Jonathon Brooks Thrills Fans With Quinn Ewers Out as Texas Beats BYU

Texas looked vulnerable heading into its Week 9 matchup against BYU.

The Longhorns were without quarterback Quinn Ewers for the first time all season and the 5-2 Cougars appeared ready to take advantage. Fortunately for the Longhorns, the game was never in doubt.

A punt return touchdown from Xavier Worthy set the tone and the Longhorns continued to push, emerging with a 35-6 victory. The Longhorns defense forced two turnovers and held the Cougars to under 10 points for the first time this season.

Quarterback Maalik Murphy was solid in relief duty, going 16-of-25 for 170 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. The pick came early in the contest, and Murphy settled in while developing some chemistry with wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, who hailed in both touchdowns.

However, the offensive star of the day for the Longhorns was running back Jonathon Brooks.

The tailback dashed for 98 yards on 16 carries and had a touchdown that helped put the Cougars in a big hole.

Brooks' performance pushed his season totals closer to the 1,000 yard mark as he looks to continue the strong legacy of Longhorn tailbacks.

Fans praised Brooks for his strong play and pushed for him to be put in serious contention for the Heisman Trophy.

Texas improved to 7-1 on the season and will likely move up in the rankings following Oklahoma's loss to Kansas earlier in the day.

The No. 7 Longhorns will look to finish strong and reach the Big-12 Championship game and hope for a chance to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time since the playoff tournament has been established.

The next step towards accomplishing that goal will be next week when the Longhorns host Kansas State.