Texas’ Bijan Robinson ran for 209 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries as the Longhorns got only their second true road win under second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian, defeating No.13 Kansas State 34-27.
Robinson carried Texas to a 31-10 halftime lead before the Wildcats stormed back down the stretch to cut their deficit to 34-27 in the game’s final minutes.
But the Longhorns’ defense stepped up, with Keondre Coburn forcing a fumble by Kansas State quarterback Adrian Martinez near midfield with 34 seconds remaining and Jaylan Ford pouncing on the loose ball to seal the win.
“We just understood that we’re not going to lose again on the road. That’s when the fight came out,” said Robinson. “The defense came up clutch. They understood that they had to put the game on their backs, and they had to stop them and execute and that’s what they did.”
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 197 yards and two touchdown passes to Xavier Worthy. Roschon Johnson added a touchdown run for the Longhorns, who now control their destiny to make the Big 12 title game.
If Texas (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) wins its remaining three games; against No.4 TCU, Kansas, and Baylor, they will be in Arlington playing for the conference title on December 3.
“I told the guys, ‘We’re not done. We have more work,'” Sarkisian said. “We have a great opportunity ahead of us in this entire month of November. What you do in November is what everybody remembers.”
The Longhorns got off to a scorching start, reeling off three straight 75-yard touchdown drives to open the game. Robinson capped the first with a 36-yard run, Johnson finished the second from nine yards out, and Worthy hauled in the first of his two touchdowns from 13 yards out to give the Longhorns a 21-10 lead.
The only first-half drive Texas did not finish with a score came when Johnson lost a fumble at the end of a 37-yard run. But Kansas State could not capitalize and punted away to Texas, who then added a field goal.
Kansas State’s Martinez threw an interception to Ford in the closing minutes of the first half, which Texas turned into Worthy’s second touchdown reception from three yards out to extend the lead to 31-10 at the break.
The Longhorns had 352 yards of offense by halftime against a Wildcat defense that had limited Oklahoma State to 217 total yards in a 48-0 win the prior week. Robinson had 161 rushing yards at the break, the highest total for one half in his career.
Kansas State (6-3, 4-2) mounted a furious second-half rally jump-started by their defense forcing another fumble and Martinez, who threw for 329 yards and had two touchdowns.
The Wildcats scored 14 unanswered to make it a one-touchdown game, 31-24, before the two teams traded field goals. But the Wildcats’ field goal came after a time-consuming drive drained more than 6 minutes off the clock.
It got them within 34-27 but with just 4:26 left in the game.
The Wildcats forced a punt on the ensuing Texas drive, and Martinez quickly led them to midfield before losing the ball for the game-sealing fumble with 34 seconds remaining.
Notably, Kansas State’s All-American running back Deuce Vaughn was contained, running for only 73 yards, though he added 86 yards and a touchdown receiving.
The Wildcats can still make the Big 12 title game but will need to win out and also hope for Texas to drop one of its remaining games. Their game this Saturday in Waco against Baylor will be a must-win for the two teams sharing second place in the conference with Texas.
Texas’ home game this Saturday against undefeated No.4 TCU may be the biggest game of the Big 12 conference season.
