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Young dazzles, struggles against OU

‘Horns QB ran for 127 yards, passed for 135, but had 3 TOs

DALLAS, Oct. 11 - Vince Young dazzled at times, flopped at others. The freshman quarterback proved Saturday he’s the future of the Texas Longhorns, but as the 65-13 final score showed Saturday, he and No. 11 Texas are not close to catching No. 1 Oklahoma.

InsertArt(2038962)TEXAS COACH MACK BROWN’S quarterback rotation called for junior Chance Mock to start, but he stayed with Young for most of the game after Mock threw an interception on his first series and couldn’t get a first down on his second.

Young provided the only spark the Longhorns had all day. He ran for 127 yards and a touchdown and passed for 135 more.

He set up Texas’ first touchdown with a long pass to Roy Williams and scored on a 27-yard run in the second quarter.

But Texas had to take the good with the bad from Young, who threw two interceptions and coughed up a costly early fumble at the Oklahoma 2 that killed a potential tying drive.

“I’m just feeling pretty upset with myself for the couple of turnovers,” Young said after the game.

Brown said he never considered benching Young as the game steadily got out of reach.

“Vince did a good job and was moving the ball with his feet,” Brown said. “I thought he played well throughout the game.”

After Oklahoma took a quick 7-0 lead after, Young drove Texas to the tying touchdown, hitting Williams for 30 yards on third down.

But on Texas’ next drive, he avoided a sack only to throw an interception that led to the Sooners’ second score.

“We started the game with two interceptions,” Brown said. “We got ourselves in a bind with turnovers.”

Young nearly atoned for that mistake on Texas’ next drive with a weaving, spinning 59-yard run that saw him break five tackles as he crisscrossed from one side of the field to the other.

“He’s a gazelle,” said Sooners defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek. “He glides across the field. He’s so smooth, he doesn’t even look like he’s running. An unbelievable athlete.”

Young’s feet weren’t the problem. It was his hands.

Two plays after the remarkable run, he fumbled at the OU 2 trying to spin out of a tackle for extra yards. Instead of getting the tying score, Texas watched the Sooners drive for a field goal and a 17-7 lead.

The Sooners seized all the momentum in the second quarter when Young dropped for a pass but got it batted backward by Dvoracek. The ball went right to Jonathan Jackson who returned it 21 yards for a TD.

Young’s 27-yard scoring run — a shorter version of the long run in the first — gave Texas hope at 27-13 but it didn’t last long as the Sooners took a 37-13 lead into halftime.

Given the big lead, Oklahoma could change its plan defensively, at times abandoning his passing threat to keep Young from breaking outside on the run.

By the fourth, the Sooners were merciless with the blitz and racked up hit after hit in the backfield.

After one fourth-down incomplete pass, Young was left him on his knees and gasping for breath after two defenders slammed him to the ground. Brown eventually put Mock back in to finish the game.

“I’m ready to move on,” Young said. “We going to bounce back next week.”

© 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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