• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

McCoy, Charles lead Texas past ASU

Dec 28, 2007 - 6:32 AM By Tim Powers PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Colt McCoy and Jamaal Charles led a quick-strike offense as No. 17 Texas posted a 52-34 over 12th-ranked Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl on Thursday.

McCoy passed for 174 yards and a touchdown and ran for 89 yards and another score while Charles rushed for 162 yards and two TDs.

A record-setting 21-point first quarter set the stage for what was a mostly dominant performance for Texas in its fourth Holiday Bowl appearance - and second victory - in seven years.

"We knew that as a team, that if we came out here and played really well offensively, we had a pretty good game plan," McCoy said. "We played great together as a team tonight."

The prolific Longhorns offense started off the contest by scoring the fastest touchdown in the game's 30-year history, marching 51 yards in 1:21 to build a 7-0 advantage.

They followed that scoring drive with an even faster one when John Chiles ran four yards for a touchdown to cap a two-play drive that took 20 seconds that was highlighted by a 48-yard scamper by Charles to increase the lead to 14-0.

"The game was what we thought it would be: it was very high-scoring and competitive," Longhorns coach Mack Brown said. "We knew we had to be aggressive in the game, because we knew they would come back and score like they did."

Charles followed with a 15-yard touchdown to make the score 21-0 with 1:30 remaining in the first. The three scoring drives by the Texas took a combined 2:18.

"(Arizona State) did exactly what we thought they were going to do," McCoy said. "We knew they were going to play some man-to-man, and we were able to take advantage of that. Offensively, I turned the ball over once, but for the most part I thought we executed well."

Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter hit Chris McGaha with a 7-yard strike to pull within 21-7 with 11:06 remaining in the second and later hooked up with Michael Jones on a 22-yard strike to cut the lead to 35-20.

But Texas' Vondrell McGee's 22-yard touchdown run with 11:03 left padded the advantage to 45-20.

"We didn't come out with a fast start," Carpenter said. "When you play a team like Texas, they're just too get into that kind of deficit. We have a lot to learn from this game."

Carpenter completed 18-of-36 passes for 187 yards with two interceptions, but did throw a pair of touchdowns to keep the game within reach.

Danny Sullivan relieved Carpenter and completed half of his 14 passes for 117 yards with a TD and interception.

"We had a lot of opportunities at times," Sun Devils coach Dennis Erickson said. "When you turn it over four times, you have no chance. For us to win that football game, I felt like we had to go in and run it, eat the clock up and keep the defense off the field, but we weren't able to do that."

Dimitri Nance managed just 48 yards on 18 carries in his first start for the Sun Devils, who struggled badly running the ball, finishing with 22 yards on 27 carries.