WACO, Texas – Jonathon Brooks ran for two touchdowns and No. 3 Texas got a dominant game from its defense to overpower Baylor in a 38-6 win Saturday night to launch the Longhorns into their final Big 12 season.
Texas will join the Southeastern Conference next year and will be finishing out the Big 12 with several last matchups with old rivals. The game was the 113th meeting between the Longhorns and Bears and the final one for the foreseeable future in a series that dates to 1901.
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The breakup was rather one-sided.
The Longhorns (4-0, 1-0) made quick work of the Bears (1-3, 0-1) with an explosive first half that included a 40-yard touchdown run from Brooks and a 29-yard scoring run from quarterback Quinn Ewers. The defensive front swamped Baylor at the line of scrimmage and sacked quarterback Sawyer Robertson twice in the first three plays.
The Longhorns final slate of games in the Big 12 has been unofficially dubbed the “Embrace the Hate” tour and the first game drew a sellout crowd. Baylor fans lustily booed “The Eyes of Texas” song by the Longhorn band before the game', but many were leaving for the exits by the start of the fourth quarter.
Brooks' long touchdown run and Ewers' scrambling run to the end zone broke the Bears. Ewers had nearly thrown an interception the play before and seemed to have nowhere to throw when he took off running. He ducked around one blocker at the sideline and had a clear path to the end zone.
Texas led 28-6 by halftime. Two Baylor drives inside the Texas 5 in the third and fourth quarters ended with no points when Robertson threw an interception in the end zone and then was sacked on fourth down. Robertson was sacked five times.
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas: The Longhorns are off to their best start since 2009 season when Texas won its last Big 12 title and went undefeated in the regular season. That team lost to Alabama in the national championship game. After consecutive games against backup quarterbacks, the defense will now face two of the league's best in Kansas' Jalon Daniels and Oklahoma's Dillon Gabriel.
Baylor: The Bears are two seasons away from winning a Big 12 championship and this one is unraveling fast. Even if starting quarterback Blake Shapen can return, getting the blocking up front to protect him and spur a dormant run game will be the challenge going forward.
UP NEXT
Texas hosts Kansas next Saturday. The Jayhawks beat the Longhorns in double overtime in Austin in 2021 to break a 58-game road losing streak in the Big 12.
Baylor plays at new Big 12 opponent Central Florida on Saturday.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll