Texas squanders early lead but CJ Baxter's touchdown run helps Longhorns avoid an upset

HOUSTON − On Saturday, the Texas Longhorns avoided disaster and returned to their winning ways.

A fourth-quarter touchdown run by freshman CJ Baxter lifted No. 8 Texas to a 31-24 win over Houston at TDECU Stadium. With the victory, the eighth-ranked team in the Associated Press poll improved its record to 6-1 with a 3-1 showing in Big 12 play. Due to a loss to Oklahoma and its bye, this was UT's first win in the month of October.

Back on the field for the first time in two weeks, Texas showed little signs of rust in the first quarter. On the game's opening drive, Texas immediately drove down the field and capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive with Adonai Mitchell's 14-yard touchdown catch. The UT defense then drove Houston backwards and forced a punt on the ensuing three-play possession.

Thanks to a 42-yard touchdown catch by Xavier Worthy and a short scoring run by Savion Red, Texas extended its lead to 21 points by the 12:49 mark of the second quarter. Houston, however, rallied with two touchdown passes in the first half's final seven minutes and then tied with game less than three minutes into the third quarter.

Texas regained the lead with a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter, but Houston matched that score with a 40-yard kick in the fourth frame. That set the stage for some late-game heroics.

After a nice kickoff return by Keilan Robinson set UT up near midfield, Texas pieced together a six-play scoring drive. With 5:37 left, Baxter ran through the heart of the UH defense and his 16-yard score gave Texas a lead it wouldn't relinquish. The game-winning drive was directed by backup quarterback Maalik Murphy, a redshirt freshman who replaced an injured Quinn Ewers in the fourth quarter.

Given a chance to respond, Houston (3-4) drove down into the UT red zone. But on a 4th-and-1 call at the Texas 10, Houston threw incomplete. With 1:03 left, Houston had only one timeout left, so UT could kill the remaining 63 seconds.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Longhorns tops Houston Cougars with late touchdown run