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Louisville survives late Washington rally at 2024 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
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- Louisville survives late Washington rally at 2024 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
The Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl has featured many improbable endings. The 2024 version fits right in and, in terms of drama and excitement, ranks as one of the greatest Sun Bowls ever.
At the end of one of the biggest shootouts in the 91 years of the game, Louisville escaped with a 35-34 victory against Washington because of a brilliant defensive play from corner Antonio Watts , who batted away a two-point conversion pass in the end zone with 9 seconds left.
Louisville quarterback Harrison Bailey looks over to his team in between plays during a run against Washington of the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl game on Dec. 31, 2024.
That foiled a brilliant Washington comeback from a 35-21 fourth-quarter deficit, fueled freshman quarterback Desmond Williams Jr. and receiver Giles Jackson , who hooked up for four touchdown passes.
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The fourth Williams-to-Jackson touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 9 seconds left to set up the two-point conversion to claim the Sun Bowl trophy.
Quoting the head coaches
"We were going in here for the win," Washington coach Jedd Fisch said after his team finished his first season in Seattle at 6-7. "We weren't going in here for the tie. That's where we're at."
Louisville coach Jeff Brohm chimed in.
"At the end, we made one more play than they did," he said. "They played hard to the end; it wasn't perfect. That's what happens when you play good football teams. You play hard, you play to the end and just hope you come out with one more point than they did.
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"That's what we did."
A two-pointer to win it
The conversion attempt was intended for Jackson, who looked open, but Watts launched himself into the air and batted it down with his outstretched right hand.
"Antonio is a really good athlete," Brohm said. "He comes ready to practice, he comes ready to play, he doesn't miss a rep, he leads by example. He understands the game. Our guys believe in him; he was in there all the time. He made the key play to help us win."
Said lineman MVP Jordan Geurad, "He does that every day in practice. He goes up and gets it like that."
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After the two-point defense, Louisville was called for two celebration penalties and had to recover an onside kick to prevent a final Washington attempt at a game-winning field goal.
How the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl all set up
Most of what came before that was also exciting. Louisville opened the scoring with a pick-6 from Tahveon Jackson, which was part of a 42-point first half — the team's alternated six touchdowns to go to intermission at 21-21 — the second-highest scoring half in Sun Bowl history.
Using first-time starter Harrison Bailey at quarterback, Louisville established a run game behind freshmen tailbacks Isaac Brown (99 yards on 18 carries) and Duke Watson (84 yards on 10 carries) and protected Bailey, who managed the game well enough to win MVP honors. He threw three touchdowns.
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On the other side of the ball, Washington was touting Williams Jr. as a future Heisman candidate after he went 26-of-32 for 374 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 48 yards despite losing 26 yards on five sacks.
Louisville's defense took over the game in the third quarter while it built a 35-21 lead. Washington answered with a 97-yard touchdown drive, a stop and a 62-yard touchdown drive to set up the ending.
That was a great ending, one of the greatest of the Sun Bowl games.
Up next
The 2025 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl's date will be set early next year, but a good bet is that it will kickoff on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at noon. It is slated to pair a team from the ACC against a "Pac-12 Legacy" team, perhaps the last time a historic Pac-12 team will be in the Sun Bowl representing that conference.
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Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Louisville survives late Washington rally at Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
