War Memorial Stadium - Laramie, Wyo.     Sept. 12, 2009     Attendance: 31,107

Although the second-ranked Longhorns stumbled their way through the first half, they righted things in time to blow past outmanned Wyoming, 41-10, at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium here on the Front Range.

Things were supposed to be much easier than this for the Horns, especially after Wyoming struggled in the opening week to beat Weber State. Texas was looking to improve off a self-proclaimed mediocre opener against Louisiana-Monroe, but it took the Longhorns almost an entire half to find their legs in the thin mountain air (Laramie is at 7,220 feet) before putting the game out of reach by scoring the final 35 points of the game.

“Maybe 7,200 feet is a little different,” coach Mack Brown said afterward. “I thought it affected us early in the day, but it seemed like we got more used to it. It’s fun when you can win 41-10 and still feel like you have a lot of things to fix.”

Quarterback Colt McCoy threw for three touchdowns and an interception and finished 30-of-47 passing for 337 yards. Those are normally great numbers for last year’s Heisman Trophy runner-up, but in this game McCoy looked harried at times, missing on throws Horns’ fans have become accustomed to him completing.

“I think I was trying to do too much — I was trying to make things happen,” McCoy said. “I fumbled once, and I made a stupid throw on an interception … I threw it right to the defender. All those things are mental, and the way we responded in the second half is a tribute to our team.”

The Horns controlled the tempo early and on its opening drive marched to the WY 11-yard line before settling for a 29-yard field goal by Hunter Lawrence. That lead held until early in the second quarter when Wyoming cashed in with a short field goal of its own to tie the game, 3-3, after an ill-advised run on a fake punt by Justin Tucker came up short of a first down and gave the Cowboys the ball at the UT 14.

UT used a 42-yard McCoy-to-James Kirkendoll completion and an 18-yard scamper by McCoy to move into the lead on its next possession, as Lawrence hammered through a 32-yard field goal with 8:07 to play in the first half. That advantage held through McCoy’s interception and a handful of series, but everything changed when Wyoming’s Luke Ruff blocked a John Gold punt, and the Cowboys Ghaali Muhammad scooped up the bouncing ball at the UT 6 and dove into the end zone. Suddenly, Wyoming led, 10-6, and the Horns were on their heels.

Texas responded with a drive that eventually produced the points that decided the game, with Kirkendoll hauling in a crossing pass from McCoy, then stumbling but keeping his balance and finding his way to a 25-yard touchdown.

“We needed something to happen for us right there,” McCoy said of Kirkendoll’s catch. “We’d moved the ball downfield quickly, and James made a big play. That gave us a boost going into halftime, and we were able to carry that into the second half.”

Texas scored on its first possession of the third quarter, setting up shop at the Wyoming 40 after a 42-yard kickoff return from D.J. Monroe. On the fifth play of the drive, McCoy scooted around left end for a nine-yard touchdown and a 20-10 Texas lead. Then the floodgates slowly began to open.

The Horns added touchdowns on a 33-yard pass from McCoy to Dan Buckner, a 13-yard run by suddenly pertinent running back Tre’ Newton and a 26-yard McCoy-to-John Chiles connection.

UT ended up gaining 544 yards of offense (including 191 on the ground), 27 first downs and averaged 6.3 yards per snap on 86 plays — a slightly better average than in the opening week win over Louisiana-Monroe. Newton led the Horns in rushing with 62 yards on eight carries, and Vondrell McGee added 61 yards on 11 totes before tweaking an ankle in the third quarter.

“Tre’ did a great job for us, and he’s valuable because he always seems to make plays,” McCoy said. “We call him ‘the silent assassin.’ He made two great plays on third down by catching the ball.”

“After today, Tre’ earned the right to get more snaps,” Brown said. “He has good hands, and every time we put him in he makes yards.”

The Longhorns, playing Wyoming for the first time in 31 years and in Laramie for the first time ever, looked nothing like heavy favorites in the first half. Perhaps they missed the Longhorn Band, which was absent from a UT game for the first time since the 1984 Freedom Bowl.