It took exactly two plays to send the Longhorns on their way to a blow out victory in their season opener against the University of Louisiana at Monroe. A Texas defense that’s spent the entire off-season talking about creating turnovers finally got to sink its teeth into quarterback Trey Revell, forcing two fumbles, including a key one on the Warhawks’ first possession as the quarterback misplayed a shotgun snap. Defensive end Sam Acho out-wrestled Revell for the football, gifting Colt McCoy and the Texas offense possession at the ULM 23.
“It was really big,” Acho said of the early turnover. “It was good for our team to get the offense on the field quickly.”
They did the rest from there en route to a 59-20 victory in front of 101, 096 fans at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium Saturday night, with Cody Johnson punching in the first of his three scores on the day, all from the one-yard line.
It was just the start the Longhorns needed to quell any thoughts of an upset. They rode the early momentum to a 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter following another Johnson touchdown run and despite a letup in the second quarter, ran out to a 38-10 halftime lead.
Despite throwing an interception and getting sacked twice, McCoy had another solid if unspectacular day leading the offense. He finished with 317 yards on 21-29 passing with two touchdown throws, including a 78-yard bomb to Jordan Shipley to help the Horns pull away.
Meanwhile, the running game and freshman sensation D.J. Monroe provided most of the fireworks. On his first touch, the explosive running back put Texas back in the driver’s seat with an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The return followed ULM’s first score of the game, a 75-yard touchdown catch by Luther Ambrose, which had briefly cut the Texas lead to 11.
“It was a great feeling,” he said. “Couldn’t have been any better.”
Monroe followed that opening act with a slew of good runs, finishing with 64 rushing yards on just nine carries.
The defense continued to dominate throughout the game, forcing three turnovers, their stated target for the game, and allowing just a field goal and garbage time touchdown in the second half.
