(Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
In their first outing of the season, the second ranked Texas Longhorns blasted the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, 59-20, in front of a sellout crowd of over 100,000 fans.
Offense
Heisman hopeful Colt McCoy picked up right where he left off last season, going 21-29 for 317 yards and two touchdowns.
The Texas quarterback looked sharp for much of the game, though he did throw an interception in the second quarter.
McCoy showed nice zip on the shorter routes and good touch, as was evident with his 78-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Shipley in the second quarter.
The sixth year senior receiver hauled in eight catches for 180 yards. Shipley will be seeing more time on the perimeter this season with the graduation of Quan Cosby, a role Shipley seems to be comfortable with.
One element that was missing from McCoy's repetoir was his famed running ability. McCoy carried seven times for negative three yards on the night. However, coach Brown must have been pleased that other runners stepped up to take the bulk of the running responsibility.
Junior Vondrell Mcgee started the game at running back, rushing 15 times for 70 yards and a touchdown. McGee looked strong between the tackles, but coughed up two fumbles, a stat that is likely to make the coaching staff question his ability to carry the load.
Sophomore Cody Johnson, the Longhorns' short-yardage back, carried 11 times for 27 yards and scored three times from the goal line. Johnson should continue to handle the short yardage situations going forward.
Mack Brown may have discovered a new offensive toy in the electric freshman D.J. Monroe.
Monroe exploded on to the scene with an 89-yard kick return for a touchdown in the second quarter. The kid can flat out run (5A track star in high school).
Monroe also lined up at running back, rushing nine times for 64 yards. Look for this incredible talent to work his way in to the weekly offensive scheme.
Quarterback-turned-receiver John Chiles caught three balls for 35 yards and a touchdown. Chiles showed good straight-line speed on a screen pass from McCoy, as he ran it 14 yards for the score.
Chiles has earned a spot in the starting rotation, and unless he starts dropping a lot of balls, it is likely he will stay there.
The offensive line looked decent, but wasn't as dominant as expected. McCoy was sacked twice and was under some intense pressure at times.
There is some cause for concern on the line as starting guard Michael Huey was carted off the field after landing akwardly on his ankle. Texas can hardly afford a loss to a staring offensive lineman this early in the season.
The anticipated debut of freshman phenom quarterback, Garrett Gilbert, was not disappointing.
The Lake Travis graduate went 4 for 5 for 46 yards and showed good athleticism on a 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Gilbert showed excellent arm strength and good accuracy while moving out of the pocket.
Defense
The defense looked strong overall.
The Warhawks were held to 298 total yards of offense. The Texas secondary, anchored by sophomore safety Earl Thomas, allowed only 197 yards through the air and intercepted ULM quarterback Trey Revell once in the red zone.
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