DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium - Austin, Texas    Nov. 7, 2009     Attendance: 101,003

Sometimes it’s easy to toss away excellence as workmanlike, especially when you know a team can play much better than it shows.

Perhaps those who watched Texas’ manhandling of Central Florida at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium will one day be reminded that any win is a good win in college football, and that this dominating — if somewhat unsatisfying — victory over a well-prepared opponent kept the second-ranked Horns on the narrow and treacherous path toward a national championship.

The regional television audience and the announced crowd of 101,003 should also remember it as the contest in which UT wide out Jordan Shipley set a UT record for receiving yards in a single game. It should also recall the prowess of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, who became the first player in school history to pass for 2,000 or more yards in four different seasons. McCoy also threw a touchdown pass for a school-record 26th consecutive game.

And — hopefully — this game will be recalled as one in which the bruising Longhorn defense took another step toward legendary status by holding Central Florida to just three points, the seventh time in nine games this season, including the sixth straight, it has held its opposition to 14 points or less.

All this came about after the Horns virtually sleepwalked through the first quarter and spotted UCF a 3-0 lead early in the second. “Slow start — give Central Florida credit for that,” coach Mack Brown said. “We didn’t have as much energy as we’d like. We played better in the second half.”

The Horns racked up a whopping 537 yards of total offense, averaging eight yards per snap to dominate play. It helped that Central Florida — inexplicably — focused on stopping the Texas rushing attack and couldn’t find a way to cover Shipley, who, in case the Knights weren’t aware, is the Horns’ top offensive threat.

Shipley logged 273 yards on 11 catches, in the process supplanting the team record of 242 yards racked up by Tony James against Pittsburgh in the 1987 Bluebonnet Bowl. He had receptions of 44 and 53 yards in the first half, but topped both of those with an 88-yard TD catch and run from McCoy in the fourth quarter that blew open the game and culminated a 99-yard drive.

McCoy hit on 33 of his 42 passes with two touchdowns and an interception. Nine players caught his throws, and his 470 yards through the air was the second-highest in school history behind the 473 yards Major Applewhite amassed against Washington in the 2001 Holiday Bowl.

“When you’ve got a quarterback like Colt [McCoy] and a great receiver like Jordan [Shipley], everybody else will start clicking,” said James Kirkendoll, who grabbed five catches, including a 14-yard TD strike from McCoy in the third quarter. “It opens up the whole offense because it’s hard to stop more than just one person.”

Cody Johnson, now fully ensconced as a key cog in the Texas running game — and not just in short-yardage situations — ran for touchdowns of 20 and 13 yards and led the Horns in rushing with 44 yards on 10 carries. Fozzy Whittaker added a late score with a six-yard TD but had just three total yards on the ground after being credited with a first-quarter fumble that lost 13 yards.

Before the Knights gained 51 yards on their final drive of the game — a drive that ended with a statement-making stand by a Texas defense made up mostly of second-team players — CFU had only 100 yards of offense, just a yard more than the Horns had on one possession.

It was the third time in 2009 that the Texas defense didn’t allow an opponent an offensive touchdown. “Our players take a lot of pride in keeping people out of the end zone,” defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said. “It’s the No. 1 stat on defense.”