Tag: Bijan Robinson stats

Where TCU and Texas land in the latest College Football Playoff poll

The College Football Playoff poll is showing the Longhorns respect following the K-State win.

The Texas Longhorns are moving up the charts following a huge road victory over then No. 13 Kansas State. The win propelled the Longhorns six spots in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings.

Texas came in at No. 18 after an impressive showing against K-State. This week’s opposing team saw their ranking improve this week as well.

The TCU Horned Frogs were one of the biggest stories of last week’s playoff poll. Sonny Dykes team rose from No. 7 to No. 4 this week after Tennessee, Alabama and Clemson underperformed in losing efforts.

The takeaway for TCU is that it controls its own destiny after securing a top four ranking this week.

Georgia, Ohio State and Michigan rounded out the playoff qualifiers should the season end today. Here’s a look at the Top 10 teams in the new rankings.

Looking at how No. 18 Texas can attack and defeat No. 4 TCU

Stop Quentin Johnston. Maximize Bijan Robinson.

The Texas Longhorns need a win to control its destiny heading into their Top 25 matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday. Put simply, it’s not going to be easy.

The No. 4 Frogs will make the trip from Fort Worth to Austin looking to wreck the Longhorns’ Big 12 championship hopes and improve to 10-0 on the season. Their best player could return to action for their biggest game of the season as well.

Quentin Johnston is expected to be back when his team faces the Longhorns on Saturday. Although he didn’t practice today, Texas would be wise to game plan for the Horned Frogs’ matchup problem.

Steve Sarkisian’s team will need to play its best game of the season to beat Sonny Dykes and TCU. Let’s look at how the Horns might attack the Frogs.

Texas RB Bijan Robinson can make a statement to national audience vs TCU

Bijan Robinson can take the Doak Walker Award with a strong performance on Saturday night.

Bijan Robinson is the best running back in college football. He has a chance to prove it in primetime for a captive national audience when Texas hosts TCU this week.

Robinson has been a consistent performer this season. It didn’t take much for the third-year running back to pass the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Even so, against Kansas State the talented back reminded us what explosion and game-breaking ability he possesses.

In the first half against the Wildcats, Bijan rushed for 161 yards on 15 carries. It was the type of playmaking Texas fans have come to expect and take for granted watching the generational back.

Robinson had to shoulder a similar load last season against the Longhorns’ next opponent. Struggling to muster any passing game, Steve Sarkisian turned to Bijan to will the team to victory.

Highlighted by a game-clinching conversion run on third-and-7, Texas’ best player ran for 216 yards on 35 carries in a 32-27 road win over TCU last season.

Here’s what Robinson can accomplish against the Horned Frogs on Saturday.

Taking an early look at Texas vs TCU

Texas will need all the noise it can get from the home crowd against TCU.

The Texas Longhorns and TCU Horned Frogs will meet in Week 11. The game will have huge conference title implications.

TCU can effectively secure the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 with a win. With only three games remaining, the Horned Frogs would have to lose to Baylor and Kansas to lose the top ranking in the league.

In addition, Baylor would have to defeat K-State, TCU and Texas to take the top spot. With two losses already and shaky defensive play, it’s difficult to see the Bears winning all three of their remaining games.

Texas has a chance to inch closer to a conference title spot. A home loss to the Horned Frogs would all but eliminate the Longhorns, while a win would preserve their tiebreaker over Kansas State.

Let’s take a look at what Texas can look forward to on Saturday.

Texas secures best win of Steve Sarkisian’s tenure over K-State, 34-27

It’s hard to knit pick a 7-point win over No. 13 Kansas State on the road.

Texas won a nail-biter on Saturday night. It took some luck, as we anticipated.

Before the game, I hinted that luck could be on the way for the Longhorns because of their 3-8 record in one-score games under Steve Sarkisian. Albeit, it wasn’t only luck that won the game.

Texas made its own luck early. The Longhorns scored the game winning touchdown in the first half to lead, 31-10. Sarkisian’s team would not need another score to win.

The Longhorns did allow Kansas State to get back into the game. Undoubtedly much will be made of the Wildcat comeback. Nevertheless, Texas found a way to close it out and secure a road win over No. 13 Kansas State, 34-27.

For perspective, let’s put context on what the Longhorns accomplished in Manhattan, Kansas.

WATCH: Bijan Robinson’s first half highlight reel

Bijan led all running backs with 161 yards on 15 carries in the first half.

Bijan Robinson had himself a strong first half. From the first drive, Robinson imposed his will on the Kansas State defense.

Following the Oklahoma State loss, Steve Sarkisian received criticism for not giving Robinson the football enough. It appears Sarkisian took the critique to heart as he has given Kansas State a heavy dose of college football’s best running back.

The Doak Walker award candidate started the scoring off with a 36-yard touchdown run on the first drive. It capped an impressive opening statement for the Texas offense, despite a slow start in that possession.

Later in the drive, Robinson took a quick pitch to the outside for another long run. Other running backs got into the action as well.

Keilan Robinson took an early pop pass for a nice gain, while Roschon Johnson executed his role as “the hammer” to perfection.

Bijan led all running backs with 161 yards on 15 carries. He is now over the 1,000 yard mark for the season.

Letter to Texas Football: Play your game

Play loose, but stay focused. It’s a new season for Texas football following the bye.

Texas has a great chance to win on Saturday. If they made the changes they should have over the bye week, the Longhorns will look like a much better team than they did against Oklahoma State.

Prior to the Oklahoma game I opined that if Texas played like they have for most of the season they would win. Texas won convincingly.

I feel similarly about this game. In general, if Texas plays like they played in the seven games before Oklahoma State, the Longhorns have all the ability to win.

Steve Sarkisian will be tasked with bringing a team that is focused but loose as they enter a tough road environment. If they do the following things, Texas should stay alive in the Big 12 race.

Will Texas be aggressive or play it safe defensively this week?

The primary objective must be stopping Deuce Vaughn.

The Texas Longhorns defense will have its hands full when they face the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday. Coming off a dominant 48-0 win, Chris Klieman’s team should have the Longhorns’ full attention.

Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense will be asked to slow down the K-State attack. To do so, they will need to slow running back Deuce Vaughn.

Vaughn’s ability is well documented. Last week he ran for 158 yards on 22 carries. The short speedster is adept at making plays as a rusher and receiver.

Regardless of the method taken by the Texas defense, stopping the elite talent figures to be the primary objective for the unit. The only question is, will Texas make Adrian Martinez or Will Howard beat them through the air or concede the run?

Saturday’s game is a huge opportunity for Kwiatkowski and his defensive staff. With a strong performance, the defense could help lift the team back into the Big 12 championship race.

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Four ways Texas could attack Kansas State

There’s more than one way to negate the Kansas State pass rush.

Kansas State is one of the best defensive teams in the Big 12. You could argue they’re about as good as Iowa State if not better.

While the Wildcats are known for a stout pass rush, they have shown the ability to stifle the run as well. In their last game, they held the Oklahoma State rushing attack to 54 rushing yards. Backup Gunnar Gundy accounted for half of the production with 27 yards on five carries.

Nobody mistakes any Oklahoma State running back for an elite rusher, but a defensive performance like that is worthy of attention.

Texas has seemingly unlimited firepower, but Kansas State should force the Longhorns to make difficult plays on Saturday. Here’s how Steve Sarkisian could attack the opposing defense this week.

PREVIEW: Tennessee vs Georgia, Texas vs Kansas State and more

A look at games you won’t want to miss this weekend.

Week 10 has a loaded schedule of college football. The weekend continues a highly competitive and memorable 2022 season.

The slate begins with a great Pac-12 matchup between No. 24 Oregon State and Washington. Both teams have made a resurgence and are already bowl eligible with four games remaining.

The headliner of the week pits No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Tennessee against each other. Georgia will look to continue its national title defense at home against college football’s surprise team of the season. Despite having the marquee win of the year, Tennessee ranks just below the Bulldogs.

Elsewhere, No. 6 Alabama faces No. 15 LSU on the road, while multiple Big 12 battles take place. No. 7 TCU hosts a hungry Texas Tech team, while No. 18 Oklahoma State aims to stay alive in the conference title hunt against Kansas.

Here are some of the best games of the day.