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No. 2 Texas Routs Louisiana-Lafayette 60-3

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Posted 11:07PM on Saturday 3rd September 2005 ( 19 years ago )
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Vince Young threw for three touchdowns, ran for another and No. 2 Texas opened the season with a 60-3 romp over Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday night.<br> <br> Jamaal Charles set a Texas freshman debut record with 135 yards rushing and scored a touchdown for the Longhorns, who next travel to Columbus, Ohio for a matchup with No. 6 Ohio State.<br> <br> The Longhorns have scored at least 60 points in their last three season openers.<br> <br> Young entered the season as one of top contenders for the Heisman Trophy after his five-touchdown performance in the Rose Bowl. While that game saw him rush for four TDs, his passing was one of the few question marks for the Longhorns this season.<br> <br> Young was an efficient 13-of-15 for 173 yards in the first half as Texas built a 39-3 lead. He connected with Nate Jones on a 10-yard TD pass and hit tight end David Thomas for two more from 20 and 7 yards.<br> <br> Young threw only two passes in the third quarter - an interception and a drop at the goal line - before scoring on a 2-yard run. He finished with 49 yards rushing on seven carries before leaving the game midway through the third.<br> <br> The big loss capped an extremely difficult week for the Ragin&#39; Cajuns (0-1). About 20 Louisiana-Lafayette players are from the New Orleans area and most of them housed dozens of family members who had fled the city and Hurricane Katrina.<br> <br> The Ragin&#39; Cajuns were one of the few teams from Louisiana playing football this weekend. The hurricane forced the cancellation or postponement of five games involving teams from Louisiana and Mississippi. <br> <br> The Longhorns went 11-1 last season with a punishing ground game behind Young and Cedric Benson, the fifth-leading career rusher in major college history, and kept churning out huge chunks of yardage against the Ragin&#39; Cajuns (0-1).<br> <br> But while Benson could be asked to carry the ball 30 times a game, the Longhorns have a stable of speedy and powerful backs to share the load this year.<br> <br> Selvin Young scored on a 9-yard run, smashing through a pair of defenders to cross the goal line. Charles scooted around the left side untouched 14 yards for a score and Ramonce Taylor went 30 yards on a reverse for another TD.<br> <br> Charles&#39; UT freshman debut record broke Taylor&#39;s mark of 96 yards set in last year&#39;s season-opening win over North Texas.<br> <br> By late in the third, another freshman tailback, 270-pound Henry Melton, bulled his way through a pile of tacklers before breaking free for a 14-yard TD. He did it again in the fourth, breaking five tackles on a 22-yard scoring run.<br> <br> The only problem for the Longhorns came in the kicking game. They three missed extra points.<br> <br> The last play of the Longhorns&#39; 2004 season was Dusty Mangum&#39;s wobbly field goal that gave Texas a 38-37 win over Michigan in the Rose Bowl.<br> <br> Richmond McGee, the Longhorns&#39; punter and kickoff specialist, took over the field goals and extra points this year. He missed his first extra point wide right then had two low kicks blocked in the second quarter.<br> <br> © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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