Horns need win against Baylor and help
AUSTIN – All Texas can do this week to help its cause is win and wait. And if the Longhorns do manage to end their regular season with a football victory over Baylor, that waiting game could be excruciating.
Texas (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) will face the Bears (6-4, 4-4) at 11 a.m. Friday at Royal-memorial Stadium. And if the Longhorns win, they can still sneak into next week's Big 12 championship game against No. 4 TCU (11-0, 8-0).
But that scenario only becomes reality if Kansas (6-5, 3-5) is able to upset 15th-ranked Kansas State (8-3, 6-2) at Bill Snyder Family Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“I'm a realist with our guys. I'm honest with them,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. “They know the scenario. I painted this scenario for 'em last night. We got to win Friday, then we can worry about what happens Saturday night. But if we don't take care of our business, if we don't mow our own lawn, then it doesn't matter what happens Saturday night. So I think the focus and the intent is take care of our own business first.”
Baylor has been even more volatile than Texas this season.
Last year, in coach Dave Aranda's second season, the Bears defeated Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game and downed Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl to finish 12-2. But Aranda's squad hasn't been nearly as consistent in Year 3 – Baylor has lost two straight and four of seven heading into Friday's game with Texas.
But last week, the Bears were just seconds away from dashing TCU'S perfect season. The Horned Frogs required a hectic last-second field goal to escape Waco with a 29-28 win after trailing the Bears by eight with three minutes remaining.
That result dropped the Bears to 2-3 in one-score games this season; Texas is 2-4 in one-score games.
“It's going to be a heck of a ballgame against a very good Baylor team, one that's a lot like us,” Sarkisian said.
Robinson is still weighing options
The consensus belief is that Texas running back Bijan Robinson won't return for his senior season. Scouts view the 6-foot, 222-pound junior as having the versatility and durability necessary to become a three-down workhorse at the next level, an increasingly rare commodity in the NFL these days.
Dozens of 2023 mock drafts have Robinson pegged as a first-round pick, and last week's record-setting performance against Kansas (243 rushing yards, four touchdowns) further fueled the prevailing notion that he'll be ready to move onto the NFL after three remarkable years in college.
Asked Monday whether he's had those discussions with Robinson, Sarkisian said he will – once this season ends.
“I always try to put those kinds of talks off until after (the season),” Sarkisian said. “I think that creates clutter in these guys. I know he wants to come in here Friday and play well, wire into the game plan. When that time comes and the regular season dies down, we'll have those discussions. Not just with him, but with his family. We'll get the necessary information in place so he can make a really good decision. "
Robinson currently leads the Big 12 in rushing yards (1,401), yards from scrimmage (1,715) and total touchdowns (18). Last week's performance against Kansas, which earned Robinson Big 12 offensive player of the week honors for the fifth time, also vaulted the former five-star prospect into a tie for fifth with Chris Gilbert on Texas' list of career rushing leaders.
And Robinson, who has rushed for 3,231 yards and 27 touchdowns on 510 career carries (6.3 yards per carry), has at least two more games remaining in which to pass Jamaal Charles (3,328 career rushing yards) and move into fourth place.
“After the season, I'll assess everything,” Robinson said of his future. “But, you know, we'll see. I'll talk to my family, the coaches here and the people that I've been talking to this whole time about those kinds of decisions.”