RECAP
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BOX SCORE
AUSTIN (AP) -- Texas didn't need to dominate on offense against
Houston. The defense did the job just fine.
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| Hodges Mitchell and the Texas Longhorns did not have a huge offensive day, but it didn't matter as Texas held Houston scoreless. |
Texas scored three touchdowns on turnovers and the No. 15
Longhorns smothered one of the nation's best passing attacks with
nine sacks in beating Houston 48-0 on Saturday night.
Dakarai Pearson and O.J. McClintock returned interceptions for
touchdowns and Michael Ungar recovered a fumbled punt in the end
zone on a night when the Longhorns (2-1) struggled to move the ball
for most of the game.
"We started out real slow in the first half, but with the
special teams and defense playing like they did, that took a lot of
pressure off the offense," said Texas quarterback Major
Applewhite, who combined with Chris Simms for 253 yards passing,
three interceptions and one late touchdown.
Texas managed just 349 total yards but it didn't matter as the
Longhorns manhandled the Houston offense. Cougars quarterback Jason
McKinley, who came in leading the nation with 346.3 yards passing
per game, was just 14-of-34 for 173 yards and two interceptions
before leaving in the fourth quarter. He was sacked eight times.
Texas held Houston (1-3) to 198 total yards, including just 13
yards rushing on 31 carries.
"I don't think I've seen a defense play like that in a long
time," said Texas coach Mack Brown. "With the kind of passing
attack that they have, I'm amazed that we shut them out."
Texas needed that kind of effort. Despite the high score, the
Longhorns had just 188 yards through the first three quarters and
racked up late yardage by throwing deep in the final two minutes.
Simms started and his first pass was intercepted when it bounced
off Montrell Flowers' hands. Houston had the ball on the Longhorns'
37 but failed to capitalize when Mike Clark's 39-yard field-goal
attempt was blocked.
Pearson made it 7-0 in the first quarter when he stepped in
front of McKinley's pass and ran untouched into the end zone.
Applewhite relieved Simms and led Texas to a 10-0 lead in the
second quarter on Kris Stockton's 30-yard field goal despite just 6
total yards on offense. After a Houston fumble, Applewhite drove
the Longhorns 37 yards to Victor Ike's 1-yard touchdown run and a
17-0 halftime lead.
"I told our guys at halftime that if we had punted on every
series, we would have been tied 0-0," said Houston coach Dana
Dimel. "We just gave away points."
The Longhorns' defense, meanwhile, led by the rush of tackles
Shaun Rogers and Casey Hampton, consistently harassed McKinley into
quick throws and sacked him four times in the first half.
Cory Redding snuffed Houston's only touchdown threat in the
third quarter when he dropped McKinley for a 12-yard loss and
pounced on the ball at the Texas 18.
The Longhorns' drive stalled at midfield but disaster struck the
Cougars again when punt returner Bachie McGruder fielded the kick
at the Houston 5 only to fumble it back into the end zone. Ungar
fell on the loose ball to make it 27-0.
"We challenged the defense and special teams to score," Brown
said. "We thought going in we could block a punt too, but maybe
I'm being a little greedy with that."
Kenny Hayter's 2-yard touchdown dive in the fourth made it 34-0
before McClintock intercepted McKinley's last pass and returned it
23 yards for a TD. Matt Trissel added a 6-yard scoring catch from
Simms with 3:11 left.
