AUSTIN, Texas — Late in Texas’ 38-27 victory Friday over Baylor, the crowd that remained at Royal-Memorial Stadium offered a spontaneous salute.
“Bijan, Bijan, Bijan,” the crowd chanted, wanting one more touchdown from Bijan Robinson. Actually, it was the only thing that the junior running back didn’t deliver in what might have been his final home game.
Robinson ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries as No. 23 Texas (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) kept alive its hopes of a trip to the Big 12 championship game Dec. 3 at AT&T Stadium. Robinson’s performance included 150 yards on 22 carries in the second-half alone.
“When we went back in the locker room [at halftime] we understood we had to run it down their throats hard because the pass game wasn’t working so well in the first half,” Robinson said.
The Longhorns have to hope that Kansas upsets No. 12 Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday to get a rematch with No. 4 TCU in Arlington. If not, the Alamo Bowl is a likely destination for Texas against a Pac-12 opponent.
Even without a trip to the title game, the season represents a step forward, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.
“We obviously made progress as a program,” Sarkisian said. “Clearly, 8-4 is a heck of a lot better than 5-7. But I think the style of play is really starting to come to fruition. I think we’re playing a physical brand of football.”
Baylor (6-6, 4-5) dropped its third straight game to close the regular season.
“I’m hurting for everybody in there just because of the work we put in,” Baylor linebacker Bryson Jackson said. “It’s a tough loss. We came into this game all the way to the end thinking we were going to win, so just a kick in the face. It hurts.
“But we’ve got to look at it like life sucks sometimes and we’ve got to get back and get over that adversity and hurt.”
Baylor had led 19-17 at halftime and was more than doubling Texas in time of possession.
“We were up against the ropes,” Sarkisian said, using a boxing analogy with his team. “And we were having a hard time getting off the ropes. We needed to start to fight our way out.”
The Texas defense allowed Baylor just 56 second-half yards and four in the fourth quarter, led by linebackers Jaylan Ford and DeMarvion Overshown, who combined for 27 tackles (four for losses) and an interception. Ford tied the Texas linebacker record with his fourth interception this season.
It still took a disastrous sequence for Texas to actually remember the presence of Robinson and senior Roschon Johnson (77 yards rushing, two touchdowns).
Quarterback Quinn Ewers was hit by Baylor linebacker Al Walcott and fumbled. Defensive lineman Gabe Hall scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 16 yards for a touchdown and 27-24 lead with 13:30 lead.
Texas never threw another pass in rallying, with 22 straight run plays by Robinson and Johnson on three drives that produced two Texas touchdowns.
“For them to have the moment they were able to have today,” Sarkisian said, “nobody deserves it more than those two guys,”
Robinson had 99 yards rushing on those three drives, including 65 on the go-ahead drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run.
“They were hitting on all cylinders as far as their offensive line, and Bijan was making great reads and cuts,” Jackson said.
Johnson had his moment too, scoring Texas’ final touchdown on an 11-yard run out of the Wildcat, hurtling a Baylor defender near the goal line. Afterward, Sarkisian had Johnson address the team after the Senior Day win, noting he had done the same thing after a catastrophic loss to Kansas a year ago.
Robinson also racked up a couple of personal milestones.
He passed Jamaal Charles for fourth on the all-time Texas rushing charts and now has 3,410 yards, behind only Ricky Williams, Earl Campbell and Cedric Benson.
“That means everything,” Robinson said.
Projected as a possible NFL first-round pick, Robinson has steadfastly but politely declined to divulge his future plans. If this was his last home game, he left another memory.
“Unbelievable performance in the second half by Bijan,” Sarkisian said.
Stealth weapon
Baylor junior receiver Jaylen Ellis wasn’t even listed on the Bears’ pregame depth chart — with good reason.
He had played in just three games with one catch, albeit for 50 yards. Ellis quickly made his presence known in the first quarter. He was open on one deep route, only for quarterback Blake Shapen to underthrow the pass for an incompletion. He then caught a 47-yard pass behind the Texas secondary for the game’s first touchdown and a 9-0 Baylor lead.
Billingsley departs
Texas tight end Jahleel Billingsley has left the program, according to multiple reports. Billingsley was not dressed for Friday’s game. A transfer from Alabama expected to thrive in Sarkisian’s offense, Billingsley started his Texas career with a six-game NCAA suspension from his time at Alabama. He played in four games, catching three passes for 38 yards.
Injury update
Texas freshman right guard Cole Hutson will have an MRI for a lower leg injury, Sarkisian said after the win over Baylor. A freshman from Frisco who had started all 12 regular-season games, Hutson was carted off in the second half after appearing to get his leg rolled up by teammate Andrej Karic.
