Benjamin Ashford|No. 7 Texas overwhelms Texas Tech 57-7 to reach Big 12 championship game

AUSTIN,Benjamin Ashford Texas (AP) — Keilan Robinson returned a kickoff 95 yards for one of his two touchdowns, Bert Auburn made five field goals and No. 7 Texas overwhelmed Texas Tech 57-7 on Friday night to reach the Big 12 championship game.

Leaving with Oklahoma for the Southeastern Conference after this season, Texas (11-1, 8-1), has won six straight since a loss to Oklahoma. The Longhorns will face an opponent to be determined Saturday in the championship game Dec. 2 in Arlington.

Texas Tech (6-6, 5-4) was outgained 528 yards to 198. Quarterback Behren Morton was 5-0 in games he started and finished this season before Friday. But hounded by a fierce Texas pass rush, he completed 19 of 36 for only 88 yards with three interceptions.

His Texas counterpart, Quinn Ewers, threw for 196 yards and one touchdown against one interception. Ewers was 17 of 26.

Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks, ranked third nationally in rushing yards per game with 122.5 coming in, gained 95 on 19 carries.

Texas Tech briefly looked like it might be competitive. Trailing 10-0, the Red Raiders used a 55-yard kickoff return by Drae McCray, a 25-yard run by Brooks, and a pass interference penalty against Texas to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Morton late in the first quarter.

Texas responded quickly with a 69-yard touchdown run by backup running back Jaydon Blue to start the second quarter. Blue had 121 yards on 10 carries.

Later, after the teams traded interceptions, Auburn kicked his third field goal for a 23-7 lead. His second field goal, earlier in the quarter, set a school record of 16 straight without a miss.

Auburn wasn’t finished. Texas Tech, which converted 6 of 8 fourth-down attempts while beating Texas last season, failed on its only attempt of the first half Friday. Texas, taking the ball at the Tech 45 with 31 seconds to produce something, finished the half with a 44-yarder by Auburn.

Robinson began the second half with his long kickoff return, Auburn added a career-best 54 yard field goal, and Jett Bush returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown, catching the ball after it hit a Tech receiver’s foot and popped up.

THE TAKEAWAY

Texas Tech: Second-year coach Joey McGuire provided Texas with bulletin board material. After beating the Longhorns last season in Lubbock, McGuire made a locker room speech that included, “The country’s gonna find out: Everything runs through Lubbock!” Before this season, speaking about Texas and Oklahoma competing in the Southeastern Conference in 2024, McGuire told some Tech fans “These so-called blue bloods — and I really question that — one of them (Texas) is really good at Olympic sports.”

Texas: In addition to celebrating a big win, Longhorns fans witnessed something they’ve waited for all season. Freshman quarterback Arch Manning, nephew of quarterback royalty Peyton and Eli, made his Longhorn debut in the second half. He completed 2 of 5 passes for 30 yards.

UP NEXT

Texas Tech: Waits for an invitation to a bowl game.

Texas: Awaits an opponent for the Big 12 championship game Dec. 2.

___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football