McCoy’s 3 TD passes, Monroe’s record return, lead No. 2 Texas in 64-7 rout of UTEP

McCoy’s 3 TD passes lead No. 2 Texas in rout, 64-7

AUSTIN, Texas — Colt McCoy and No. 2 Texas got the fast start they had been missing in recent weeks, rolling to a 40-point lead by halftime before cruising to a 64-7 win Saturday over Texas-El Paso.

McCoy passed for 286 yards and three touchdowns, two to Dan Buckner. The Longhorns (4-0) also pressured UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe into five turnovers.

Freshman D.J. Monroe’s first-quarter 91-yard kickoff return made him the first player in Texas history to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in a career. He also had one in Texas’ opener.

This one came seconds after UTEP’s Melvin Stephenson II returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown.

McCoy was sharp after the interception with TD passes of 36 and 15 yards to Buckner and 16 yards to Jordan Shipley, as Texas built a 47-7 halftime lead. McCoy left the game after Texas’ first possession of the third quarter.

Vittatoe was 7 of 21 for 38 yards with four interceptions and a fumble for UTEP (1-3).

Texas held UTEP to seven first downs and 53 total yards.

After sputtering starts against Wyoming and Texas Tech the last two weeks, the Longhorns came into this one looking to turn the game into a rout right away.

With hot and steamy weather conditions perfect for their hurry-up offense, Texas had little trouble moving up and down the field. The 64 points was the most for Texas since a 70-3 win over Colorado in the 2005 Big 12 championship game.

The defense did its part, pounding Vittatoe with pass rush that forced him into several bad throws.

The first turnover got Texas rolling.

Sergio Kindle sacked Vittatoe on the fifth play of the game, causing a fumble that set up the Longhorns’ first touchdown on a 3-yard run by Tre’ Newton.

McCoy then made his only mistake when Stephenson jumped inside Shipley for an easy interception and scampered untouched toward a large group of Miners fans behind a corner of the end zone.

Monroe doused the moment of fun with his record return TD.

Monroe took the kickoff, broke into open field to his left and UTEP kicker Kyle Peterson wasn’t going to catch the former Texas high school 100 meters champion.

McCoy’s should help boost his Heisman Trophy campaign on a day some other early contenders faltered. He quickly found his rhythm.

McCoy and Buckner have connected for touchdowns in three straight games and their first against UTEP made it 23-7. His scoring pass to Shipley made it 33-7 before tailback Vondrell McGee, who had lost his starting position to Newton, took a pitch from McCoy and scrambled 23 yards for a score.

Texas kept up the pressure.

McCoy pumped his fist and yelled at receivers after a couple of dropped passes,then hooked up with Buckner again. This time, it was a nifty one-handed grab over two defenders a minute before halftime for Buckner’s fourth touchdown of the season.

With the sun still pounding the East side of the stadium, many Texas fans had seen enough and started heading for the exits. Easily half of the announced crowd of 101,144 did not return for the third quarter.

The only thing those that stayed could have been curious about was how long McCoy would stay in the game.

McCoy drove Texas to a 21-yard field goal by Hunter Lawrence that made it 50-7 before he was relieved by freshman Garrett Gilbert on Texas’ second possession of the third quarter.