Texas Football: 5 takeaways from Longhorns’ messy win over Kansas

Jonathon Brooks shoulders the load again for the Texas offense

The Longhorns’ MVP for the game was easily redshirt sophomore running back Jonathon Brooks. He had another career outing for the Longhorns in this sizable win over the Jayhawks, with over 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Brooks had his first 200+ rushing yard game of his career after he set a career-high in rushing yards in the win over the Wyoming Cowboys in Week 3. He finished with 217 rushing yards on 20 carries (10.9 yards per carry) and two rushing touchdowns. Brooks also reeled in one catch for 23 yards on a nice play in the first half.

Sark found his bellcow running back again in this game. Brooks was fantastic the entire way, shouldering the load for this offense when Texas couldn’t get much else going in the first 35 minutes of this game.

It’s worth noting that Brooks’ 217 rushing yards is the most that any Big 12 running back has registered in a single game this season. He also put up the most rushing yards of any Texas running back against a ranked opponent since D’Onta Foreman in 2016.

In this win over Kansas, true freshman running back CJ Baxter Jr. was also solid in multiple phases of the game for the Longhorns. Baxter tallied up over 80 total yards from scrimage (70 rushing yards) in the most productive rushing game of his collegiate career.

Texas’ ground game is hitting its stride at the right time as Texas is amid a critical stretch in Big 12 play.