Defending Texas' Bijan Robinson is Oklahoma's Top Priority

Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said this week that Texas’ offense looks different than it has in recent years.

One reason is that Sam Ehlinger isn’t dominating the football any more. Ehlinger has yielded his status as the Longhorns starting quarterback and offensive focal point and is now in the NFL.

The other reason is new Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is getting the football into hands of his best player: running back Bijan Robinson.

As a freshman last season, Robinson carried the football just 14 times in Texas’ first four games, and produced just 67 rushing yards. Over the second half of the 2020 season, Robinson averaged 106 yards per game and 8.8 yards per carry, but still got just 72 rushing attempts — 12 per game — under Tom Herman.

Robinson, who busted out for 172 yards against Kansas State and 183 against Colorado in the Longhorns’ final two games last season, has seen his productivity only surge in his first five games under Sarkisian.

He’s surpassed 100 yards in four of Texas’ five games, including a career-high 216 yards last week at TCU — on a career-high 35 carries.

“When you look at him, the film speaks for itself. He jumps off the tape,” Grinch said. “You kind of halfway see from afar as you prepare for your opponents and see the games; you hope when you turn on the video, it’s going to be hype and not real. But in this particular case, it matches.”

“Bijan is a terrific player,” said OU head coach Lincoln Riley. “You watch him play and he does so many things well. He catches the ball well for them. He has big-play ability. He has really nice balance, acceleration and feel for the schemes they’re running. He’s a complete player and he’s playing at high level. They’re putting it in his hands a lot and he’s produced.”

Oklahoma linebacker DaShaun White said Texas looks “a lot” different with Robinson as the main man.

“He's a really great back,” White said. “I think he's one of the best backs that we've seen. Most definitely, he's very explosive, really fast. Got really quick feet. He's got great balance. It'll be a big challenge for us.”

In nine games last season, Robinson caught 15 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Through five games so far this season, he already has 10 catches for 157 yards and two scores.

“It makes them look a lot different,” said Sooner linebacker Nik Bonitto. “He runs the ball pretty well. He does a lot of things in the pass game that helps them out. He’s a real weapon in the pass game so it's gonna be good that we make sure we have eyes on him at all times, because he can really hurt us if he gets the ball in open space and stuff like that.”

“He does his job,” said OU defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas. “He's good at what he does. He's one of the best at it.”

Grinch said Sarkisian is good at finding ways to get the football to his best players. He excelled at it during his short time at Alabama.

But going beyond a willingness to feed the talent and establishing an insistence to do so — 35 carries in a tight game in Fort Worth last week, for example — shouldn’t be overlooked.

“The ability to feature his talent, you go back to a year ago at Alabama, and featuring — you know, maybe it's a wide receiver, maybe it's a number of different guys — but to really have a good sense of personnel and, you know he’s good a play-caller as there is in the country. So I've got a lot of respect for one, their personnel, and their ability to use it as a play-caller.

“What you're seeing in terms of explosive run game, you're one play away from for breaking one. Thats what the film suggests. It makes a whole lot of sense to turn around and hand that thing off.”

Riley said in many ways the 6-foot, 214-pound Robinson is a throwback player, a workhorse, which is an element that contemporary college football defenses don’t see often.

“I think you’ve just got to be mentally prepared for it,” Riley said. “ … They’ll put it in his hands 35-40 times. You’re right, it’s a little strange this day and age. You don’t see that very often guys getting that many touches. It’s kind of a little old school in a way. He’s done a good job handling it so far. Whether he touches it 40 times or he touches it 20 times or whatever, we’ve got to do a good job getting him on the ground that many times. That’s the key. He’s tough to handle.”

Saturday in the Cotton Bowl, the Sooner defense will need to be at its best. Robinson is easily the most talented player OU has faced so far this season, and recent trends suggest that Sarkisian will give him ample opportunities to prove it.

Gang tackling will be paramount. Using great technique to get off blocks and stay involved in pursuit of Robinson and expelling all-out effort to get there is a must. One player loafing or losing leverage or not wrapping up on first contact could result in a big play.

Against OU last year, he got the ball just five times for 17 yards on the ground and two times for 39 yards through the air.

“I think he’s a heck of a player, and I think he’s one of the better players, easily, on the offensive side in college football,” said OU safety Pat Fields. “I think we see that through the acknowledgment that he’s been receiving.”

Said Grinch, “It doesn’t take you very many snaps to (realize), ‘OK, this looks different.’ If he’s not the best one out there, he’s certainly one of the best.”

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