The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Florida Atlantic (presented by Wells Fargo)
No. 11 Texas coasts to 52-10 win against FAU
08.30.2008 | Football
Aug. 30, 2008
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AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 11/10 Texas rolled to its ninth consecutive season-opening victory with a 52-10 win over Florida Atlantic. The game kicked off the Horns newly expanded Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium with a record crowd of 98,053, the largest crowd to ever see a football game in the state of Texas. Vince Young was officially honored with the retirement of his No. 10 jersey at the game as well.
Like the Young era Longhorn squad, Texas used a balanced attack in racking up 503 yards of total offense (271 passing / 232 rushing). Texas scored TDs on four of its first five possessions and scored on all eight of its trips into the red zone in its rout of the Owls, which returned 18 starters from a team that won eight games, claimed the Sun Belt Conference title and won the New Orleans Bowl last season.
Colt McCoy led the Horns on offense with 325 total yards and accounted for four TDs. It marked his 11th 300-yard performance in his 27 career starts. McCoy went 24-of-29 (82.8%) for 222 yards and three TDs for a passer rating of 181.2. He also notched his second career 100-yard rushing game with 103 yards and a TD on 12 carries (8.6 ypc). McCoy joined Young as the only players in UT history to pass for 200 or more yards and rush for 100 or more yards in a game more than once in a career. He also set a UT single-game record by completing 13 consecutive passes to open the game. McCoy got into the action on special teams as well, pooch punting a 44-yarder that pinned the Owls at their own two-yard line. Overall, McCoy moved into fifth on UT's career passing list with 6,095 yards and into third on the school's TD passes list with 54.
McCoy hooked up with seven different receivers, with six of them catching at least three passes. TE Blaine Irby led the receivers with a career-best seven receptions for 62 yards and a TD. He also played a big role in the run game, registering nine knockdown blocks. Jordan Shipley added four receptions for 53 yards and a TD, while Chris Ogbonnaya and James Kirkendoll each posted the first TD receptions of their careers. Kirkendoll's 29-yard TD was delivered by John Chiles, the first TD pass of his career. Chiles went 4-of-5 (80.0%) for 49 yards and also caught a six-yard pass. In addition to McCoy's 103 yards, Vondrell McGee posted 63 yards and a TD on 12 carries (5.2 ypc) in the first start of his career, while redshirt freshman Cody Johnson powered his way to 38 yards and a TD.
Defensively, the Horns forced two turnovers, five three-and-outs and held FAU to 292 total yards (255p/37r). After allowing 146 yards in the first quarter, Texas held FAU to the same amount, 146 yards, over the final three quarters and just 53 yards in the second half. In fact, FAU did not cross midfield in the second half. The Owls opened the game by posting 151 passing yards in the first quarter, but the Horns regrouped and held FAU to just 104 yards passing over the final three quarters and just 29 yards in the second half. FAU managed just 37 yards rushing for the game on 23 carries (1.6 ypc). Pressure was a big part of the Horns defensive effort as they tallied nine hits on FAU quarterbacks, 13 pressures and nine TFL.
On two of their first three possessions, the Owls drove to the Texas red zone, but the Horns defense forced turnovers to halt the drives. Sergio Kindle recovered a fumble on the first possession, which UT converted into a TD, and Ryan Palmer picked off a Rusty Smith pass in the end zone to prevent FAU from scoring on its third possession. In his first game as a Longhorn, Earl Thomas tallied five tackles, two PBU, a forced fumble and blocked a punt that UT converted into a TD. The blocked punt was UT's first since the 2006 Kansas State game. Roddrick Muckelroy added six tackles, including a TFL, while Jared Norton added four stops and a TFL.
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