Bijan Robinson, Texas Longhorns run over Kansas as Big 12 race approaches its final lap
LAWRENCE, Kan. — With about nine minutes left against Kansas on Saturday, Texas running back Bijan Robinson sprinted down his sideline.
He didn't pick up any yards. Robinson wasn't even playing at the time. Instead, he was celebrating as redshirt freshman Jonathon Brooks finished off a 70-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Robinson later joked that he was "trying to go catch him."
So that run didn't count. But Robinson had plenty of carries that did.
The junior rushed for a career-high 243 yards and four touchdowns as Texas ran all over the Jayhawks at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. With the 55-14 victory, Texas (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) remained within striking distance of second-place Kansas State (8-3, 6-2), which hung on to beat West Virginia earlier Saturday, in the conference standings.
"I got asked before the game what's going to be the key tonight, and my last comment was 'No. 5's got to show up tonight. We're going to need him in this ballgame,' and he certainly did," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. "He had a heck of a game."
On the wrong end of a 17-10 decision against TCU last week, Texas is now 4-0 after losses this season. The Longhorns will play Baylor in their regular-season finale the day after Thanksgiving. Kansas State will host Kansas. The Big 12's runner-up will play undefeated TCU in the Big 12 championship game Dec. 3.
In the loss to TCU two weeks ago, the Texas running game was held to 28 yards — its lowest output since a 9-yard effort against the Horned Frogs in 2017 — and averaged 1.3 yards per carry. Robinson touched the ball only a dozen times and finished with just 29 yards.
One week later, Texas got back to its bread and butter (and Bijan).
The Longhorns ran the ball on 15 of their 20 plays in the first quarter. Robinson was responsible for 69 of the 104 rushing yards in the quarter. Two of his eight carries were touchdown runs of 2 and 17 yards, boosting Texas to a 14-0 lead.
Texas wasn't done feeding Robinson. One of his 11 carries in the second quarter was a 31-yard gain in which he broke free of tackle attempts by two Jayhawks. On the final play of the first half, Texas kept its offense on the field and Robinson leapt over the pile for a 1-yard score.
Robinson entered halftime with 172 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Texas led 31-0.
"We knew we had to run the ball throughout the game to become successful, and that's what we did," Robinson said. "When I got here to Lawrence and I got off the plane, I was like, man, it's going to be a cold one. But it don't matter; I've just got to use God's gift and follow the O-line."
That first-half outburst put Robinson on a pace to challenge Ricky Williams' 24-year-old school single-game record of 350 yards. Robinson ended up with the 16th-best performance in school history. He ran for 71 yards and a touchdown over six third-quarter touches and then got the rest of the game off.
"It's huge for us to get a win like this, especially on the road," he said.
Robinson averaged 9.7 yards per rush against a Kansas defense that ranked 93rd nationally stopping the run. Of those 15 single-game performances that were better than his 243 yards, only five featured a better yards-per-carry mark.
Robinson was one of 10 Longhorns who either recorded a rushing attempt or caught a pass in the 41-point win. Keilan Robinson caught a 15-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, and the final frame featured two scores by Brooks.
Texas finished with 427 rushing yards, averaging 7.5 yards per attempt.
"I thought that (TCU) game didn't really display who we are, and everybody knows that, and we took that personally," UT center Jake Majors said. "We brought our A-game today, I'm proud of them. But we've got some stuff to work on."
A Kansas team that boasted a top-20 scoring offense matched its lowest scoring output of the season. During the first half, the Longhorns prevented the Jayhawks from scoring during their three trips into Texas territory. Jerrin Thompson stuck receiver Tanaka Scott for a loss on fourth-and-2 at the 42-yard line, and linebacker Jaylan Ford later intercepted a pass inside the 30.
Trailing 17-0 in the second quarter, Kansas looked as if it had finally found some points in the form of a 12-yard touchdown catch by Jared Casey. But that score was negated by an ineligible receiver downfield penalty. That pushed a fourth-and-1 attempt backward, and the Jayhawks then missed a short field goal.
In the second half, Kansas got touchdown passes to pull within 41-7 and 48-14. The two-touchdown effort came one year after the Jayhawks scored 57 points in an overtime win in Austin.
"It shows a huge improvement," Ford said. "No one really knows the work we put in in the offseason, but I think it's starting to show. There were a lot of down times for us, and it really motivated us to be better. That's credit to all 11 guys that step on that field on defense."
In his postgame press conference, Sarkisian said the leg injury suffered by senior running back Roschon Johnson isn't believed to be serious. Linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey left the game in the second quarter after he was called for a targeting penalty on Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bijan Robinson's career game keeps Texas in hunt for Big 12 title game
