Washington quarterback Michael Penix’s journey to 2022 Alamo Bowl has been a rocky road, to say the least. As was the voyage of the rest of the Penix crew.
Up bright and early the morning of December 27th, Michael Penix’s mom tried to electronically check-in her family of 4 for their flight to San Antonio the next day. When she logged onto the Southwest Airlines site it said that their flight to San Antonio was canceled.
Like her son, she scrambled for the next best option.
“We looked for other available flights but they were all over $1,000 a person,” she recalled. “There are 4 of us and that’s not something we could afford last minute.”
The Alamo Bowl has special meaning to the Penix family and they weren’t going to be denied.
“This game is special,” she continued. ”It’s (Michael’s) first bowl game that he will play in.”
Sure, the Indiana-transfer has jersey patches from the Gator and Outback bowl games as an Indiana Hoosier but he didn’t get to play in either due to season-ending injuries. He’s led the Hoosiers to being bowl eligibility in 2019 and 2020 only to have a different QB play in the games.
In transferring to Washington, Penix has stood tall most of the season behind one of the best offensive lines in the country. Protecting the Washington signal-caller’s blindside is freshman right guard, Roger Rosengarten, from Denver, Colorado.
Two time zones away from the Penixes, at 5 in the morning on Monday Ray Rosengarten was watching the news and saw how Southwest was canceling flights.
“My wife comes down stairs around 7 and I’m telling her about how Southwest Airlines is canceling everything,” Ray recalled “She happens to check her Southwest app and realized that her and my daughters flight was canceled.”
So, like the Penix crew, the right tackle’s family was forced to change the play. The airlines were able to do to the Penixes and Rosengartens what no defense could do to their sons all season: keep them on the ground.
“I said, ‘it’s time to do a road trip,” Ray recalled.
But it would take some game-planning. Originally, his wife and daughter were going to fly out on Tuesday and he would follow them on Wednesday. However, they were going to have to drive but they weren’t about to take separate cars on the “little over 900-mile drive.”
“I called my boss and explained my situation and she was totally cool about it,” Ray said.
He did have some loose ends to tie up at work before they hit the road–at 9 pm. The Rosengartens got halfway to San Antonio when the decided to call it a night.
“My wife tried to get a hotel but everything was sold out,” Ray said. “I just said, ‘we are driving straight through’.”
Christmas was over but there was still no room at the inn so they drove on. As they drove through the night they finally caught a break that the wicked winter weather had actually cleared up. 14 hours and 900 miles later the finally touched down in the Alamo City at one in the afternoon the next day.
“Driving was not something we wanted to do,” Mrs. Penix said of the long drive–but it was only option that was financially viable at that juncture.
The Penix’s and Rosengarten’s journey’s couldn’t have been more different. From their residence just outside Tampa, Florida in Riverview the Penixes drove north until they hit Interstate 10 which would take them straight to San Antonio.
It was in the 70’s when the Penixes embarked on the 1,190 miles journey while the Rosengartens 930-mile adventure would have them picking their way through Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas after one of the worst cold snaps those areas have seen.
“I mapped the route on Waze,” Mrs. Penix recalled. “It said that it was approximately 16 hours from Riverview to San Antonio.”
The difference in elevation between the Denver and Riverview couldn’t be more drastic. The Mile High City sits at 5,279 feet above sea level while Riverview, Florida has an elevation of 16 feet.
The Penix’s 16 hour path on Interstate 10 took them through the heart of SEC and ACC country: Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. Only Florida State offered their son when he was at prepping at Tampa Bay Tech. He decided to attend Indiana eventually playing in Kalen DeBoer’s offense in 2019.
Meanwhile the Rosengartens had to drive 14 hours through old Big-12 country of Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. Their son had turned down Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Colorado and Colorado State to become a Husky.
With their Waze App as their guide, the Penixes arrived in San Antonio around 3 in the afternoon central time, 4 o’clock Florida time, Wednesday afternoon.
For most of the 16-hour, 1,190-mile journey the Penix’s drove with one goal of being in San Antonio for the festivities as well as the game.
“We want to be there when UW wins. We couldn’t miss this moment for him,” Mrs.. Penix said.
“We’re not missing Roger game,” agreed Ray.
The Alamo Bowl will be the first bowl game that either Michael Penix or Roger Rosengarten will get to play in. Because of season-ending injuries in 2019 and 2020 Penix missed the Gator Bowl and the Outback Bowl.
As a red shirt freshman at Indiana, Penix led the Hoosiers to bowl-eligibility and a 7-2 season, ending a 3-year absence from post season play.
However, with a 24-3 lead over Northwestern Penix headed to the locker room late in the first half. His backup, Peyton Ramsey finished off the Wildcats but Penix missed the remainder of the season. 2020 would be a virtual Déjà vu as he missed the Outback Bowl the next year.
On the other hand Rosengarten played in one game in Washington’s pandemic-shortened 4-game season in 2020. In 2021 he saw spot duty in 4 games preserving his full four years of eligibility. The Huskies didn’t got to a bowl game in Rosengarten’s first two seasons.
With Penix being a left-handed QB a lot of trust was put in the freshman to guard Penix’s blind side.
The belief in Rosengarten proved to be well-founded as the Husky’s offensive line became one of the best lines in the country, paving the way to a 10-2 record and the trip to the 2020 Alamo Bowl.
But what if the Huskies had wound up in the Rose Bowl and Southwest Airlines was canceling flights, would the Penixes be crossing the country by car.
“That would have been a different story,” Mrs. Penix said.
It’s been a remarkable season for Penix, Rosengarten already, but there’s one final story to be written, on the field tonight at 5:30.
