When it mattered most, No. 24 Texas football finished out a game strong. 

For the past two seasons, head coach Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns have notoriously struggled in the second half. This year, Texas lost three of its four games in the second half and allowed large comebacks to Iowa State and Kansas State.

However, that wasn’t the case during Friday’s 38-27 win over Baylor at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium to close out the regular season. The Longhorns entered the second half trailing 19-17, but came back with 21 points to win the game.

“We showed a great deal of resiliency,” Sarkisian said. “I think that’s a really positive step for us as a program. I’m very proud of these guys.”

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On a rocky first drive of the game, a false start penalty on sophomore offensive guard Hayden Conner backed up the offense to Texas’ 4-yard line. Redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers was pressured by Baylor’s defensive line, prompting him to throw into an area with no eligible receivers nearby. After being flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone, the Longhorns were charged with a safety.

On its next drive, however, Texas figured out its offense could find success scoring fast. During the first half, all three of the Longhorns’ scoring drives took three minutes or less, primarily utilizing sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy and sophomore tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders on well-designed catch-and-runs to drive the ball down the field.

On the Longhorns’ first scoring drive, Ewers found Sanders for a big gain. Wide open, Sanders exhibited some fancy footwork to stay in bounds and fight for extra yardage that put Texas in the red zone, setting up Ewers’ touchdown scramble.

Despite Ewers’ improved passing game, the offensive line allowed four sacks in the first half and the defense allowed a quick Baylor touchdown to take back the lead at halftime. 

“We were up against the ropes,” Sarkisian said. “We needed to start to find our way out and we needed to start playing our style of football.”

Early in the third quarter, Texas’ offense was plagued by mistakes, but after a Baylor three-and-out, the Longhorns got the ball in favorable field position at its own 37-yard-line. However, Conner was penalized twice more on false starts, pushing back the offense 10 yards before even snapping the ball. Ultimately, redshirt junior wideout Jordan Whittington fumbled the ball after gaining 29 yards, cutting the drive short. 

With Texas’ receivers struggling to come down with the ball and the offensive line struggling to protect Ewers, Sarkisian reevaluated the game plan on offense. For the rest of the game, he relied on formations the program focused on in the first days of training camp.

“We were jumping offsides, we just were antsy,” Sarkisian said. “So I was like OK, let’s line up in a formation we’re comfortable in.’”

Running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson finally got jump started on their third-quarter touchdown drive. After Ewers used Worthy to distance the line of scrimmage from his own end zone, he dumped the ball off to Robinson. The junior broke two tackles before getting taken down at the 46-yard line.

Robinson then pushed the Longhorns into Baylor territory before Johnson helped finish off the scoring drive. After Whittington redeemed himself with a 19-yard reception, Johnson carved his way through Baylor’s defensive line into the end zone. 

For the remainder of the half, the rushing attack dominated the playcalling, and the defense did its job. Robinson and Johnson finished with two rushing touchdowns apiece and 256 yards combined.

“(It was an) unbelievable performance in the second half by Bijan,” Sarkisian said. “Great combo there with Roschon doing his thing.”

In the final minutes of the game, Texas ran out the clock deep in Baylor territory to secure the 11-point victory. Before the last snap, the crowd broke out into chants of “Bijan.”

“I’m just the guy on the team that tries to do it the right way,” Robinson said. “After today, this has been a blessing for me. I just appreciate everybody.”

With Texas’ win, its Big 12 Championship hopes remain alive. All eyes will be on tomorrow’s Kansas-Kansas State matchup, where a Kansas victory will send the Longhorns to Arlington on Dec. 3.