His teammates grabbed him by the collar and forced him to the front of the pile. There, Jordan Shipley finally broke into a smile.
He stood in the end zone, surrounded by teammates but apart from all of them, alone atop the Texas history books.
The thousands of fans who had stayed through the end of the game all stood, chanting his name.
Shipley’s career day propelled No.2 Texas to a 35-3 win over the University of Central Florida Saturday afternoon. The senior wide receiver, in his sixth year at Texas, had 273 yards on 11 catches. His 88-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter broke the game open and broke the record, surpassing Tony Jones in the Texas record books.
The Golden Knights could have used Shipley on their side. The Texas defense had no problems stopping a one-dimensional UCF offense that completed only 10 passes. The Golden Knights gained only 151 yards all day, the last 51 coming on Texas’ second-team defense on the final drive.
After not getting a sack last week against Oklahoma State, the Longhorns sacked quarterback Rob Calabrese six times, holding UCF to 2-of-12 on third downs.
“[Will] Muschamp challenged us up front to get sacks,” Lamarr Houston said. “We always try to respond when he challenges us.”
They forced no turnovers, but eight punts, holding down the score until the offense found its rhythm.
The Colt McCoy to Shipley connection finally got the Texas offense in gear after a scoreless first quarter. Shipley keyed the Longhorns’ first touchdown drive with a 44-yard catch after McCoy scrambled right and found the receiver streaking across the field.
Three plays later, Texas was in the end zone and in the lead, 7-3, after falling behind.
Cody Johnson scored the first of two rushing touchdowns, running 20 yards nearly untouched.
On the next drive, Shipley contributed two more catches and 35 yards as Texas scored again, this time on a 13-yard Johnson run.
It looked like a blowout was on the cards as McCoy marshaled another two-minute drill toward the end zone, featuring a 53-yard Shipley catch on a double move that could have gone for a touchdown with a better thrown. But McCoy was picked on the very next play, his ninth interception of the year, and UCF escaped to halftime down only 14-3.
Texas finally went almost exclusively to the air to put the game away in the second half. McCoy was quietly effective through the first three quarters, finding James Kirkendoll for a 14-yard score in the third.
“We conscientiously said we’re going to stop running it,” head coach Mack Brown said. “They couldn’t cover us and we’re hoping we’d run it. We threw it like last year, Colt was really hot.”
He turned up the noise early in the fourth.
Texas started at its own 1 after another exceptional UCF punt. But after escaping a safety by inches on a Johnson run, McCoy found Malcolm Williams for an 11-yard gain to get some space. The next play found even more.
Shipley beat his man in single coverage and had no problem reeling in McCoy’s perfect pass, wheeling away for an 88-yard touchdown and a new receiving record.
The only drama left from there would be McCoy’s. The senior passed his own career high for yardage, 414, on the play and was zeroing in on the school record as well.
A final completion to John Chiles brought him to within three yards of Major Applewhite’s record 473, but Texas went to the ground to find the end zone a fifth and final time. Fozzy Whittaker went in from six yards to deny McCoy. He watched from the bench near Applewhite, as Texas ran out the clock on its final possession.
“We were aware after the last touchdown,” offensive coordinator Greg Davis said. “We thought we might put him back in, but was the game unfolded, we decided against it.”
The Golden Knights held the ball for almost eight minutes following the final Texas touchdown, finally being stopped on fourth down at the Texas five-yard line. Only needing a running play to run out the clock, McCoy did not throw another pass.
He finished 33-of-42 for 470 with one interception and two scores.
“If you ask Jordan or you ask me, we’re all in,” McCoy said. “We just want to win.”
