No. 24 Texas survived a furious comeback attempt from No. 13 Kansas State for a 34-27 win on the road thanks to a miraculous forced fumble by defensive lineman Keondre Coburn. The Wildcats fell behind 31-10 at the half but put together a 17-3 second-half run and got the ball back with 2:43 remaining and two timeouts with a shot to tie the game. However, Kansas State quarterback Adrian Martinez was stripped by Coburn while attempting to throw in traffic. Texas jumped on the loose ball, securing its sixth victory of the season.
The victory snaps a five-game road losing streak for the Longhorns dating back to Oct. 2, 2021. Texas lost one-score decisions against both Texas Tech and Oklahoma State earlier this season, but with this win, it picks up a critical tiebreaker over the Wildcats in the Big 12 Championship Game race. The Longhorns are now tied with Baylor and Kansas State at 4-2 in the Big 12 standings.
Texas got off to a strong start behind some impressive running from running back Bijan Robinson. The Longhorns scored on their first three drives of the game while taking just eight plays each. Quarterback Quinn Ewers helped lead an offense that posted 352 yards in the period, including 146 through the air. One of the biggest swings of the game came on K-State's final drive of the half as Martinez threw his first interception of the season to set up a late Texas touchdown to stretch the lead to 21.
Kansas State responded with major adjustments in the second half. The Wildcats held Texas to just 114 total yards and forced three punts. Most importantly, Kansas State started to get Texas off the field on third down, holding the Longhorns to 3 of 8 after 5 of 7 in the first half.
Martinez had a strong performance, throwing for 169 yards in the second half alone. He finished with 381 total yards and three touchdowns for the game. His turnovers were backbreaking down the stretch, however. The Wildcats outgained Texas 468-466 but failed to score touchdowns on three key red-zone trips.
Robinson had another stellar performance for the Longhorns, breaking the 200-yard mark for the first time this season and the second time in his career with 209 yards on 30 carries. K-State's Deuce Vaughn posted 73 yards rushing, 86 yards receiving and a touchdown.