There's a celebration going on in Austin. The Texas football team is rejoicing after the school got selected as the no. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff Sunday. Texas will face Washington in a national semi-final game.

 

Texas won the Big 12 Championship in convincing fashion on Saturday, crushing Oklahoma State 49-21. The Longhorns lost only one game this season, a 34-30 heartbreaker to Oklahoma. Texas also had one of the best non conference wins of the season, as it beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 34-24 in September. That win over Alabama carried a lot of weight with the playoff committee and played a role in Texas sneaking into the CFP.

Texas now plays Washington, the champions of the Pac-12 conference. An interesting point about that game is that both schools are playing for conferences that they are about to leave. This is Texas' final season in the Big 12, as it moves to the SEC for 2024 competition. Washington is leaving the Pac 12 and heading to the Big Ten in August 2024.

Texas is led by Quinn Ewers, a quarterback who threw for 452 yards and four touchdowns, with one interception in the Big 12 championship game. Ewers is leading the Longhorns to their first ever appearance in the CFP. The Longhorns are 12-1 heading into the semi-final game against the Washington Huskies. Texas last won a national championship when Vince Young was their quarterback in 2005. The team lost the 2009 national championship game to Alabama.

Texas and Washington play Jan. 1 at 8:45 Eastern. The winner moves on to the national championship, to play the winner of the Michigan-Alabama game.