Texas’ 55-14 victory over Kansas at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Saturday avenged what arguably was the lowest point of last season.

Ending with a two-point conversion, the Jayhawks walked out of a thrilling overtime game with a 57-56 victory last year. Texas’ 2021 squad was the first team in program history to lose a game against Kansas in Austin.

Just over a year later, the Longhorns left the matchup against the Jayhawks to an entirely different tune.“I told them that, as their coach, I was very proud of the way they played the game tonight,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian told Longhorn Radio Network after the game. 

While Texas’ defense holding Kansas to just 74 fewer total offensive yards last year doesn’t suggest a vastly improved performance, 210 of Kansas’ 346 total yards on Saturday came in the second half when the game was already well out of reach.

For instance, Kansas did not score its first points until Texas already held a 41-0 lead late in the third quarter.

Holding Kansas running back Devin Neal, who rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns in last year’s matchup, to just 51 rushing yards is a testament to the defense’s execution, junior linebacker Jaylan Ford said. 

“At this point of the season, we kind of have a feel for things,” Ford told Longhorn Radio Network after the game. “We could just see what Kansas was doing.”

Following its 17-10 letdown to No. 4 TCU last week when the offense only mustered three points, Texas’ victory on the road against Kansas was as big of an offensive rebound as the Longhorns could have asked for. 

While Texas’ offense looked sloppy in last week’s performance, it looked as sharp as it has this season against the Jayhawks. Powered by their rushing game, the Longhorns’ 55 points are the most they have scored this season. 

The offensive turnaround on Saturday stemmed from the revival of the running back group as the focal point of the offense. The Longhorns’ rushing attack dominated the Jayhawks for 427 rushing yards, whereas last week TCU held the same group to 28 total rushing yards.

“Last week was a learning lesson,” junior running back Bijan Robinson said. “I know that things didn’t go the way we wanted last week. We just got to come out here and just fight.”

Robinson’s personal bounceback game contributed mightily to Texas’ effectiveness in the ground game. After getting just 30 yards on 12 carries against the Horned Frogs, the tailback produced the best statistical performance of his career. 

In the same game that he became the seventh Texas player to surpass 3,000 career rushing yards, Robinson rushed for a career-high 243 yards and scored a career-high four rushing touchdowns.

“He’s a freak of nature,” redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers said. “That’s as simple as I can put it.”

With the win, Texas stays alive for a spot in the Big 12 title game. Entering the final week of the regular season, the Longhorns will need a win against Baylor and a Kansas State loss in order to receive the second spot in December’s conference championship game in Arlington.

Texas’ game against Baylor will occur on Friday, meaning it will be a short week for the Longhorns. Sarkisian said his team will meet tomorrow to begin its Baylor preparation.

“We don’t know what this is going to look like come next weekend,” Sarkisian said. “So let’s make sure we put ourselves in a good position.”