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On to Arlington! No. 7 Texas secures Big 12 title game appearance by crushing Texas Tech

Texas isn't done with the Big 12 just yet.

Keilan Robinson scored twice — including a 95-yard kickoff return — and Bert Auburn had a historic night with five field goals as No. 7 Texas rolled to a 57-7 win over Texas Tech at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Friday night. With the blowout victory, the Longhorns punched their ticket to next Saturday's Big 12 championship game in Arlington for the first time since 2018.

Texas (11-1, 8-1) must wait until Saturday to find out if it will face Oklahoma State, Oklahoma State or Kansas State in the title game. Texas last won a conference championship in 2009.

Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. celebrates a second-quarter play in Friday night's 57-7 win over Texas Tech, which advanced the Longhorns to next week's Big 12 championship game.
Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. celebrates a second-quarter play in Friday night's 57-7 win over Texas Tech, which advanced the Longhorns to next week's Big 12 championship game.

Since Jonathon Brooks is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, the sold-out crowd was unable to see a battle between two of the Big 12's top running backs. Tahj Brooks ended up running 19 times for 95 yards for Texas Tech, and Texas also didn't shy away from its rushing attack as it built an early lead.

Robinson scored the game's first touchdown on a 10-yard run, and Jaydon Blue's 69-yard touchdown run in the second session was UT's longest rushing play of the season. Over the first 11 games of the season, Robinson and Blue had combined for one touchdown on their 43 combined carries.

Texas also got four field goals from junior Bert Auburn in the first half as it built a 26-7 lead. The second of those field goals was a 37-yard kick that also made some history. That field goal was Auburn's 25th of the season and 16th consecutive make. Both of those accomplishments established new school records.

Texas Tech (6-6, 5-4) never got closer than 19 points in the second half.

Among the second half's highlights were a 95-yard touchdown scored by Robinson on the opening kickoff and an interception that Jett Bush returned 43 yards for a score. Auburn made a career-long 54-yard kick to become the fifth UT kicker to make five field goals in a single game. Freshman Arch Manning also made his long-awaited debut after Texas had extended its lead to 50-7 in the third quarter. He played the whole fourth quarter.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football earned a Big 12 title game spot by beating Texas Tech