Senior running back Roschon Johnson and junior running back Bijan Robinson were all over the field in Texas’ 41-20 thumping of UTSA. 

With sophomore quarterback Hudson Card banged up and bruised with a lingering ankle injury after last Saturday’s 20-19 loss to Alabama, the Lake Travis High School product’s characteristic mobility was largely taken away. To avoid using his legs unnecessarily, head coach Steve Sarkisian depended heavily on his running backs to avoid further injury to Card playing against a physical Roadrunner defense. 

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Trailing by 10 points with about nine and a half minutes left in the half, Card drove the offense 49 yards to UTSA’s red zone after a couple of improvised passes to sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy and redshirt junior wide receiver Jordan Whittington.

A quarterback in high school, Johnson’s skills were put on full display late in the second quarter. Following a 7-yard carry up the middle by Robinson, Johnson took a direct snap from the wildcat formation. Robinson swept over to his right and blocked UTSA’s outside linebacker, giving Johnson room to dart down the Roadrunners’ sideline. 

To cross the first down marker at the 15-yard line, Johnson acrobatically hurdled over UTSA safety Clifford Chattman, sending the crowd of 102,520 into a frenzy as the running back was taken down at the 2-yard line.

“I thought Bijan (Robinson) and Roschon (Johnson) both ran with a real sense of physicality,” Sarkisian said. “(With) the offensive line, the tight ends and the receivers blocking, it was a good effort.”

Two plays later, Robinson took it to the house, kindling momentum for the Longhorns when they got the ball back with just over two minutes remaining in the half. Poised in the pocket, Card marched the offense 62 yards down the field to set sophomore kicker Bert Auburn up for a game-tying field goal before heading to the locker room.

Robinson was the Energizer Bunny in the Texas backfield for the second half of the game. On the Longhorns’ first possession of the second half, the running back rushed up the middle for a two-yard gain before Johnson took another snap at quarterback from the wildcat, handing it off to Robinson for a 78-yard touchdown, thanks to a block from sophomore tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders.

“I had to follow JT (Sanders’) block and see where he was gonna hit it,” Robinson said. “When I saw it, I just hit it underneath and took off.”

Robinson scored once more off a long rush in the second half. Capitalizing on more solid blocking from Texas’ trenches and receiving core, he swept over to the Texas sideline and pranced to the end zone for a 41-yard score, improving Texas lead to 18 points over UTSA with 9 minutes, 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Both Robinson and Johnson had career games against UTSA. Robinson accumulated 188 yards on the ground — surpassing 2,000 rushing yards during his time at Texas — and added a critical 19-yard catch for the most all-purpose yards he has had since Oct. 2 last year.  

Card gave credit to the offensive line for its production on the night, allowing just one quarterback hit and creating rushing lanes for Robinson and Johnson to blow through in the second half. 

“Coming out of halftime, we knew that we’d have to come together and play better,” Card said. “(Robinson’s 78-yard run) really set the tone for the second half.”

Robinson said that both him and Johnson understood that heading into the second half, the game was going to be on their shoulders. However, the running back duo is used to that pressure, and it showed on Saturday. 

“We understand that most teams (we) are gonna play against are going to come out to try to stop the run,” Robinson said. “We had to just keep punching down their throats, because you know, at some point, they’re gonna get tired. They had no answer.”