Texas Back In AP Rankings Following Road Win Over Kansas State
A top-20 matchup is headed to the Forty Acres Saturday.
Texas returned to the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since Week 8 following its 34-27 road victory over No. 13 Kansas State. The Longhorns jumped up to No. 18, their second-highest ranking of the season.
A Keondre Coburn forced fumble on K-State quarterback Adrian Martinez was the difference-maker at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Once linebacker Jaylan Ford recovered the ball, the Longhorns (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) could exhale a sigh of relief.
One season after going 5-7, Texas officially became bowl-eligible for the first time under Steve Sarkisian. More notably, the Horns control their own destiny within the Big 12. Now tied with Kansas State and Baylor for second place, Texas could take the lead in the final three games should it win out against TCU, Kansas and the Bears on Thanksgiving weekend.
"We knew this week was a championship game, no matter what," Coburn said postgame. "We knew that we had to get it done. We knew if we beat them, we have a chance against anybody right now in our conference. Our main goal was this week, even though we had two weeks to prepare for them. Next week, it's on to the next."
Quarterback Quinn Ewers looked comfortable moving the rock despite throwing for under 200 yards. He connected with go-to target Xavier Worthy twice for scores, showing fans what's to come in the future. Tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders tallied a team-high 54 yards. Jordan Whittington finished with two catches for 22 yards.
Bijan Robinson could be making a late push for Heisman chatter following his 209-yard performance in the Little Apple. After entering the weekend as the conference's leading rusher, the junior became the first Longhorns player to finish with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons since Vince Young in 2005.
Robinson averaged 7.0 yards per run and finished with 243 yards of offense. Roschon Johnson, who tallied 179 yards last season against the Wildcats (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) in the team's season finale, totaled 62 yards on the ground and scored on a 9-yard run in the first quarter.
"The sky's the limit," Robinson said. "We have so much that we have in front of us still."
The Longhorns return to Royal-Memorial Stadium to take on No. 4 TCU (9-0, 5-0 Big 12) this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. A win on Saturday would guarantee a spot for the Horned Frogs in the Big 12 title game at AT&T Stadium come December 3.
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