Texas-Washington Sugar Bowl confidential -- Keys to victory - ESPN

It's easy to get entranced by Texas in the matchup with Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Monday.

It has one of the sport's biggest brands, a coach in Steve Sarkisian who once ditched Washington for a glitzier job and pushed around Alabama in Tuscaloosa earlier in the season.

But Washington is undefeated, has a quarterback in Michael Penix Jr., who possess one of the best arms in college football in recent seasons, and has quietly strung together the sport's longest winning streak at 20 games. That includes a win over Texas.

Washington coach Kalen DeBoer is 33-5 in his past three years as a head coach, stretching back to his final year at Fresno State. He won three NAIA national titles in a four-year span from 2006 to 2009, losing in the title game the other year.

«I think what Washington does best is they play really hard on both sides of the ball,» said an opposing coach. «If I had to say what they do the best, they are a sound team that plays really hard. That's who Kalen DeBoer is and how they've been so good the past two years.»

That run included a 27-20 win over Texas in the Alamo Bowl last year. But the Longhorns have evolved, which has been key to them earning a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time.

«It just seemed like they were a lot more mature this year than last year,» an opposing coach said. «They had a toughness and a composure to them this year that they didn't have last year. Don't confuse toughness with physical toughness. When times got hard in the past, they've been complaining and could implode. This year, they did a better job with that.»

So who will win? We asked a dozen coaches, coordinators and assistants familiar with one or both teams for the keys to