| Year Game Played: | 1979 |
| Game Name: | Sun Bowl |
| Football Season: | 1979 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Washington |
| Visitor Nickname: | Huskies |
| Home Name Short: | Texas |
| Home Nickname: | Longhorns |
| Visitor Record: | 9–2 |
| Visitor Conference: | Pac-10 |
| Home Record: | 9–2 |
| Home Conference: | SWC |
| Visitor Coach: | Don James |
| Home Coach: | Fred Akers |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 13 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 13 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 11 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 11 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Date Game Played: | December 22 |
| Stadium: | Sun Bowl |
| City: | El Paso, Texas |
| Mvp: | Paul Skansi, WR, Washington |
| Odds: | Texas by 7 [1] |
| Referee: | Donald Safrit (ACC) |
| Attendance: | 33,412 |
| Us Network: | CBS |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Pat Summerall Tom Brookshier Frank Glieber |
The 1979 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Texas Longhorns and the played on Saturday, December 22, in
The Huskies were the runner-up in the Pacific-10 Conference, behind USC. The Longhorns had lost two games by a combined total of nine points, with the two losses costing them a Southwest Conference title. This was Washington's first Sun Bowl and Texas' second straight.
Husky defensive lineman Stafford Mays recovered quarterback Rick McIvor's fumble late in the first quarter in Longhorn territory. Ten seconds into the second quarter, junior quarterback Tom Flick threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to freshman Paul Skansi for the first score. On the second play of the Longhorns' ensuing drive, strong safety Greg Grimes recovered McIvor's fumble at the 25-yard line, giving Washington another shot at scoring. Five plays later, Willis Ray Mackey scored on a touchdown run to make it But on Washington's next possession, Flick fumbled the ball to defensive lineman Kenneth Sims, who recovered it in Texas territory. Forty three yards later, Donnie Little threw a touchdown pass to Brad Beck with 3:10 to go in the half.
In gusty winds, the rest of the game was a defensive affair, with the Longhorns' fumbles in the first half proving costly. Skansi caught five passes for 52 yards and was named MVP. Mays had 12 tackles, a fumble recovery, and two sacks.[2] [3]
The Huskies returned to the Sun Bowl three times (1986, 1995, 2002), but lost all three; the Longhorns returned in 1982 and 1994.
| Statistics | Washington | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 11 | 16 |
| Net Yards Rushing | 98 | 199 |
| Net Yards Passing | 67 | 37 |
| Total Offense | 165 | 236 |
| Passes Intercepted | 1 | 1 |
| Punting-Average | 7–39.1 | 4–39.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 3–3 |
| Penalties-Yards | 4–38 | 4-30 |