Sweat, Texas defense embracing challenge of trying to stop Washington's No. 1 passing attack

AUSTIN (KXAN) — From the 5-7 season in 2021 to now playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff National Championship game, Texas Longhorns defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat said trust and belief carried the team, even through the lowest moments.

Sweat, the Outland Trophy winner and unanimous All-American, said "it took a lot," for the team to buy in to what head coach Steve Sarkisian and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski were teaching after their first season. But once they did, things started falling into place.

"We just believe, and that's the key," he said Thursday in New Orleans. "I feel like we all put the time in to believe in what he was saying, and this is our outcome. We gained the trust and we believed."

Sweat and company will face the best passing offense in FBS on New Year's Day in the Washington Huskies with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. He's carved up opposing defenses for the past two seasons, including the Longhorns in last year's Alamo Bowl, and he's done it partly because he has the time to go through his progressions. The Huskies offensive line was named the Joe Moore Award winner as the best unit in the country, beating out finalists Oregon, Georgia and Louisiana State.

That being said, Sweat doesn't let some hardware change his approach.

"It's just another O-line to me," he said. "They're a great group of guys, and they're here to win, just like we are. They've got to face guys like us, so we'll see how it goes."

Kwiatkowski is challenging the entire defense not to give up the big plays that define the Huskies' explosive offense. Texas' pass defense has been fine but certainly not the team's strong suit. Kwiatkowski said tackling to limit the chunk plays will be critical.

"We've tweaked some things in the back end that have helped," he said. "But then, they're still going to catch the ball. We've got to get them on the ground and don't give up explosive plays. When we force these offenses to drive the length of the field, we're pretty good."

Kwiatkowski's defense has been elite against the run, tied for No. 2 in the country with UCLA allowing 80.8 rushing yards per game, but the Longhorns have allowed 240.8 passing yards per game — No. 93 in the country. That doesn't deter him from thinking the team isn't ready to take on a challenge such as the Huskies' high-flying attack.

"You don't get to this spot without guys showing that they can do it," he said. "The pass defense, yeah, we'd like to better in that. But at the end of the day, there's a lot more to it. We've been good against the run, in the red zone, on third down ... situations that matter that get the ball back for the offense ... I know the guys have the confidence to do it and they're fired up for this challenge."

Sweat said the most satisfying moment of the season thus far was winning the Big 12 Conference championship, but for obvious reasons, winning the Sugar Bowl and getting a shot at the national title would supersede when the confetti rained down inside AT&T Stadium.

"I ain't finished yet," he said. "We still got a lot more."