Here’s how far apart all of the Washington Huskies’ recent postseason trips to Texas are from one another

The Washington Huskies have been in Texas a lot lately. In just the past three seasons, there have been three different trips from Seattle down to Texas. That seems like a lot. But yeah, for the third straight season, Washington is heading to Texas to play in the postseason. 

And as a Texan, I feel like it’s worth reminding some folks of just how big this state actually is. Because it’s pretty dang big.

So, we’re going to do some geography. 

Among other things during my undergraduate degree, I studied a bit of maps and such. Granted, it’s been a few years, but I spent a fair amount of time losing sleep in computer labs pouring all of my energy into trying to decipher ESRI products and sifting through GIS and remote sensing notes. 

I wasn’t great at it. But I did graduate! And that’s what matters. And, well, I did have some fun. And that matters too. 

So, we’re going to use a brief bit of my expertise here and we’re going to do a little road trip with math and numbers and stuff. We’re going to explore all of Washington’s recent trips to Texas and showcase just how far apart all of these various different competitions are from one another.

Washington Huskies to continue exploring Lone Star State in latest postseason trip to Texas

Last year, Washington competed against Michigan in Houston (shoutout to the Bayou City) in the national title game. The season before that, Washington met up with the Texas Longhorns in San Antonio in the Alamo Bowl. From NRG Stadium to the Alamodome? You’re driving just under three hours and that’s assuming you aren’t hitting traffic at any point in time between the two major cities. 

Google Maps is saying the best route between the two at 200 miles. That’s not exactly close, but Texans will drive that. It happens a lot.

Now, from the Alamodome out to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, we’re crossing into a different time zone and driving 555 miles, according to Google Maps. 

That’s a pretty substantial distance. I haven’t done that exact drive, but I have driven to El Paso from Mississippi on a couple occasions and it can take a while. You’re going to be driving for quite some time.

If you were to try to drive from Houston to El Paso? Well, that’s apparently 752 miles (don’t ask for the math on this one, I didn’t check for why 200 + 555 = 752, take that up with Google Maps). 

To help frame a few things, a trip from Husky Stadium driving down to Autzen Stadium is 287 miles. Longer than from NRG Stadium to the Alamodome, but not quite half of driving from NRG Stadium to the Sun Bowl. 

If you wanted to drive from Husky Stadium over to see the Boise State Broncos play in Albertsons Stadium, you’re driving 510 miles. A bit shorter than the distance between the Alamodome and the Sun Bowl.

If for some reason, you found yourself wanting to drive from Husky Stadium to Bobcat Stadium on Montana State University’s campus, you’ll be driving about 682 miles. That’s still not as far as trying to go from NRG Stadium to the Sun Bowl.

So, what can we take away from this? Other than Texas being a really big state, that is.

Washington Huskies get another postseason trip down to Texas with the 2024 Sun Bowl

The Huskies have been all over the Lone Star State the past few years. Will any of this matter to recruiting? Maybe? Will playing in El Paso help attract talent from Houston or Dallas, two of the state’s most talent-rich recruiting areas? I’m not so sold on that sort of notion. 

But, it is cool for the Huskies to expand their brand recognition. Because that is happening here. It’s also great for Washington to connect with a different part of the country, especially when considering how the University of Washington attracts brilliant minds from all over the globe. 

Also, as a fan of El Paso, I also believe it’s really cool that the Huskies will get to see another cool part of Texas that is often overlooked.

From a football-only perspective, it’s never a bad thing to get your brand out in front of as many people as possible. And if the Huskies can continue to establish a presence in Texas, then good things will come from that. A recruiting pipeline can be built. And that would be good for the future of the University of Washington football team.