Texas football beats Texas Tech: Our staff takeaways from the Longhorns' 57-7 win

You couldn't have scripted Texas' 57-7 win over Texas Tech any better: the Longhorns produced touchdowns on runs, a pass, a pick-six and a kickoff return; the defense dominated the Red Raiders; the DKR crowd was electric as it said goodbye to seniors playing their final home game; Bert Auburn had a record-setting night with five field goals and we even got to finally see Arch Manning in action, as the five-star freshman played the entire fourth quarter.

Oh, and the Longhorns also punched their ticket to Arlington. Can't forget that.

Our takeaways from Texas' win:

The Big 12 race is still clear as mud

Texas’s big win secures a spot in the Big 12 title game for the first time since 2018, but the Longhorns’ opponent next Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington remains up in the air. Oklahoma secured at least a share of second place by blasting TCU earlier Friday, but the Sooners won’t know their fate until fellow second-place teams Oklahoma State (vs. BYU) and Kansas State (vs. Iowa State) play and add the final pieces to the Big 12’s convoluted tiebreaking process.

Isn't that special?

Friday night's special teams heroes went beyond kicker Bert Auburn, who set a school record for consecutive made field goals with 19 and most field goals in a season with 28 while going 5-for-5. Plus Texas’ Michael Taaffe blocked a punt and Keilan Robinson returned the second-half kickoff 95 yards for a score. Sure, Texas gave up some yards to Tech’s extraordinary return man Drae McCray, but the team again showed its ability to make plays in every facet of the game.

Already this season, we've seen a 95-yard kick return by Robinson, a 74-yard punt return for a score by Xavier Worthy, a Kitan Crawford blocked punt that Malik Muhammad recovered in the end zone for a touchdown, T'Vondre Sweat's blocked extra point that Austin Jordan returned 82 yards for a 2-point play, and the blocked punt tonight.

A series of injuries and near injuries

Thing certainly could have turned out much worse for the Longhorns, who saw cornerback Ryan Watts leave the game after getting hurt on the second play, tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders leave for a bit after getting shaken up, CJ Baxter limp off to the sideline in the second half and Xavier Worthy get helped into the locker room right before halftime. But all of them save for Watts returned to play.

Maybe that's why Steve Sarkisian emptied the bench in the fourth quarter.

No passing fancy for Texas Tech

Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton finished with just 88 passing yards, a far cry from what Texas has been giving up to opposing quarterbacks. Four of the previous five quarterbacks Texas faced had thrown for at least 300 yards, but the Red Raiders could not find any consistency downfield. Even more impressive, the Longhorns’ secondary had one of its best games of the season despite playing without cornerback Ryan Watts, who left the game after getting injured early. Malik Muhammad, Terrance Brooks and Jett Bush all had picks, and Bush's was a pick-six.

Texcetera

If Arch Manning's debut didn't produced the night's loudest moment, then it came toward the end of the game when UT played Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark's August comments imploring Texas Tech to "take care of business" in Austin against Texas. That didn't happen, and Yormark was on hand at Royal-Memorial Stadium to watch the devastation. ... Can you say complete victory? Texas scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams. ... Quinn Ewers finished the night 17-of-26 for 196 yards, 1 TD and 1 pick and sat out the entire fourth quarter. ... Jaydon Blue rushed for 121 yards on 10 carries, including his 69-yard touchdown. ... Nine different Longhorns caught a pass, but no one had more than four catches (Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington). ... Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford, playing in his final home game, led the team with 8 tackles.

Next up for Texas: the Big 12 championship game

Texas vs. ... well, we don't know yet. But it's an 11 a.m. kickoff at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and it'll be an ABC game. It'll be either Oklahoma State, Oklahoma or Kansas State opposite Texas.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Longhorns football beats Texas Tech 57-7: Our takeaways