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Texas sets Big 12 record for consecutive wins

Sep 24, 2006 - 12:11 AM AUSTIN, Texas (Ticker) -- Only a lightning delay could stall Texas. But it did not stop the Longhorns from setting a Big 12 Conference record for consecutive wins.

Redshirt freshman Colt McCoy passed for 212 yards and two touchdowns and seventh-ranked Texas rushed for 193 yards in a 37-14 victory over Iowa State in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Texas (3-1, 1-0 Big 12 South) extended its conference winning streak to 16 games, eclipsing Kansas State's mark of 15 consecutive wins in 1997-98. The Longhorns' longest league winning streak was 21 in a row from 1968-71 in the Southwest Conference.

"It (the streak) says a lot to how consistent we've been," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "There's a lot of good teams in this conference so we're proud of it."

This game was delayed for 70 minutes after the third quarter due to the threat of lightning. By then, Texas already had built its 37-14 lead and had 419 yards of offense.

It marked the first time since 1996 that a game at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium had been delayed by inclement weather. Game officials urged the crowd of 88,972 to seek shelter after the third quarter and only a few thousand returned to the stands when the game resumed.

"It was certainly unusual," said McCoy, who completed 18-of-23 passes. "We were in the locker room after the third quarter just wondering how long it would take before we went back out there."

The fourth quarter was played in a rainstorm. McCoy did not attempt any passes in the quarter but Iowa State's Bret Meyer completed 8-of-14 for 80 yards with an interception in the period.

The Longhorns have won all six meetings against Iowa State (2-2, 0-1 North), with five of them coming in the last nine years.

"They are certainly the team to beat in the conference and their streak proves that," Iowa State coach Dan McCarney said.

Texas scored 16 points in the first 5:32. After a 27-yard punt by Iowa State's Mike Brandtner, the Longhorns didn't need long to get on the board. McCoy completed passes of 17 yards to running back Selvin Young and 18 yards to Billy Pittman before Jamaal Charles scored on a five-yard run 2:25 into the game.

After the Cyclones went three-and-out, the ball was snapped over the head of Brandtner and sailed through the end zone for a safety with 10:52 left in the quarter.

Young returned the ensuing kickoff 29 yards before Brown used some trickery. Wide receiver Quan Crosby took a handoff on a fake reverse and lofted a 34-yard pass to Sweed to the Iowa State 19. Sweed caught a 17-yard pass on the next play before Young scored from a yard out to increase the lead to 16-0 with 9:28 left in the quarter.

But Iowa State fought back on a pair of touchdown passes by Meyer. The first was a five-yard toss to tight end Walter Nickel with 5:48 remaining in the first quarter to cap a nine-play, 76-yard drive.

The second was a six-yard pass to Todd Blythe with 9:50 left in the second quarter, pulling the Cyclones within 16-14.

But Iowa State failed to score the rest of the way. Meyer ended up with 274 passing yards, but was also sacked seven times and intercepted twice.

Texas regained control with an eight-play, 74-yard drive which featured five runs by Charles for 47 yards. McCoy capped it with a 15-yard touchdown to Sweed with 6:11 left in the second quarter.

Sweed finished with seven catches for 106 yards, five yards shy of tying his career high in the season opener against North Texas.

After forcing a punt, the Longhorns put together a nine-play, 75-yard drive that featured a 22-yard swing pass to Charles. Henry Melton capped it with a two-yard run with 1:22 remaining to stake Texas to a 30-14 halftime lead.

The only scoring in the second half was an 11-yard touchdown pass from McCoy to tight end Jermichael Finley with 6:54 left in the third quarter.