex and former University of Texas graduate assistant with deep ties to the state of Texas, Tom Herman was named the 30th Head Football Coach at The University of Texas on Nov. 26, 2016. He enters his second season at UT in 2018 and his fourth season overall as a head coach.
In his first season at Texas, Herman guided the Longhorns to a 7-6 record and a victory in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl over Missouri. Both punter Michael Dickson and safety DeShon Elliott were named unanimous All-Americans, with Dickson becoming UT’s first-ever winner of the Ray Guy Award.
Herman came to Texas after compiling a 22-4 record in two seasons at Houston, the fourth-best record in the FBS in that span. His second season as head coach at Texas will mark his 15th spent in the state of Texas out of 21 years coaching on the collegiate level. That includes his time as a graduate assistant at UT (1999-2000), where he earned a master’s degree in education.