Texas football team's 10 most important plays of the season, from Alabama to Big 12 title

No College Football Playoff trip is ever without its bumps, and Texas’ path to the Sugar Bowl is no exception.

Every play, positive or negative, has led No. 3 Texas (12-1) to New Orleans. But these 10 plays defined the Longhorns' season:

Quinn Ewers' deep shot to Xavier Worthy in Tuscaloosa

Texas’ game at Alabama on Sept. 9 was billed as Ewers’ chance for revenge since his 2022 collarbone injury near the end of the first quarter cut his 2021 hot start vs. the Crimson Tide woefully short. After Ewers missed on multiple deep shots in the season opener against Rice, his 44-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy in the second quarter in Tuscaloosa was the perfect pass at the perfect time.

Under the brightest of lights, Ewers delivered. He also seized momentum and gave the Longhorns a 10-3 lead and got people across the country thinking, "Is Texas different this year?"

Jerrin Thompson's pick six vs. Wyoming

The week after that big win over Alabama, the Longhorns found themselves locked in a 10-10 tie at home against Wyoming heading into the fourth quarter.

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Then they got another long touchdown pass from Ewers to Worthy, again from 44 yards out. And a 5-yard touchdown run by Ewers. Finally, Thompson snagged an interception off Cowboys quarterback Evan Svoboda and returned it 27 yards for another touchdown, making it 31-10 with 8 minutes, 46 seconds to play. That pick six sealed the win.

It wasn't comfortable, but Texas showed it could pull out an ugly win when it needed one.

So close: Jordan Whittington's catch put Texas at OU's 1

It was a massive play by Whittington, who took a slant pass on third-and-5 from Oklahoma's 29-yard line and ran it for 28 yards to the Sooners' 1 early in the fourth quarter.

For most teams, a first-and-goal touchdown would have been a formality at that point, but it wasn't for Texas, which was trailing 27-20 with a chance to tie the Red River Rivalry game. In the first half of the season, the Longhorns struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone, and Whittington's catch simply made the drive and the game emblematic of it.

Texas failed to punch it in on four tries from the 1 — two Jonathon Brooks runs for no gain and a third-down run by Brooks that lost a yard. On fourth-and-goal from the 2, Ewers found Worthy on the left side, but the play went for just 1 yard.

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Had Whittington been able to stretch for that extra yard, who knows how the season might have changed? Yes, Texas still made the CFP, but might the undefeated Longhorns have ended up as the No. 1 seed, preparing to face Alabama again?

Nic Anderson breaks Texas' season in Oklahoma's win

This play might have been the most painful moment of the season for Texas, even though it also saw Ewers get hurt against Houston and miss the next two games as well as Brooks go down with a season-ending knee injury against TCU. That's because the Longhorns went 2-0 without Ewers and saw CJ Baxter and Jaydon Blue step up in the running game.

This one led to Texas' only loss.

The Oct. 7 game against Oklahoma went down to the wire as the Longhorns held a 30-27 lead with 1:17 to play. That's when OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel quickly moved the Sooners to their own 36. Then to Texas' 48. And just like that, they were on UT's 6-yard line with 23 seconds left. As the clock wound down, Gabriel floated a pass to the back of the end zone, where Anderson was waiting for the dagger.

Texas, which had been No. 3 in the country, slid in the rankings and remained out of the national top five throughout the regular season. It left the Longhorns with no room for error in terms of their CFP hopes. They responded by going undefeated the rest of the way.

Jahdae Barron's fourth-down stop at Houston

This play almost didn’t happen. If the referees in Houston had spotted the ball a little differently on Stacy Sneed's third-and-1 run at Texas' 10-yard line with just over one minute left in a 31-24 game, it would have given the Cougars a first down. But that third-down stop by T'Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II set up Barron's fourth-down heroics that preserved the Longhorns' win.

On fourth-and-1 at the 10, Barron broke up a short pass intended for Houston receiver Stephon Johnson. Texas took over on downs with 1:03 to play and ran out the clock on a couple of kneel-downs by Maalik Murphy, who had relieved Ewers after his injury.

Texas' goal-line stand against Kansas State

Like at Houston, Texas' eventual CFP bid was teetering on the edge of a cliff Nov. 4. In overtime, the Longhorns led Kansas State 33-30 after a Bert Auburn field goal but needed a defensive stop when the Wildcats had a first-and-goal from the 6-yard line.

Will Howard kept it for a 2-yard gain to the 4 on first down. Sweat, who broke up Howard's second-down pass, produced the first save. Howard threw incomplete on third down to set up fourth-and-goal from the 4. The Wildcats, after a Texas timeout, decided to go for the win. But Barryn Sorrell broke through for a game- and season-saving sack to help the Longhorns escape.

Jordan Whittington's fumble-punch against TCU

Whittington's play in Fort Worth defined the consummate veteran's time in Austin as an underappreciated receiver who'll do anything to help his team win.

Late in the first quarter, with Texas leading 7-6, Ewers' deep throw to Worthy was intercepted by TCU's Millard Bradford. On Bradford's return, Whittington sprinted up from behind the defensive back and punched at the ball, knocking it loose. It was recovered by Worthy — the original target of the pass — at UT's 36.

Texas was up 7-6 at that point, and had the Horned Frogs started their drive inside Longhorns territory, they probably would have scored some points. In a 29-26 victory, that play mattered. A lot.

Adonai Mitchell's third-down conversion in Fort Worth

Mitchell, the first-year transfer from Georgia, has 51 catches for 813 yards, a team-high 10 touchdown catches and lots of big plays heading into the Sugar Bowl, but you can make the case that his play on third-and-12 from Texas' 13-yard line with two minutes left against TCU was his biggest of the season.

Clutching a 29-26 lead on the critical play, Ewers lofted a pass down the left sideline to Mitchell. The pass was slightly underthrown, causing Mitchell to adjust his route and fall to the ground. But he made the catch on his way down, a 35-yard gain that secured the first down and the win.

The Longhorns could have run the ball and left the game in the hands of their defense, but coach Steve Sarkisian's gutsy call along with Ewers' and Mitchell's connection ended up being the deciding play.

T'Vondre Sweat's blocked extra point against Iowa State

The Longhorns took Iowa State guard Jared Hufford’s midweek comments about their program to heart. That’s why Sweat was raring to go from the start of the Nov. 18 game in Ames, Iowa. He and Murphy helped hold the Cyclones to 9 yards rushing, but the most emphatic play came after an Iowa State touchdown.

Texas saw the Cyclones cut its lead to 13-9 on a 14-yard pass with 2:13 left in the third quarter. But Sweat broke through the line to block the extra-point kick that would have made it a 13-10 game. The ball bounced into Austin Jordan's hands, and the reserve defensive back ran it back 82 yards for a 2-point return. So the game went from a potential 13-10 score to a 15-9 Longhorns lead, and Texas went on to win 26-16 to place itself in prime position for a Big 12 championship berth.

That play, as well as the overall performance by Texas' best defensive player, was an emphatic statement: Taunt the Longhorns at your own risk.

T'Vondre Sweat's Heisman moment

Forget the Outland Trophy. And the Big 12's defensive player of the year award. Should Sweat have been a Heisman Trophy contender after the touchdown he scored against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game? It looked as if he thought so.

With Texas leading 14-7 late in the first quarter, Sweat made a big play on offense that helped spark the Longhorns to their 49-21 blowout. On first-and-goal from the 2, Texas lined up in a jumbo formation with Sweat on the line and Byron Murphy II in the backfield. It was all a ruse, though, as Sweat lumbered into the end zone for a big-man touchdown catch.

He struck the Heisman pose as well, just for kicks.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas' 10 most important football plays of the 2023 season