The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorns defeat Cyclones, 37-14
09.23.2006 | Football
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The only thing stopping the Texas offense Saturday was the weather. Iowa State sure couldn't do it.
Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy engineered another efficient game with a pair of touchdown passes and No. 7 Texas beat Iowa State 37-14 in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
The game was delayed 70 minutes after the third quarter because of severe weather with lightning.
It was the first time a game at Royal-Memorial Stadium had been suspended by weather since 1996. Game officials urged the crowd of 88,972 to seek shelter and only a few thousand returned to the stands when the game resumed.
Texas (3-1, 1-0) has won 16 straight league games and hasn't lost a Big 12 contest at home since 1999.
McCoy finished with 212 yards on 18-of-23 passing with an interception. Limas Sweed had seven catches for 107 yards.
Bret Meyer, Iowa State's career passing leader, threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns for the Cyclones (2-2, 0-1) but spent most of the game running from a fierce pass rush that seemed to come from all directions. Meyer was sacked seven times, pressured a dozen others and threw two interceptions.
The first five minutes looked like a Texas rout.
The Longhorns needed only three plays to drive 43 yards to their first touchdown, a 5-yard run by Jamaal Charles, then got a safety when the Cyclones snapped a punt through the end zone. Texas tacked on another score with Selvin Young's 1-yard TD for a 16-0 lead.
Meyer led the Cyclones back with two scoring drives that quickly made it 16-14 early in the second.
The first came on 5-yard shuffle pass when he was flushed out of pocket and flicked the ball to tight end Walter Nickel. After McCoy threw his second interception of the season, Meyer hit Todd Blythe for an 8-yard score.
But Iowa State, which came in giving up almost 27 points per game, could do nothing to stop Texas' no-huddle offense before the half.
McCoy made up for his miscue with a 15-yard scoring pass to Sweed. Texas then had the Cyclones backed up on their 15 when it appeared that defensive end Brian Robison got leg-whipped in the left knee by an Iowa State offensive lineman.
The game stopped for several minutes before Robison was carted off the field and gave the Hook'em Horns sign to the crowd. Any momentum the Cyclones had gained seemed to follow him right off the field.
After the Longhorns forced a punt, they drove 75 yards for Henry Melton's 1-yard run that made it 30-14 at halftime.
The drive would have been over with an incomplete pass on third down at the Texas 22, but linebacker Rashawn Parker hit McCoy in the head after the throw and the 15-yard penalty kept the Longhorns moving.
The Longhorns all but ended it with two long drives in the third.
Charles and 270-pound third-team tailback Henry Melton pounded the ball to the Iowa State 9 before McCoy fumbled on 4th-and-1.
Although the drive didn't result in points, it showed the Cyclones would not be able to stop Texas front line from pushing them around as the game wore on.
After forcing a punt, Texas needed only four plays to make it 37-14.
Sweed stiff-armed a defender for a 35-yard gain on a short pass before tight end Jermichael Finley took the ball away from two defensive backs in the end zone for a 10-yard TD.