The Texas Longhorns began the post-Vince Young era by routing North Texas 56-7 in Austin on Saturday. The defending National Champions did not miss a beat, hitting on all cylinders in an impressive non-conference win.
The biggest concern coming into this season became the biggest relief Saturday evening after red shirt freshman quarterback Colt McCoy stepped into big shoes and played even better than the Longhorns were hoping. On just his second pass of the game, he hit Limas Sweed for a 60-yard touchdown. McCoy completed 12-of-19 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns, while adding another touchdown on the ground.
Sweed had five receptions for 111 yards with two touchdowns. Sophomore Jamaal Charles ran for 77 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown to lead the ‘Horns’ rushing attack that scored four times.
The Longhorn defense dominated North Texas throughout the game, holding them to just six first downs and 95 total yards of total offense. North Texas’ only sign of life came when they scored on the opening drive of the second half.
The stellar play of Texas’ defense helped them win the field position battle by a landslide, keeping the ball in North Texas territory for the majority of the game. One of the few times North Texas had the ball in Longhorn territory senior defensive end Brian Robison blocked his sixth career kick in the first quarter on a North Texas field goal attempt.
Next week awaits arguably the most anticipated regular season game in college football this year when No. 1 Ohio State travels to Austin to face the No. 3 Longhorns in a showdown that could possibly shatter one of their title dreams.
When asked by a Fox Sports reporter if his team was ready for Ohio State, Coach Mack Brown replied, “Well yeah we are. I hope they win today and next week we have No. 1 against No. 2 in Austin. What a great thing for us.”