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Sixth-ranked Texas staves off Central Florida

Sep 16, 2007 - 3:41 AM ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Colt McCoy was unspectacular but effective on Saturday - much like his team.

McCoy passed for 259 yards and Jamaal Charles' 46-yard touchdown run helped sixth-ranked Texas stave off Central Florida, 35-32, on Saturday in the first game ever played at Bright House Networks Stadium.

McCoy completed 32-of-47 passes, throwing one touchdown and one interception for the Longhorns (3-0), who led by as many as 13 points in the second half before withstanding a furious rally by the hosts.

"It was a tough environment for us to play," McCoy said. "I give them credit. They stuck with it and we never finished the game."

Central Florida (1-1), which had played its home games in the Florida Citrus Bowl for the past 28 years and was 0-16 all-time against ranked opponents, looked poised for the upset with 3:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.

With Texas leading, 29-24, Golden Knights quarterback Kyle Israel rushed for a first down but fumbled the ball, which was recovered by linebacker Marcus Griffin.

On the next play, Charles capped his stellar day with his long touchdown run and gave Texas a 35-24 lead. Charles finished with 155 yards on 22 carries.

However, Israel found wide receiver Kamar Aiken for a six-yard score with 35 seconds remaining, pulling the Golden Knights within 35-32. But while Central Florida converted the two-point conversion, it couldn't recover the ensuing onside kick.

Israel also scored from one yard out on fourth-and-goal to cap an eight-play, 65-yard drive to give the Golden Knights a 24-23 lead in the fourth quarter.

Texas kicker Ryan Bailey, who was a walk-on to start the season, kicked five field goals from 19, 19, 42, 40 and 36 yards out - the last two coming in the fourth quarter.

"There was a tremendous atmosphere. I told the kids today I didn't think they understood what they were about to get into," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "It was a trap game for us and a buzzsaw."

Victories aside, Texas (3-0) has been inconsistent in its three games this season.

The Longhorns were outgained, 397-340, in total yards in their 21-13 victory over Arkansas State on September 1. Last Saturday, Texas was shut out by then-No. 19 TCU in the first half before rolling to a 34-13 victory.

McCoy found Nate Jones from six yards out Saturday for his lone touchdown to give Texas a 10-7 lead with 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Texas upped its lead to 17-7 when cornerback Brandon Foster intercepted Israel and raced 33 yards for the score in the second quarter.

"Give Texas credit, they made more plays than we did," Central Florida coach George O'Leary said. "You can't give a team like Texas good field position. I was proud of our players. They hung in there."

Central Florida's Kevin Smith, who rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns, scored from three yards out to cut Texas' lead to 23-17.

"I wanted this one... personally I did," Smith said. "I think we played with great effort. We played all 60 minutes of football. I think we answered when we had to answer. We were down some points and we came back and we scored."

Texas' standout receiver Limas Sweed, who led the Longhorns with 46 catches for 801 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, had one catch for nine yards Saturday.

The game was delayed 15 minutes with 6:01 remaining in the first quarter because of lightning.