Replay: Texas football beats Baylor, keeps Big 12 hopes alive in regular-season finale
At least the Texas Longhorns know where they stand in their final game of the regular season: They have already qualified for a bowl game, and in order to qualify for a spot in the Big 12 championship game for the first time since 2018, they must beat Baylor at home on Friday and then hope that Kansas upsets Kansas State in Manhattan on Saturday night.
It's Senior Day for the Longhorns, who'll honor their seniors playing their final game at Royal-Memorial Stadium, including Roschon Johnson, Keondrre Coburn, DeMarvion Overshown, D'Shawn Jamison and Anthony Cook. And while Bijan Robinson isn't a senior, most think this is his final home game in a Texas uniform as well before he jumps to the NFL.
The Longhorns (7-4, 5-3) are coming off a 55-14 win over Kansas in Lawrence; the Bears (6-5, 4-4) have lost two in a row to Kansas State and TCU, the Horned Frogs winning 29-28 last week on a last-second field goal.
It could be a rainy day at DKR with temperatures expected in the mid-50s. Texas is favored by 8½ points over the Bears. Follow along below for live updates this afternoon and throughout the contest:
Texas wins, and now it's come ooonnn, Kansas
With the crowd chanting "Bijan! Bijan! Bijan!" only a few yards from what would have been his third touchdown, Texas tailback Bijan Robinson — perhaps playing in his final game at Royal-Memorial Stadium, too — instead allowed himself to get tackled inbounds and thus let Texas run out the final seconds of the clock to give the Longhorns a 38-27 win over Baylor, keeping Texas' Big 12 championship hopes alive.
Texas (8-4, 6-3) now must hope that Kansas upsets Kansas State on Saturday night in Manhattan. If that happens, the Longhorns will advance to the Big 12 title game and a rematch with TCU.
Quinn Ewers finished 12-of-16 for 194 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions, but did add his first rushing touchdown of the season. Robinson had 29 carries for 179 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Roschon Johnson added 13 carries for 77 yards and a thrilling touchdown run, and Xavier Worthy had seven catches for 62 yards. DeMarvion Overshown led the team with 14 tackles and Jaylan Ford had 13 stops and a big interception.
Tomorrow night's Kansas-Kansas State game is at 7 p.m. on Fox. The Wildcats are favored by 11 points.
Overshown makes a big play (4th, 2:58)
This game, for all intents and purposes, looks like it should be over. Baylor, which has been so solid on fourth downs all day, couldn't convert a desperate fourth-and-14 from its own 21-yard line with three minutes left, trailing 38-27. DeMarvion Overshown, playing in his final home game, walloped Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen on a delayed blitz. It wasn't a sack, but Shapen's pass fell incomplete and the Horns have taken over at Baylor's 21.
Meh, what fumble return? (4th, 3:48)
Just a few minutes ago, Texas looked like it was in real trouble after Baylor had gone up 27-24 with the fumble return for a touchdown off the Quinn Ewers turnover. But the turn of developments ever since that moment have all gone the Longhorns' way: that Bijan Robinson-led scoring drive gave the lead back to Texas, and then Jaylan Ford's fourth interception of the season on Baylor's ensuing drive set the stage for what could well be this game-sealing drive that has just ended with Roschon Johnson's beautiful 11-yard touchdown run in which he hurdled a defender at the 5. The PA system at Royal-Memorial Stadium appropriately started blaring Van Halen's "Jump."
Texas, fighting to keep its Big 12 championship hopes alive, now leads 38-27.
Texas rides the run, reclaims the lead (4th, 8:25)
The best way to settle a snake-bitten offense? Ride your career 3,000-yard rusher. The Longhorns' 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive was powered by running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, ending with Robinson's 1-yard touchdown run to make this a 31-27 Longhorns lead. Quinn Ewers didn't attempt a single pass on the drive, and Robinson rattled off runs of 9, 7, 4, 12, 8 and 23 yards while Johnson had three runs, including a three-yarder that set Texas up inside Baylor's 5-yard line. A rare defensive penalty — delay of game for "disconcerning signals" — turned third-and-goal from the 3 into a third-and-goal from just outside the 1, which Robinson punched in. In the second half, Robinson has 15 carries for 116 yards. He's got 22 carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns for the game.
Disaster strikes Texas, Quinn Ewers (4th, 13:30)
And just like that, Baylor has reclaimed momentum. And the lead. Defensive end Al Walcott got past right tackle Andrej Karic and forced a Quinn Ewers fumble with a blindside hit, and Gabe Hall scooped up the ball at Texas' 16-yard line and rambled in for the touchdown. Hal Presley III converted the 2-point conversion catch to put the Bears up 27-24. It spoiled some momentum that Texas had built, having gone back up on Roschon Johnson's touchdown and then forcing a punt on Baylor's ensuing drive. And Bijan Robinson had moved the chains with a pair of 7- and 9-yard runs on this drive.
It's the first non-offensive touchdown scored against the Longhorns this season.
In his final home game, Roschon Johnson scores (3rd, 2:21)
Texas, which had been offensively out of rhythm since midway through the second quarter, jump-started things on its third drive of the second half by upping the tempo and relying on the running game. Roschon Johnson's nice second-effort lunge over the goal line has put the Longhorns back in the lead, 24-19, as we head toward the end of the third quarter. Among the highlights of the 10-play, 78-yard scoring drive: Jordan Whittington's nifty 19-yard catch-and-run down to Baylor's 6, and back-to-back 13- and 12-yard runs from Bijan Robinson.
The scoring drive came after Baylor's John Mayers missed a 40-yard field goal try that would have made it a 22-17 Bears lead. It ducked just to the left as the ball reached the uprights.
Both teams whiff early (3rd, 11:52)
Texas and Baylor both had to punt on their opening drives of the second half. The Longhorns were set to go for it on fourth-and-2 near midfield, but Ja'Tavion Sandes was flagged for a false start. Texas had to punt. Baylor still leads 19-17. ... And Texas' second drive of the half has ended with a Jordan Whittington fumble at the end of a 29-yard pass play; Hayden Conner was flagged for back-to-back false starts to make that a first-and-20 play.
First-half stats
Baylor leads Texas 19-17 at halftime. Some first-half stats:
Texas: Passing — Quinn Ewers 5-8-111; Rushing — Bijan Robinson 7-29-1, Roschon Johnson 2-27; Receiving — Ja'Tavion Sanders 2-65, Xavier Worthy 2-27; Defense — LB Jaylan Ford 9 tackles, 2 TFL
Baylor: Passing — Blake Shapen 12-20-153, 2/0; Rushing — Richard Reese 12-47; Receiving — Josh Cameron 3-45, Monaray Baldwin 3-35, Qualan Jones 3-10; Defense — S Christian Morgan 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL
So far, Baylor has outgained Texas 224 yards to 136. The Bears are outpassing and outrushing the Horns, have yet to commit a penalty, is a perfect 2-for-2 on fourth-down tries, has rattled off 45 plays already to Texas' 22 and holds a dramatic edge in time of possession, 21:01 to 8:59. Ewers has been sacked four times.
The Longhorns will get the ball to start the second half.
Late-scoring Baylor takes lead into the break (halftime)
An unfortunate turn of events — a key Longhorns injury, a punt that led to good starting field position and some quick work from Blake Shapen — has Baylor back on top at halftime. The Bears lead 19-17 on Shapen's 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Sims with 40 seconds left.
Another downer for Texas: starting right guard Cole Hutson was carted off with 1:23 left in the half with some sort of a right knee or lower leg injury. He was inadvertently rolled upon by a teammate. His replacement, DJ Campbell, gave up Baylor's third sack of the game on the very next play, a blitz up the middle on third down. Texas punted from deep and Baylor started at the Longhorns' 45-yard line with 1:12 left. Shapen completed throws of 12, 12 and 7 yards before his scoring throw.
Texas answers with its own field goal (2nd, 5:50)
Texas has answered Baylor' field goal with a field goal of its own, but just like the Bears' previous drive, the Longhorns had to settle for the three points; Quinn Ewers missed an open Ja'Tavion Sanders as the tight end was streaking down the middle for what should have been a 20-yard touchdown on third-and-4. That led to Bert Auburn's 38-yard field goal and the Longhorns' 17-12 lead. Roschon Johnson had a tough 21-yard run on his first carry of the game, and Sanders picked up a 28-yard catch and run to get Texas inside scoring range.
Baylor cuts into Texas' lead (2nd, 7:54)
John Mayer's 30-yard field goal has made this a 14-12 game, but the Bears let a golden opportunity slip when Richard Reese fumbled his third-and-6 handoff from Texas' 7-yard line. He recovered it in the backfield, but the Bears had to settle for the short field goal. It was an 18-play, 63-yard drive that consumed 8:41 off the clock.
Bijan Robinson: So long, Jordan Shipley (1st, 1:35)
Bijan Robinson's 10-yard touchdown run off the right side has given Texas its first lead of the day, 14-9. It also moved him out of a third-place tie on UT's list of consecutive games with a touchdown scored; he's now scored in 11 straight games, which moved him out of a tie for third place with Jordan Shipley and into a first-place tie with Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson. Texas has scored 14 unanswered points after Baylor's early safety and touchdown pass. But it was Isaac Powers' 11-yard shank that allowed the Longhorns to start their scoring "drive" at Baylor's 29-yard line.
Ewers bounce back, and Texas is on the board (1st, 3:54)
Quinn Ewers picked a good time to score his first rushing touchdown of the season, a 3-yard score that has cut Baylor's lead to 9-7. Ewers bounced back from his first-drive faux pas with a pair of nice gains to Xavier Worthy (18 yards) and Ja'Tavion Sanders (37) to get inside the red zone. A nice third-and-3 quick screen to Worthy went for nine yards to set up the score.
Baylor goes up 9-0 on deep throw score (1st, 6:54)
Texas has fallen behind early, now trailing 9-0 on Blake Shapen's 47-yard touchdown pass to Austin Bowie product Jaylen Ellis, who got behind his defender and hauled in the wide-open pass. It was Shapen's second deep shot of the game.
Baylor's safety valve: Quinn Ewers (1st quarter, 9:44 left)
Quinn Ewers was flagged for intentional grounding — while he was in the end zone, which resulted in a safety. Baylor has taken an early 2-0 lead over Texas. On third-and-11 from the 7, a Baylor blitz forced Ewers — standing just inside his end zone — to throw it away. On Baylor's opening drive of the game, the Bears used a questionable challenge ruling and a couple of nice Blake Shapen passes to reach midfield on the opening drive of the game, but Jaylan Ford had a tackle for loss, Terrance Brooks had a pass breakup on a deep shot toward the end zone and Moro Ojomo stuffed a surprise draw play on third-and-long to force the punt. Isaac Powers' 41-yard effort was downed at Texas' 8.
Texas vs. Baylor: tale of the tape
Where the Longhorns and Bears rank nationally in various categories:
Points per game: Texas T-21st, Baylor 29th
Total offense: Texas 38th, Baylor 29th
Total defense: Texas 60th, Baylor 56th
Passing: Texas 64th, Baylor 57th
Stopping the pass: Texas 92nd, Baylor 83rd
Rushing: Texas 27th, Baylor 21st
Stopping the run: Texas 32nd, Baylor 42nd
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About Baylor
We're about one hour away from kickoff. The Bears are the defending Big 12 champions, but have struggled to stay above .500 this season. They're 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the conference and have lost their last two. But just like the Longhorns, the Bears could easily be 7-4 right now. Or 8-3. Or even 9-2. They lost 26-20 at then-No. 21 BYU in double-overtime, lost their quarterback in a 43-40 loss to West Virginia in Morgantown, and fell 29-28 last Saturday at home to No. 4 TCU on a final-play field goal.
This Baylor team looks quite a bit different than last year's team that beat Texas in Waco 31-24. Seven key Bears from that game aren't Bears anymore. QB Gerry Bohanon transferred to South Florida, RB Abram Smith is playing in the XFL, RB Trestan Ebner was a sixth-round pick of the Chicago Bears, WR R.J. Sneed transferred to Colorado and WR Tyquan Thornton was a second-round pick of the New England Patriots.
Bohls:This crystal ball says it's the Alamo, Cheez-It or Sugar in Texas' bowl future
Blake Shapen (2,423 yards, 14 TDs, 9 INTs) has taken over at quarterback, Richard Reese (908 yards, 14 TDs) is the primary running back and wide receivers Monaray Baldwin (30-530-4) and Hal Presley (29-359-3) are the primary targets along with TE Ben Sims (30-241-2).
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Replay: Texas tops Baylor in critical win to keep Big 12 hopes alive
