How far up Texas' all-time rushing list can Bijan Robinson go?

With a solid day on the ground versus No. 11 Oklahoma State on Saturday, Texas running back Bijan Robinson could enter the top ten for career rushing yardage in Longhorn program history.

[Get FOUR MONTHS of Inside Texas Plus for $1!]

Robinson sits at No. 13 all time with 2610 yards, just ahead of great UT backs from national championship teams like Jim Bertelsen and Steve Worster. With an 80-yard day against the Cowboys, Robinson would pass Eric Metcalf, Hodges Mitchell, and Malcolm Brown to become one of the ten most prolific rushers for a program with some of the sport’s all-time greats.

Should Robinson rush for 173 yards on Saturday, a feat he has accomplished three times in his Texas career, Robinson would pass 2016 Doak Walker Award winner D’Onta Foreman and take possession of the No. 9 spot.

Oklahoma State currently has the No. 57 rushing defense in the country, allowing 136.3 yards per game on the ground. Rushing for that number would put him into the top 10 ahead of Brown, though still behind Foreman.

Assuming good health and including Saturday, Robinson has at least five games remaining in his Texas career with a sixth possible should the Longhorns reach the Big 12 Championship game. Considering the trend in recent years of running backs sitting out bowl games, it’s no guarantee Robinson would suit up in a postseason game for the Longhorns. That said, the future early-round draft pick typically dodges any questions about his future the way he dodges tackles and has made no comment regarding professional aspirations.

His focus right now is reaching the Big 12 Championship in Arlington. If Texas is going to get there, they’ll need Robinson to be at his best over the next five games.

If he’s at his best, just how high could Robinson move up the all-time Longhorn rushing rankings?

Robinson has 708 yards this year, joining his 1127 yards from last year and his 703-yard campaign in 2020.

If he only rushes for 80 yards per game in the remaining regular season games, the former five-star from Tucson, Ariz. would finish the year with 3010 career rushing yards. That would make Robinson the seventh player in program history to crack the 3000-yard mark and catapult him into the No. 7 spot past Foreman, Jam Jones, and Roosevelt Leaks.

What about if Robinson averages 100 yards on the dot in the next five games? He’d be in about the same position at 3110 yards, just 17 yards behind Vince Young.

How about if he maintains his season average of 111 yards per game? He’d rush for 557 yards, placing himself ahead of Young but behind Chris Gilbert and one spot outside the top five at 3167 yards.

A few more what-ifs. 120 yards per game? Still behind Gilbert.

150 yards per game? Unlikely, but worth mentioning. He’d not only pass Gilbert but also Jamaal Charles and take over the No. 4 spot in the school record book with 3360 yards.

Why not get crazy? What if Robinson rushed for 200 yards per game in the final five contests?

He’d still be fourth, and over 800 yards would separate Robinson from Earl Campbell, who left Texas in 1977 as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 4443 yards. A 200-yard average would likely send Robinson to New York City to join Campbell’s company as a Longhorn Heisman finalist, though.

Campbell’s mark was eventually passed by Ricky Williams, who sits atop the school’s all-time list with 6279 yards. The late Cedric Benson also eclipsed Campbell, finishing his career with 5540 yards.

A sixth game in the form of the Big 12 title would obviously help Robinson’s efforts. A bowl would, too, since those stats have applied to regular season totals since 2002. That is, if he elected to suit up for it.

Whether Robinson has five, six, or seven games left in his 2022 campaign, his career up to this point has already cemented himself as one of the better runners of the football to grace the Forty Acres.

What he does in the remaining games could determine how high he ascends in the record books.