Longhorns whip up on hapless Kansas

By Steve Habel / Senior Editor

Never has there been a Texas team that needed to play Kansas, a squad that can’t get out of its own way long enough to find a way to win, more than the 2015 Longhorns, a team that struggled to three victories in their first eight games and has looked more sick than solid.

If getting well with a rout over the Jayhawks was the prescription the ‘Horns needed, they need to be shaking their doctor’s hand after their 59-20 victory over hapless Kansas before a crowd of 92,529 on a chilly evening at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

There have been times when even good [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]Texas teams, like those in 2004 and in 2012, struggled to beat Kansas, but for the majority of the 15 games the two teams have played, the Longhorns have used KU as fodder to build momentum for other more important games and worthy opponents.

The Longhorns (4-5 overall, 3-3 in Big 12 play) employed two huge plays at the beginning of each half and four touchdown runs by short-yardage quarterback Tyrone Swoopes to post another walkover against winless Kansas, but it was not without a fight, at least for the first 30 minutes.

Texas scored on its first offensive snap when quarterback Jerrod Heard went deep for an 84-yard touchdown pass to John Burt. The Jayhawks might have seen the play coming (a few of us in the press box did) because Burt bounced out onto the field before the game like a guy who knew he was going to get a chance to make something happen quickly.

“Getting Jerrod some early confidence with his passing was part of the plan to open the game,” Texas coach Charlie Strong said. “If the quarterback has a good game, then the rest of the team will follow. This was a great team win for us, because we had to battle through some adversity.”

The Longhorns pushed their lead to 10-0 on their ensuing possession, moving 54 yards in nine plays to set up Nick Rose’s 29-yard field goal at the 8:56 mark of the first quarter.

The Texas offense looked like it was in cruise control when the Longhorns scored again before the end of the quarter. Tyrone Swoopes utilized the “18-Wheeler” package to ram home from the 4-yard line two plays after Dylan Haines intercepted Kansas quarterback Ryan Willis and returned the pick to the KU 4-yard line.

But then the Jayhawks came to life, fashioning an 87-yard, nine-play march of their own that produced a touchdown when Shakiem Barbel fell on a fumble by teammate De’Andre Mann in the end zone.

The Longhorns answered with a 17-yard drive and a 1-yard Swoopes scoring dive that followed a muffed punt by Kansas and handed Texas a 24-7 lead with 11:58 to play in the second quarter. But the Jayhawks, looking anything but outmatched on the field, responded again, driving 59 yards in 12 plays to a Mann 1-yard touchdown run that cut the Texas advantage to 24-14.

The rest of the half belonged to Kansas, and the Jayhawks had two chances to cut further into the lead. It was turned away on a fourth-and-1 play by a Texas goal-line stand late in the period and then missed a 26-yard field goal on the half’s final play when kicker Nick Bartolotta plunked the kick off the right upright.

“The goal line stand was huge,” Texas linebacker Peter Jinkens said, “because that changed their way of thinking and gave us a little breathing room when we needed it.”

Kansas actually outgained Texas, 236-190, in the first half (the Longhorns had just 33 yards in the second quarter) and had the ball for 18 minutes to UT’s 12.

Then, in the third quarter, with Texas ahead, 24-14, and the game still very much in doubt, running back D’Onta Foreman rolled around left end and sprinted untouched down the left sideline for a 93-yard touchdown. The run was the third-longest in Texas football history and the longest since 1967.

Foreman (who led the Longhorns with 157 yards rushing on 12 carries) added a 9-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter at the end of a nine-play, 53-yard march. His brother, Armanti Foreman, got into the act on the first play of the fourth quarter via a 40-yard touchdown on a circus catch near the front left pylon on a pass from Swoopes.

Swoopes then got loose on a 44-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter as whatever resolve the Jayhawks had mustered faded away. He later picked up a fumble by running back Kirk Johnson and rambled 10 yards for another score.

Next up for the Longhorns: a do-or-die game on the road Nov. 14 against West Virginia.

“We won’t get overly excited about this win because we expected to dominate Kansas, but playing our best next week is critical,” Strong said. “We haven’t played well on the road and we know West Virginia will be a very tough opponent.”

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