No. 7 Texas romps past Texas Tech, produces statement win in final regular season Big 12 game
AUSTIN – If it was a statement win Texas fans wanted and those that determine the College Football Playoff needed to move the Longhorns up in the ranking, consider that mission accomplished.
[Join Inside Texas and get ONE MONTH of Longhorn intel for just $1!]
The seventh-ranked Longhorns obliged in a big way, doing just about everything right and then some in a dominating 57-7 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday before a capacity crowd of 102,452 fans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
The Longhorns (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) won their sixth straight contest and clinched a spot in the Big 12 Conference championship against either No. 13 Oklahoma or No. 23 Oklahoma State.
The two rivals from the days of the Southwest Conference and since 1996 in the Big 12 played their final scheduled game as the Longhorns leave the league for the Southeastern Conference in 2024.
Texas certainly gave the Red Raiders their just deserts on its way out in a blowout that featured its highest scoring game of the season, two non-offensive touchdowns and even the much anticipated debut of freshman quarterback Arch Manning.
Quinn Ewers passed for 196 yards and a touchdown, Jaydon Blue ran for 121 yards and a score and Keilan Robinson had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for the Longhorns. Jett Bush returned a deflected interception 43 yards for another score and Burt Auburn kicked five field goals in the win.
The Longhorns defense did the rest, holding Texas Tech (6-6, 3-4 Big 12) to just 198 yards. Behren Morton passed for only 88 yards and Tahj Brooks had 95 yards on 19 carries for the Red Raiders.
Texas wasted little time getting on the board, scoring the first time it touched the ball by marching 56 yards in seven plays to a 10-yard TD run by Keilan Robinson. Jordan Whittington had the clearing block on the corner on the backwards pass that handed the Longhorns a 7-0 lead.
The Longhorns added to their lead on Auburn’s 34-yard field goal with 2:15 left in the first quarter.
Tech swung back on Morton’s 2-yard TD keeper around left end with 29 seconds to play in the first quarter. The score came one snap after a pass interference penalty in the end zone by Texas’ Kitan Crawford and capped a drive that began with a 55-yard kickoff return by Drae McCray.
Blue ripped off a 69-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter to push the Texas lead back to 10 points, at 17-7.
Auburn added his second FG, this one from 37 yards away with 10:07 to play in the second quarter after Michael Taaffe blocked a punt, to expand the Longhorns’ lead to 20-7. It was Auburn’s 16th straight three-pointer and his 25th of the season and set new team records for consecutive made field goals and FGs in a single campaign.
Auburn was good again on a 26-yard FG with 2:55 to play and then on a 44-yarder on the final snap of the second quarter to grow Texas’ lead to 26-7 at the break.
The Longhorns outgained Texas Tech 299-108 in the first half and averaged 7.9 yards per play while the Red Raiders averaged just 2.9. Texas passed for 156 yards in the half to only 38 for Texas Tech.
Robinson opened the third quarter with a 95-yard kickoff return for a TD that blew open the game. It was the fourth non-offensive touchdown this season for the Longhorns and the fifth scoring play by either the defense or the special teams.
Auburn bazooka’d a career-long 54-yard field goal with 9:15 to play in the third quarter to make it 36-7. If you are keeping track at home, that’s now 18 in a row and 27 successful this season for the Longhorns’ leading point producer this year.
An Ewers-to-Xavier Worthy 19-yard scoring pass with 4:44 to play in the third quarter pushed the Texas advantage to 43-7. Bush then snatched a pass out of the air that hit a Red Raider in the foot and rumbled 43 yards. Quintrevion Wisner added a 10-yard TD run with 38 seconds to play to cap the scoring and send the crowd into a final frenzy.
For the record, Manning hit on 2 of his 5 passes for 30 yards, ran three times for 17 yards and directed the Longhorns’ final scoring drive.
Texas will play Oklahoma State in Arlington on Dec. 2 if the Cowboys beat BYU at home on Saturday. If Oklahoma State loses, the Longhorns will have a rematch with Oklahoma.
