Longhorns Smack Baylor in Waco, Win Big 12 Opener

WACO, Texas -- The Texas Longhorns have finally said their not-so-pleasant goodbyes to the Baylor Bears ... and they did so in dominant fashion.

No. 3 Texas opened up Big 12 play on Saturday in Waco against Baylor and made an emphatic statement in their final opening game in the conference. Behind the well-traveled Texas faithful and a suffocating defensive performance, the Longhorns never trailed en route to a 38-6 blowout win over Baylor.

For the first time since 2005 in the head-to-head series, the Longhorns held Baylor out of the end zone.

The Longhorns got a big effort from their running game, as all four of their first-half touchdowns came via the ground. This was highlighted by a 40-yard scoring run from Jonathon Brooks and a career-best 29-yard touchdown run from Quinn Ewers.

But this paled in comparison to the performance of the Longhorns' defense. Texas forced the Bears to turn it over on downs three times. This included an interception in the end zone from Longhorns linebacker Jaylan Ford on 4th and goal. Midway through the third quarter, this essentially ended any chance of Baylor comeback down 31-6.

The Texas defense got off to a hot start in the first half, as Jett Bush and Byron Murphy II came up with back-to-back sacks of Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson on the game's opening drive.

After a pair of punts from both teams, Baylor got the ball back but was met with more early dominance from the Longhorns d-line. Vernon Broughton got in on the action with a sack of his own on Baylor's second drive, giving Texas three first-quarter sacks.

For the Texas defense, this set the tone for the rest of the night. The Longhorns gave up a few more chunks plays, but ultimately played near-perfect football.

As a result, the offense played smoother and more comfortable as the night went on to help Texas pad the lead and cruise to a conference-opening win.

The Longhorns will head back home to take on the Kansas Jayhawks next week.