Texas Longhorns Defensive 4th-Down Stand Turns Tide In Statement Win

The Texas Longhorns' offense exploded in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't without a huge defensive stand that helped flip momentum.

Midway through the third quarter, the No. 3 Texas Longhorns held a 20-14 advantage over the No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks.

Longhorns kicker Bert Auburn had just missed his second field goal attempt of the game, and Kansas carried some momentum ahead of its potential go-ahead drive. However, Texas' defense stood tall and forced a fourth-down conversion that Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said was "a huge factor" in determining their 40-14 win.

"We started defending [Kansas' triple option] better and made the read a little tougher, and that's when they had the exchange issue with the quarterback and running back and ultimately that created the turnover on downs," Sarkisian said. 

Texas Longhorns defensive back Malik Muhammad (5) tries to tackle Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jason Bean (9) Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The Longhorns won 40-14 / © Sara Diggins, Austin American-Statesman

Kansas took a shot to running back Devin Neal, who then carried for 4 yards. Longhorns defensive end Ethan Burke jumped offsides, setting up a third-and-1 for the Jayhawks' offense.

Running back Daniel Hishaw — who carried quarterback Jason Bean's fumble the remaining 18 yards for a touchdown to cut the game to 10-7 in the second quarter — was stuffed on third down by defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.

Kansas tried the triple option again on fourth down, but a fumble doomed the play from the start. Bean and Hishaw's exchange was fumbled, the Jayhawks' quarterback picked it up for a loss of 6 yards, lost it again and Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron pounced on the football at Kansas' 32-yard line.

That momentum switch flipped the game on its head.

The Longhorns then had a five-play, 32-yard drive capped off by Jonathon Brooks' 1-yard touchdown run. Brooks had a career day with 217 yards and two scores on the ground.

Three of Texas' final four drives resulted in touchdowns, matching its offensive scoring output in the final 17 minutes that it posted in the first 43. The Longhorns' only drive in that span that didn't finish in the end zone was their final one that put the game on ice.

Sarkisian said he thinks Texas is improving in playing more complementary football.

"That's the complementary football piece that we're trying to continue to be really good at," Sarkisian said. "We got that turnover, got really good field position, momentum was in our favor and we go down and punch it in and we kind of seize the moment and momentum right there."