In a season that has so far been turned on its head by upsets, the Longhorns did their best to restore order to their part of the college football world Saturday afternoon. No. 2 Texas looked every bit like a national championship contender from beginning to end of a 64-7 blowout win over UTEP at Royal-Memorial Stadium, while quarterback Colt McCoy finally rediscovered his Heisman-favorite form.
Texas showed only a blip of its early game struggles this season when McCoy threw an interception returned for a touchdown that tied the game at 7-7 early in the first quarter. He was all smiles on the sideline though as the Texas offense rolled from there, starting with a 91-yard return from D.J. Monroe on the ensuing kickoff as the Longhorns reeled off 57 consecutive points.
“[McCoy] had a real breakthrough last week in the second half,” head coach Mack Brown said. “He had a whole different demeanor all week. We had a few drops…didn’t bother him today. It looked like the Colt of old.”
McCoy got his numbers, finishing 28-35, despite three drops by wide receivers, including one in the end zone by James Kirkendoll, with 286 yards and three touchdowns. After suffering through slow starts against Texas Tech and Wyoming that forced big second half performances, McCoy was already on the sidelines midway through the third quarter against UTEP, his job done for the day.
“We put up 64 points, so it was a good day,” McCoy said. “We really wanted to start strong out of the gate, and we did that for sure.”
McCoy was joined by most of the Texas starters as the Longhorns had built a 57-7 lead after three quarters. The defense pitched another virtual shut out after keeping Wyoming out of the end zone two weeks earlier. Defensive end Sergio Kindle set the tone early, sacking quarterback Trevor Vittatoe and forcing a fumble that Lamarr Houston recovered on the third play of the game.
The defense followed that up by forcing 8 punts and 5 turnovers, also capitalizing on a bad snap on an attempted punt that gave the offense the ball at the UTEP six-yard line and led to a Texas field goal.
It was all part of a stellar defensive effort that ended with only 53 UTEP net yards on 51 plays. Miners’ quarterbacks were sacked four times and completed just eight of 24 pass attempts as UTEP registered just seven first down and crossed midfield only once.
With the game out of hand by halftime, when Texas held a 47-7 lead, the running game took care of the final 30 minutes, salting away the clock with a 300-yard rushing performance, 244 of which came in the second half.
Vondrell McGee lead the way with 104 yards on eight carries, the first 100-yard rusher for the Longhorns this year, as Texas recorded its second ever 300-yard passing, 300-yard rushing game. The Longhorns finished with 638 total yards, sixth most in school history.
