Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (Time for a 5 star to be a 5 star)
Over the span of 60 minutes on Saturday, the future of the Texas running game evolved into the present.
After four games of being the third guy in the mix, nearly killing himself against TCU on the field and then being mostly an afterthought against Oklahoma, true freshman running back Bijan Robinson walked out on the field against Baylor with the starting line-up, took double digit carries in a game for the first time in his career and was leaned on late in the fourth quarter to close out what quickly turned into a closer than it needed to be kind of affair.
The five-star from Arizona has officially arrived.
Except that he really hasn't. Not yet.
While he's ascended to the top of the depth chart at the mid-season point in a way that will remind everyone of Texas legend Cedric Benson, who famously became the starter as a true freshman in 2001 the week following the Oklahoma game, there's a sense that Robinson hasn't performed anywhere near the levels that Benson did in a side by side comparison.
The truth?
When Benson took over as the starter against Oklahoma State in week six, he did so after not taking a single carry the previous week against the Sooners and had compiled only 186 yards on 44 carries (4.2 yards per carry). In the first four games of this season, Robinson has totaled 77 yards on 14 carries (5.5 yards per carry) in three performances. The only real difference between the two is Benson's three touchdowns, but it can be argued that slight edge is washed away by Robinson's edge in yards per carry. Regardless, I think we can all agree that neither player had established himself as a force in the sport upon becoming the starter.
In his fourth year at Texas, Brown gambled following an OU loss that the five-star running back might inject some life into the program. In his fourth year at Texas, Herman has done the same with Robinson. Benson responded that day in Stillwater with 131 yards against the Cowboys on 31 carries, thus making the job ALL his, before rolling off a string of five consecutive 100-yard games that nearly led Texas to a Big 12 championship.
Herman desperately needs his five-star in the next five weeks.
Is that remotely fair to put that on a player whose highlight of the season was being mistaken by Gus Johnson for D'Shawn Jamison on the opening kickoff of the TCU game? Should it be concerning that Texas is six games into the season and the only time Robinson has truly looked like a five-star is when Gus Johnson convinced us all for three seconds that was actually him returning a kick in a game in which didn't even play?
The answer is probably a firm no to both questions, if for no other reason than we know what happened with Benson's career after a very similar start. Of course, not every kid ends up like Benson, but not every kid is a five-star and arrives with a resume quite like Robinson. A smidge of benefit of the doubt is warranted given the circumstances of his freak injury against Texas Tech, a poor offensive line in front of him and a coaching staff that may or may not be making up its use of him as it goes. That benefit of the doubt aside, it would be nice to see Robinson give us an occasional flash or two of his talent when he gets into the second-level of the defense or is one-on-one with a defender in space.
It is important to note that this kind of pressure is exactly why Robinson chose Texas. He wanted to play early. He wanted to be perceived as a missing piece to a puzzle that hasn't yet been completed. The expectation that he has for himself is greatness.
For the coach that recruited him, now would be the perfect time for him to start looking like a future NFL player.
From my perspective, Texas can't and won't win in Stillwater on Saturday without the kind of breakout game that Benson had against the Cowboys in his own breakout performance 19 years ago this month.
Herman and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich basically screamed out loud who they wanted to be as an offense on Saturday against Baylor with their commitment to an early running game and the two coaches had their faith repaid with 38 yards on 9 carries, with only three points put up on the scoreboard. Robinson played a big part in what did and didn't happen in that first quarter.
A repeat of that production against the Cowboys will almost certainly be met with a harsher fate than the Bears were capable of delivering.
Ready or not, we've reached the point in the true freshman's career where the fate of the team will start to produce serious weight on his shoulders.
No. 2 - Three Things I'd like to see against Oklahoma State ...
a. Don't wait until the second quarter to get Sam Ehlinger and the passing game going. I don't know if the coaches wanted to treat Baylor like a scrimmage or if they really want to be something that they haven’t proven capable of being, but Ehlinger passing for -1 yards on 2 attempts on Saturday for the first full 15 minutes is begging for a disaster.
READ THE REST OF KETCH'S 10 THOUGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND BY CLICKING HERE (PREMIUM SUBSCRIBERS)