AUSTIN – A career day for former Mr. Texas Football, Jonathon Brooks, paced the Longhorns in a 40-14 win over a ranked Kansas squad in a Week 5 home game against the Jayhawks. Brooks, a sophomore from Hallettsville, ran the ball 20 times for 217 yards and two scores in the win. 

Adonai Mitchell caught 10 passes for 141 yards and a score. Quinn Ewers was 25 of 35 through the air with 325 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also ran for two touchdowns and 40 yards on seven carries. Texas’ offense ran 86 plays for 661 yards and recorded 33 first downs.

The defense was equally as impressive. Kansas played without starting quarterback Jalon Daniels. The Jayhawks only managed 11 first downs and 260 yards on only 46 plays – 40 fewer than the Longhorns. Jaylan Ford led the defense with seven points. Jahdae Barron registered a fumble recovery. 

THREE THOUGHTS 

The bell cow: Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters before the season that a running back would emerge as the go-to guy in the backfield. One always does in his offense, Sark pointed out, noting that he’s had a 1,000-yard rusher in every season he’s called plays. The first option appeared to be true freshman C.J. Baxter, who started the first game for the Longhorns. 

Brooks began laying his claim late against Alabama, however, icing the Crimson Tide with a series of fourth quarter runs to seal the road victory. He continued that success the next week against Wyoming with 164 yards on 21 carries. He ran for 106 yards and a pair of scores last week in a win over Baylor. 

In the blowout win over Kansas, Brooks set a career high with 217 yards – his first time breaking the 200-yard mark. Texas great Bijan Robinson only did that three times in his career, including the 2022 win over Kansas. That victory over the Jayhawks was the only time Brooks had topped the century mark heading into the season. He’s now done it three weeks in a row ahead of the Red River Rivalry game. Brooks enters Week 6 with 596 yards and five rushing touchdowns on 85 carries. He’s on pace for 1,430 rushing yards in a 12-game regular season. 

A different breed: Who cares if Texas is back? We know one thing for sure – Texas is good. Damn good. This isn’t the stereotypical Longhorn team that onlookers watch and expect to choke a winnable game away. Even with Texas playing with its food and Kansas within one score in the third quarter, it never felt like the Longhorns were in danger of losing the game. A 58-yard touchdown throw by Jason Bean to Trevor Wilson cut the Texas lead to 20-14 with 11:36 left in the third quarter. Recent Texas squads would’ve panicked, and potentially lost this game. Instead, the Longhorns scored the next 20 and coasted to a win while covering the 17-point spread. 

The first two years of the Sark era were defined by second-half collapses and playing down to the competition. Texas looks to be past both of those roadblocks in the 2023 season. The Longhorns have scored over 30 points in each of their five wins. All five victories have also been by double digits, including the 10-point win on the road against Alabama. Texas has outscored opponents 100-28 in the second half and 56-15 in the fourth quarter. Texas hasn’t allowed a fourth quarter point in the last three weeks. 

Who can stop this team? The only team remaining on the schedule that might be able to beat Texas is Texas. If the Longhorns can get past a Week 6 trip to the Cotton Bowl and a date with rival Oklahoma, Texas is looking down the barrel of a Big 12 championship game berth and a potential shot to make the College Football Playoff. Heck, Texas can probably be one of the four teams standing at the end of the season with a 12-1 record and a Big 12 title. A 12-1 record got TCU into the CFP in 2022.