Texas Rides Ground Game, Dominant Defense to 55-14 Win Over Kansas: Longhorns Notebook

Three key takeaways from Texas' blowout win over the Jayhawks.

The Texas Longhorns had the chance to play spoiler to TCU, but an uninspiring offensive performance led to a heartbreaking 17-10 loss at home.

How they would bounce back against a Kansas Jayhawks team that has taken the nation by storm was a consistent question and for good measure given the Longhorns' tendency to struggle on the road. 

Well, it is safe to say those road demons were vanquished in resounding fashion against Kansas as the Longhorns steamrolled to a 55-14 win. This game was all Texas early on, with the Longhorns taking a 31-0 lead into halftime and never looking back in the second half. 

Now, here are three key takeaways from the Longhorns' 55-14 blowout win over Kansas.  

Just. Feed. Bijan. 

When you roster arguably the best running back in college football, you would be wise to simply feed him the ball and let him do the rest. That was the game plan for Steve Sarkisian and his staff against Kansas, as Bijan Robinson gashed the Jayhawks' defense repeatedly.

A week after only receiving 12 carries for 29 yards against TCU, Robinson went off against Kansas. He received 25 carries for 243 yards and four touchdowns, averaging a whopping 9.7 yards per carry in the win. As the Longhorns look to finish strong on the season, Robinson is leading the charge to do so.

Defense dominates once again

In the Longhorns' 17-10 loss against TCU, the defense was far from the issue. Instead, if it weren't for a stellar performance against one of college football's best offenses the Longhorns likely would have been blown out at home. 

Fast forward one week and the defensive performance for the Longhorns was dominant. Aside from a pair of garbage time touchdowns, Texas kept Kansas out of the end zone and held the Jayhawks to only 346 yards of total offense as the Longhorns once again stifled one of college football's best offenses. 

Golden chance to end season strong

While the Longhorns would definitely love to play for a Big 12 championship title, and still technically can, even if they don't they can finish the season strong. Sitting at 7-5 following their blowout win, the Longhorns can get to 8-4 if they can win against Baylor next Friday. 

A year after finishing with an underwhelming 5-7 record in Sarkisian's first season, an 8-4 record would be a definite improvement. Rome wasn't built in a day and Sarkisian showing sustained progress in year two is a big win for Texas, and if they can get a bowl game win on top of that, it would be the cherry on top of the sundae. 

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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