Texas Football: 4 overreactions from Longhorns sizable win over Kansas

Texas football passed its first test of the season against a top-25 ranked foe in the Big 12 last weekend when it downed the No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks at home on Sep. 30. No. 3 Texas defeated Kansas by a score of 40-14 after a big second half run from head coach Steve Sarkisian’s squad.

Texas was slow out of the gates against Kansas, missing multiple opportunities to get a big lead on the Jayhawks in the first half. The Longhorns only converted on one of five offensive drives for a touchdown where they got on the plus side of the 50. Texas did knock through two field goals, but they also missed one in the first half and one early in the second.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns were much better in the second half, punching the ball in the end zone. Texas moved the ball effectively the entire game, but the offense scored touchdowns on four of five full drives in the second half.

All the while, the Texas defense held strong. Kansas was 0-of-10 on money down conversions and managed under 10 rushing yards in the second half.

Overreactions from Texas football’s big 40-14 win over No. 24 Kansas

Texas put up a record-breaking (during the Sark era at Texas) 661 total yards of offense against Kansas to put an exclamation point on this 26-point win over the weekend.

Here’s a look at four overreactions from the Longhorns’ sizable 40-14 win over No. 24 Kansas at home in Week 5.

Johntay Cook II will naturally fill the role of Xavier Worthy next season

In the last couple of weeks, Sark and the Longhorns have found ways to get true freshman wide receiver Johntay Cook II involved in the offense with a few explosive plays in the passing game. In the last two games, Cook has two catches for a whopping 76 receiving yards.

Most of those receiving yards came on a nice 51-yard hookup between Ewers and Cook down the seams in the 38-6 win on the road over the Baylor Bears on Sep. 23.

Cook also had reeled in a reception on a nice throw from Ewers for 26 yards in the second half against the Jayhawks last weekend.

When Texas has gotten Cook involved in the offense, good things tend to happen this fall. He’s got four catches on the season for over 100 receiving yards and over 25 yards per catch. We knew coming into the season that the former five-star recruit out of DeSoto High School, Cook, had all the talent in the world.

He’s showing that talent by making some valuable early contributions on offense this season.

Cook’s immediate impact shows the depth and talent Texas has in the receiving corps this year. Specifically at field receiver, Texas has potent depth and talent on the two-deep behind junior standout Xavier Worthy. Building this depth is something Sark prioritized when recruiting this roster via the transfer portal and high school recruiting in the last couple of years.

If Cook’s early contributions this fall are any sign of what’s to come for the talented freshman wideout, he won’t have too much trouble filling the sizable shoes of Worthy when he presumably leaves for the NFL Draft in 2024.