Texas Football: 3 big overreactions after UT’s dominant win vs. Texas Tech

In what is likely the most decisive win and the biggest statement No. 7 Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian have made this season, the Texas Tech Red Raiders left Austin on Black Friday with a massive loss. Texas downed Texas Tech and head coach Joey McGuire in decisive fashion at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin on Nov. 24 by a score of 57-7.

Sark and the Longhorns sent McGuire and the Red Raiders out of Austin in the final Big 12 game played at DKR with a 50-point loss. The huge win over Texas Tech secured Texas’ spot in the Big 12 Championship Game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, on Dec. 2 and keeps the Longhorns in the College Football Playoff conversation.

No. 7 Texas football decimates Texas Tech by 50 points at home on Black Friday

Texas also finishes the regular season with 11 wins (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) for the first time since 2009. The Longhorns also have the opportunity to win a Big 12 title next weekend for the first time since the 2009 season.

The opponent Texas will face in the Big 12 title game comes down to what happens between the No. 20 Oklahoma State Cowboys and BYU Cougars in Stillwater on Nov. 25. An Oklahoma State win pits the Pokes against the Longhorns in Arlington next weekend.

An Oklahoma State loss would make for a Red River rematch between Texas and the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 Championship Game. This will be an exciting matchup for Texas against one of the Oklahoma schools in the conference title game either way.

Here are three big overreactions from the Longhorns’ massive 57-7 win over Texas Tech at home on Nov. 24.

Jaydon Blue was vastly underutilized before this game

Sophomore running back Jaydon Blue provided an early spark in the ground game for the Longhorns with some big runs in the first half against Texas Tech. The best play of the game for Blue was an explosive career-long 69-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter.

That was a big touchdown for the Longhorns, who were up by just three points at the time when Blue turned on the burners early in the second quarter.

Blue had some other nice runs in this game, as he finished with an impressive career-best 121 rushing yards on 10 carries. Averaging over a dozen yards per carry is impressive against any Power Five opponent, let alone when Texas needed Blue to step up in the wake of a game-ending injury to true freshman running back CJ Baxter Jr.

When he’s been given the opportunity to get a heavier workload out of the backfield this fall, Blue has made the most of it. He’s now rushed for over 170 yards on 20 carries in the two games he’s received double-digit rushing attempts this season (against Rice in the opener and Texas Tech in the finale).

And while I know why Blue’s touches were limited earlier this season, it still feels like he could’ve been worked into the rotation more often. Blue possesses qualities that the other Texas running backs, including Jonathon Brooks and Baxter, don’t have. He’s an extremely explosive runner and a good receiver out of the backfield.

Blue should still be a prominent part of the rotation in the backfield in the Big 12 title game and the postseason, with Brooks out for the rest of the season with an ACL tear.