Robinson, Longhorns steamroll Jayhawks
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Even the folks who cover football for a living were at a loss for words.
The press box inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium was all dumbstruck faces, dangling jaws and how-the-hell-did-hedo-that giggles Saturday afternoon. They were witnessing something special, moving art amid a game that can often be so brutal and ugly and tedious.
It was, of course, Texas running back Bijan Robinson inspiring the astonished looks. This was his show, and he did not disappoint. Well, he did disappoint the Kansas fans who showed up in 30-degree weather to watch their team try to beat Texas for the second straight season and third time in six tries.
But at times, at least before their halftime exodus, even those opposing fans had to stop and marvel at the way Robinson dismembered Kansas' defense in the Longhorns' 5514 win. He rushed for a career-high 243 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries, accumulating all those stats in about two and a half quarters of work.
“He's a freak of nature,” Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers said. “I mean, that's a simple as I can put it. I've never seen a guy like him before at the college level. He just … he can really do it all.”
This hasn't been the season Texas (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) envisioned. Not by a long shot. But Robinson has been a singular highlight reel all year long aside from last week, in which he touched the ball just 12 times in a 17-10 loss to No. 4 TCU.
Well, Robinson had eight carries in the first quarter alone against Kansas, two of which he turned into touchdowns. On the second, a 17-yarder, Robinson bounced outside and flew through an opening untouched, cutting on a dime to avoid the few Jayhawks in his vicinity.
By the second quarter, it seemed like Robinson was just toying with a team that had no real hope of stopping him. Even when he didn't score, there was no mistaking who'd put Texas in the position to do so.
On the Longhorns' third scoring drive Robinson weaved through traffic and plowed through three Jayhawks on a 31-yard run down into the red zone. Two plays later, Ewers fired a quick 15-yard touchdown pass to junior halfback Keilan Robinson.
On Texas' ensuing possession, Robinson touched the ball six times. He wheeled all the way back across the field on another sensational 24-yard run and followed that by “levitating,” as center Jake Majors put it, over a tangle of bodies for one last touchdown as time expired, pushing Texas' lead to 31-0 at halftime.
“I can't even really describe Bijan Robinson,” Majors said. “He's just ‘him.' I love him to death.”
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian kept going to Robinson to open the second half. Kansas (6-5, 3-5) still had no answer. And the touchdown Robinson scored early in the third quarter might have been his best run on a day filled with plenty to choose from.
Robinson followed pulling left guard Hayden Conner, placing one hand on his back while surveying the situation. He darted around Conner to avoid the first defender, then fended off a few more Jayhawks to cut back across the field toward the left sideline. Instead of continuing on that path, Robinson took a sharp turn upfield and burst into the open, eventually jogging in to score from 32 yards out.
By that point, Texas led 38-0.
Robinson's last carry came with 8:17 remaining in the third quarter. He picked up four yards on 4th-and-1 then remained on the sideline for the rest of the night.
The game was in the bag, and preserving the superstar was more important than letting him chase records. Still, Robinson's 243 rushing yards ranked 16th on the program's alltime single-game list. He also pulled into a tie with Chris Gilbert for the fifthmost career rushing yards by a Longhorn.
Redshirt freshman Jonathon Brooks took the reins for the remainder of the night, generating 108 yards and two fourthquarter touchdowns on 11 carries. Texas rushed for 427 yards and finished with 539 total yards of offense.
Texas' defense deserves major kudos, too.
It limited Kansas to 136 yards of offense in the first half and contained speedy quarterback Jalon Daniels , who returned from a fourgame injury absence. The Jayhawks eventually found the end zone late in the third quarter and finished with 346 total yards, the bulk of which came after Texas had built up a 41-0 lead.
Ewers also played a solid mistake-free game, though he wasn't asked to do too much. The redshirt freshman finished 12 of 21 for 107 yards with one touchdown.
But Robinson was the main character on this day. And his performance Saturday helped preserve Texas' chance of reaching next month's Big 12 championship game in Arlington.
“I knew that I had to do whatever I could to help the team win,” Robinson said. “We knew we had to run the ball to be successful. And that's what we did.”