How the Longhorns Offense Exploded for Highest Point-Total in 16 Years in Win Over Texas Tech
The Texas Longhorns thrashed the Texas Tech Red Raiders 70-35 in the Big-12 opener on Saturday, dominating from start to finish to improve to 3-1 in the first year under head coach Steve Sarkisian.
The matchup of heated in-state rivals was the 71st meeting between the two programs, as Texas now leads the all-time series with a 54-17 record.
Saturday's 35-point win also tied Texas' largest margin of victory over Texas Tech since the 2005 championship season and was the most points for the Longhorns since the 70-3 win over the Colorado Buffalos in the Big 12 title game that same year.
The Longhorns made a flurry of big plays at all three levels throughout the afternoon, but the offense, along with an improved performance from the offensive line, was clearly the driving force. Texas Tech's defense was gashed all game long, managing only three tackles for loss and one sack on the day.
Led by the star power of wide receiver Xavier Worthy and running back Bijan Robinson with Casey Thompson under center, six different Longhorns scored an offensive touchdown. It was a pick-your-poison kind of day for Sarkisian's offense.
"We were able to play well last week," Sarkisian said. "The new challenge was, 'Can we handle the win?' We came back with the same intensity in practice, if not better."
READ MORE: Texas Cruises To 70-35 Win Over Texas Tech In Big 12 Opener
Let's take a look at the individual and teams stats for the Horns in the win.
QB Casey Thompson - 18 of 23 passing for 303 yards, five touchdowns, and one pick; seven rushes for 29 yards and one touchdown
RB Bijan Robinson - 18 rushes for 137 yards and two catches for 54 yards and a touchdown
RB Roschon Johnson - 13 carries for 64 yards and two touchdowns
WR Xavier Worthy - five catches for 100 yards and three scores
WR Jordan Whittington - five grabs for 93 yards and one touchdown
RB Keilan Robinson - four carries for 42 yards and a touchdown
Texas Offense
639 total yards, 303 yards passing, 336 yards rushing
10 of 14 on third down, 30:06 time of possession, and one turnover
What wasn't there to love about the offense's performance? It almost seemed like a game of Madden out there with how easily each scoring drive came.
Robinson got the scoring started in the first quaron an electric catch-and-run on fourth down to put Texas up 7-0 early. The sophomore star put the moves on Tech's defense on the way to the end zone for his second receiving touchdown of the year.
“When I’m breaking tackles and making people miss downfield, I can just feel the energy of the team grow a lot better," Robinson said. "When I see them on the sidelines getting hyped and getting ready, it shows that they’re ready for anything or any play that’s about to come their way.”
The 10-play, 75-yard drive was the first of many long drives orchestrated by Thompson on the afternoon, as the junior QB played nearly perfect in his second-career start. Whether it was throws in tight windows or pocket elusiveness, Thompson was putting everything on display.
"The team really bought into the game plan and I think it showed today," Thompson said. "Our mindset was to be able to start fast and attack these guys and play with tempo. Also, we dominated the run game”.
Texas running back Roschon Johnson punched it in from three yards out on the Longhorn's next possession to bump up the score to 14-0.
After a Tech response, Thompson and the Texas run game continued to dominate on yet another long drive that saw 10 out of 12 plays go on the ground.
Thompson finished things off with a QB sneak on the goal line to extend the lead to 21-7, capping off his ninth-straight scoring drive of the season up to that point.
21 points through a quarter and a half were everything Longhorn Nation could have asked for, but the scoring bonanza was just getting started. A pick-six by Josh Thompson and the Texas defense on the next possession helped give the offense even more breathing room with the score now at 28-7.
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A short field was gifted to the Horns on the next possession after Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells inexplicably went for it on fourth down on his team's own 40-yard line.
After Thompson bobbled the snap on first down and was forced to take a sack, it looked like Texas might have to settle for the first field goal of the day.
But there's a reason why the senior signal-caller has earned his way into the starting spot after losing the job this summer.
On third down, Thompson stood calmly in the pocket and threw up a floating pass in the right corner of the end zone that dropped softly into the waiting arms of Xavier Worthy to put the Horns up 35-7 with five minutes left in the first half.
And the next Texas possession? Another typical nine-play, 84-yard drive that ended with Johnson running it in from seven yards out for his second score of the day. With the first half now complete, the Longhorns were up by a surprising score of 42-14 over one of their biggest rivals.
The second half started with an interception by Texas linebacker Luke Brockermeyer, setting the offense up right outside the red zone.
Texas' offense was almost certain to capitalize with such great field position, but Thompson forced a throw into the back left corner of the end zone on third down that was intercepted by the Red Raiders. The pick was one of the only mistakes made by Thompson and the offense on the afternoon.
Luckily, Thompson was given a chance to redeem himself on the next two drives. He threw for two more touchdowns, the first going to Jordan Whittington on a quick forward toss and the second finding Worthy on a tightly-placed ball from three yards out.
With the score now 56-28, the Longhorns were somehow still not done.
Worthy followed up his second touchdown of the day with one of the best plays of the game on the next possession. Surrounded by multiple Red Raider defenders, the true freshman caught a pass in the middle of the field and managed to spin his way out for a 62-yard sprint to the end zone once again.
“Xavier, he’s a great player," Thompson said. "What I like about him the most is that he is a great competitor. I have never seen him be fearful or scared at all. He doesn’t back down to any challenge."
With the score now lopsided down the stretch of the fourth quarter, the starters got to relax as Sarkisian elected to play most of the back-ups for some quality playing time.
It's always a good feeling for any head coach when he can pull his starters after building a big lead, especially in conference play.
Keilan Robinson ended the day's scoring with another Texas touchdown with 13 minutes left in the fourth. It was the sixth touchdown of the day by the offense and seventh overall.
For Texas' offense, it was all touchdowns and no field goals. What else embodies the "all gas, no brakes" slogan better than that?
The Longhorns now take a ton of momentum heading into next week's matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs (2-1) in Fort Worth. Head Coach Gary Patterson and the Frogs have had Texas' number in recent years, as they upset the Longhorns in Austin last season 33-31.
"Now, the new challenge is that one game doesn’t win you the Big 12 Conference Championship," Sarkisian said. "It’s a body of work that you have to continue to put together. Again, we’ve got challenges ahead and the biggest one is next week going up to TCU. We’ve got work to do.”
Next Saturday's game in Fort Worth kicks off at 11 a.m, as Texas will look to pick up the first road win of the season and move to 4-1.
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