Bevo's Daily Round Up- Wyoming Postgame

Colt McCoy being Colt McCoy.

'I think you saw today why Colt McCoy is a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. 
The interesting thing is he comes to Wyoming and scores 10 points in the first half, 
while last year (against) Missouri they scored the first six times they had the football.'
- Dave Christensen, coach 

35 unanswered points later, the Horns won. (Box score)

Heisman Trophy candidate Colt McCoy missed 12 passes in the first half, including one that was intercepted by a linebacker camped out in undisguised zone coverage. And without orders from his coaches, rugby punter Justin Tucker inexplicably decided to run the ball rather than kick on a fourth-and-six from his 9. Wyoming wasn't fooled.

But by game's end, with the Longhorns celebrating a healthy, 41-10 victory, the memories of the first half seemed more like insignificant, distant details.

That's because Texas:

Scored 35 unanswered points on offense after the Cowboys took their only lead of the game.

Held the Wyoming offense out of the end zone for the entire game, limiting the Cowboys to 3.25 yards per snap. The lone field goal came after Wyoming took over on downs after Tucker's faux pas non-punt. The Longhorns also sacked Cowboy quarterbacks five times.

James Kirkendoll is the game's unsung hero.

The first half ended with a James Kirkendoll touchdown.

The second half began with a Kirkendoll reception.

When the Texas Longhorns finally took control of Saturday's 41-10 victory over Wyoming, it was a wide receiver making the plays.

Huh? There were some strange calls in the game.

There were some 'huh?' moments Saturday. The first came on that mystifying unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Chykie Brown in the first half, which looked like it should have resulted in a Wyoming first down (but didn't), then looked like it should have led to a third-and-1 (but didn't, at least if you looked at the scoreboard that still had it third-and-5).

It got to the point where the Final Jeopardy theme music was played while officials huddled to get it right.

Was it just the altitude that tripped up the Longhorns in that first half?

The weight of expectations were bogging them down, too.

McCoy warmed up after a shaky start and Texas overcame spotty special teams play and a sputtering first half to beat Wyoming 41-10 on a cold and breezy Saturday.

"I think I was trying to do too much, try to make something happen that wasn't there," McCoy said of his slow start. "I fumbled once, the ball slipped out of my hands, made a stupid throw on a crossing route. I saw the [defender] and threw it right to him. It's just all mental and those things have to pass.

Maybe there just wasn't the anticipation like other games?

But there is stuff to look forward to after last week's equally boring season-opener. Truly.

After all, Brown said many in the Longhorns' traveling squad of 74 players have never been on an airplane before. Really. "Pillow fight."

For another, only three active Longhorns are from beyond Texas' borders, so the other 71 get to check off their Bucket List: Tour small Wyoming outpost.

When one Texas defensive starter was asked this week what he knew about Wyoming, he said, "I know it's up north." Which is entirely accurate. Not due north, but in the general direction.

Tre Newton got his first touchdown.

Texas tailback Tre Newton was listing what he remembered most from a 41-10 win over Wyoming and had already mentioned the offensive line's support, the victory and the trip.

Uh, somebody asked, what about that 13-yard rush for his first career college touchdown. That too, Newton said, smiling.

How are we doing with those style points this season?

Texas won on the scoreboard but clearly lost big in style points. It begs a very serious question. Can you lose in that category in the second week in September?

Probably, yes.

The Austin Amercian-Statesman is tracking this season's drives with an interactive chart.

The paper gives the Horns a report card.

Are we on the road to Pasadena?

If you haven't noticed, the road to Pasadena has allegedly gone from a three-lane country road to an eight-lane interstate. Sam Bradford's shoulder injury and his Oklahoma Sooners' stumble out of the gate against BYU has supposedly left the BCS championship wide open, so everyone says.

I'm not buying it. Let's make a deal. If USC doesn't leapfrog Texas in this week's poll, I'll take Florida and Texas, and you take the field. And unless the Big 12's power rating drops in the vicinity of the ACC's — and after this past weekend, it might — I like my chances.