AUSTIN -- In a game that rarely featured defensive stops, the Texas Longhorns came out on top in a shootout against Baylor.
The Longhorns outlasted the Bears 56-50 to snap a two-game losing streak on Saturday night at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas (5-2, 2-2 Big 12) racked up 525 yards of total offense en route to its first win against Baylor (3-3, 0-3) since 2009.After struggling to move the ball a week ago in a lopsided loss to Oklahoma, the Longhorns got back on track against one of the nation's poorest defenses. But that didn't guarantee an easy victory for the home team.Baylor quarterback Nick Florence scored from a yard out with 1:57 left to cut the Texas lead to six points. The Bears couldn't stop the Longhorns' powerful running game, though, and UT ran out the clock to seal the win."Last week was a wakeup call," Texas tailback Joe Bergeron said. "Our mindset going through this week was that we needed to re-establish ourselves as a football team and an offense."Texas certainly established its vaunted ground attack and rushed for 251 yards and seven touchdowns, sparked by freshman Daje Johnson's 84-yard touchdown on the first play of the game. From there, each offense raced up and down the field against little resistance."Daje made it happen," Texas offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin said. "That was a huge statement."Bergeron rushed for a career-high five touchdowns, including four in the first half. The sophomore rumbled for a 15-yard score in the first quarter and later added four touchdowns from inside the 10-yard line. Bergeron finished with 117 yards on 19 carries (6.2 average).Longhorns wide receiver Mike Davis had six receptions for a career-best 148 yards, capped by a 15-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that put Texas ahead by 13. The junior had a 67-yard catch in the third quarter to set up a Bergeron touchdown run after Baylor narrowed the gap to 42-40.Freshman tailback Johnathan Gray rushed for a 25-yard touchdown in the second quarter to put UT ahead for good. It was the first career touchdown for the former Aledo star. He finished with 56 yards on eight carries (7.0 average) and had one reception for 14 yards.The Longhorns led 42-31 at the half as the teams combined for 334 yards passing, 294 yards rushing and 31 first downs.Texas allowed at least 30 points for a school-record fifth straight game and gave up more than 600 yards for the second time in as many weeks. But the defense forced a pair of much-needed turnovers that resulted in 14 points.
TCU learns margin of error slim in rugged Big 12
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