DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium - Austin, Texas Sept. 5, 2009 Attendance: 101,096

Another opening-game win against an outmatched Sun Belt Conference opponent has set the bar pretty high for the second-ranked Longhorns, especially considering that coach Mack Brown believes his team’s 59-20 victory against Louisiana-Monroe should be the Horns’ worst performance of the year.

“If we were great tonight, why practice anymore?” Brown said. “This should be the worst we’ll be. When you get the opener out of the way, you can start coaching on a different level because they know now what the speed of the game is like.”

Texas looked plenty good for huge bulks of this game, getting three one-yard touchdown runs from battering ram Cody Johnson, a workmanlike — if unspectacular — performance by quarterback Colt McCoy and solid play (save for one big mistake) from a revamped defense in routing the Warhawks before a giddy, record crowd of 101,096 fans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

The Horns rolled up 562 yards of total offense, 33 first downs and averaged more than six yards per play in their “worst” performance of the year. Eight Texas players, led by Vondrell McGee’s 70 yards in 15 carries (which included a four-yard TD in 15 carries), rushed the ball for a combined 199 yards and five touchdowns.

McCoy hooked up with six different receivers in a 21-for-29 performance for 317 yards, but he was unhappy with his overall play. Seven of McCoy’s incompletions came in the first half, a figure that was more or equal to his total in eight games last season when he set an NCAA record with a 76.7 percent completion rate. Three of the incomplete passes came on dropped balls, and he threw one interception. “Colt played well even though he wasn’t pleased with himself the first half,” Brown said.

True freshman backup Garrett Gilbert was 4-for-5 for another 46 yards through the air and ran for a 12-yard touchdown to cap the UT scoring.

McCoy hit Jordan Shipley — that’s a combo Texas fans have become used to — with eight throws that picked up 180 yards and included a 78-yard touchdown that might as well have been on the sandlot, it came so easy. “Jordan is fast,” McCoy said, “so if I throw it up for him, he’s going to get the ball and score. That was a big boost for us.”

Then there were the new faces, and some others in new places. First and foremost was the play of redshirt freshman D.J. Monroe, a former state champion in the 100 meters. Monroe showcased his blinding speed with an 89-yard kickoff return touchdown the first time he touched the ball in his college career, then made a statement — and a push for playing time — with 64 yards on nine carries at the running back spot.

“We’re excited about what D.J. can bring us,” Brown said. “He’s fast — we knew that. We’re concerned about his size, but he plays bigger than 165, 170 pounds. He can be a factor for us as we get more used to what he can do best.”

Former quarterback John Chiles caught three passes for 35 yards and hauled in a 14-yard TD catch from McCoy early in the third quarter. He also had a key catch to extend a UT drive in the second quarter that converted a third down and immediately preceded McCoy’s long scoring pass to Shipley.

Another receiver, 6’4” sophomore Dan Buckner, played a lot in the slot and caught five McCoy passes for 62 yards. Can Buckner’s play inside the hashmarks alleviate the need for a true tight end? (There were no passes to a true TE against ULM.) “Dan has looked good throughout camp — like he did tonight,” Brown said. “He’s fast inside, and his height allows Colt to lay the ball over the linebackers, and he can beat the safeties.”

On the defensive side of the ball, DE Sam Acho made his presence known with four tackles, a fumble recovery and a bit of a nasty, and excited, attitude. (Another fumble recovery credited to Acho on ULM’s opening possession was given instead to Sergio Kindle, who also recorded two tackles, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry).

Acho is another player who’s made a jump in his play from the spring to the fall, and he’ll have to be considered a real playmaker — especially if he’s opposite of Kindle, who’ll receive double- and triple-team attention from opposing offenses.

The Horns’ “D” was led in tackles by linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy (who paced the squad in 2008) and true freshman Kenny Vaccaro with six each. Vaccaro became the first freshman of the season to lose his redshirt as he was on the coverage team on the opening kickoff.

UT surrendered 298 yards, 75 of those coming on a TD bomb in the second quarter from ULM quarterback Trey Revell to speedy wideout Luther Ambrose (a former Louisiana high school sprint champion). “Texas proved why they’re the No. 2 team in the country,” said ULM running back Frank Goodwin, who led the Warhawks with 60 yards and a touchdown in 15 totes. “They swarm to the ball and get there quickly. They must have ball radar.”

All in all, Brown and his staff have to be pleased with the effort put forth from the Horns in a game that was all but decided after two of Johnson’s short TD runs in the first six minutes of the contest.