BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- Vince Young got a couple bad throws out of his system early and No. 8 Texas rolled from there, getting 141 yards rushing from Cedric Benson in a 31-7 victory over Colorado on Saturday.<br>
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Benson and Young each ran for a pair of touchdowns, linebacker Aaron Harris and safety Michael Griffin combined on a pair of turnovers and the Longhorns stayed in the running for a BCS bowl by winning their third straight since lossing to Oklahoma.<br>
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The Texas passing game has been suspect all year and Young showed why early. On Texas' seventh play, he telegraphed a pass to the corner that Terrence Wheatley intercepted and returned 37 yards to put Colorado (4-4, 1-4 Big 12) ahead 7-0.<br>
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Texas' next possession ended on an equally bad throw, picked off by Lorenzo Sims at the CU 20. But the Colorado offense was awful - the Buffaloes managed only one first down in the first half and didn't make it past the 50 until the fourth quarter - and after a three-and-out, Texas (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) took over and essentially shut down its passing game. <br>
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The results came quickly - a 12-play, 91-yard drive for a touchdown followed by a 10-play, 68-yard drive for a 14-7 lead before halftime. Those two long marches included a total of four passes.<br>
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In fact, Young only threw eight more times total after the second interception; he finished 8-for-15 for 71 yards.<br>
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That set the stage for Benson, who seems to pass a new milestone each game. Last week, the senior became the fifth Division I back to rush for 1,000 yards in four seasons. Against Colorado, he became the 10th player to surpass 5,000 career yards rushing. Texas improved to 22-0 when he goes over 100 yards.<br>
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Predictably, Benson kept looking better as the game wore on, as much a tribute to him as to the withering job the huge Texas offensive line did on Colorado's exhausted defense. Texas held the ball for more than 35 minutes. <br>
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Early in the third quarter, Griffin sacked and stripped the ball from Joel Klatt, and Harris recovered to set up a short drive that resulted in Young's second rushing touchdown and a 21-7 lead. One possession later, Harris batted Klatt's pass in the air, Griffin intercepted and shortly after, Benson capitalized with a 6-yard touchdown.<br>
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Barring two Oklahoma losses down the stretch, the Longhorns' best chance to make the Bowl Championship Series for the first time would be as an at-large team. They came into the game ranked 10th in the BCS standings, and the big win surely won't hurt in their quest to move up.<br>
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Colorado came in knowing a 5-3 record in the bad Big 12 North could still win the division. Now that that can't happen, CU's quest will be for two more wins to become bowl eligible.<br>
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Luckily for the Buffs, there are no more games against teams like Texas. Still, they need Klatt (17-for-28, 142 yards, two interceptions) and tailback Bobby Purify to play better. Purify, struggling with an injured shoulder, ran 12 times for 13 yards and didn't have a gain of longer than 9 yards.
