UT finally breaks through

Young, Longhorns win rout over sloppy Sooners

? The game was over, the “Eyes of Texas” had been sung, and Vince Young still was on the run.

The Texas Longhorns finally had beaten the Oklahoma Sooners – stuck it to ’em, 45-12 – and more than 30,000 people wearing burnt orange were on their feet turning five years of frustration into sheer joy. Young had as much to celebrate as anyone, so he whipped up a few more cheers by going along the stands slapping hands and posing for pictures.

“We wanted them to feel everything we were feeling,” Young said. “It was a great moment for all of us.”

Young showed the Sooners how much he had developed since their last meeting, throwing three touchdown passes and guiding the No. 2 Longhorns to a victory with so many meaningful implications.

It starts with Texas (5-0, 2-0 Big 12 Conference) shattering its longest losing streak in this 100-game series since the 1950s, and it means the Longhorns have cleared a huge hurdle in pursuit of their first national championship since 1969.

Young redeemed himself for last year’s shutout and continued a winning streak he’s been building ever since. Although that 12-game run includes beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl and winning at Ohio State, this one means the most to coach Mack Brown because it ends the year-round question of when he’ll beat Oklahoma. Doing it with aggressive play-calling helps his image, too.

“We’ve had a tough time in this series. I’m not proud of that, and I feel responsible for that,” Brown said.

OU (2-3, 1-1) looked nothing like the clubs that drummed the Longhorns by a combined scored of 189-54 the last five years. Then again, it’s not.

Texas players celebrate Billy Pittman's (5) second-quarter touchdown against Oklahoma. The Longhorns beat the Sooners, 45-12, Saturday in Dallas.

Oklahoma has only six starters back and came into this game unranked for the first time since its last loss to Texas, in 1999. Star running back Adrian Peterson, who gained 225 yards against the Longhorns last year, was limited to three early carries for 10 yards because of a sprained ankle.

That left the offense in the hands of freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar, and it was too much for him to handle.

The Sooners didn’t have a play go longer than nine yards until there was 12:04 left and they were trailing, 38-6. Bomar capped that drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass, but his next series ended with him fumbling and the Longhorns returning it 67 yards for the kind of pour-it-on touchdown OU has rung up the last five years.

“It’s just a learning experience,” said Bomar, who was 12-of-33 for 94 yards and an interception. “(Young) showed the improvement over the years. That’s what I’m looking for next year.”

Young finished 14-of-27 for 241 yards with no interceptions and ran for 45 yards. Freshman running back Jamaal Charles had 116 yards on nine carries, then left because of an injury in the third quarter, and Billy Pittman caught four passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns.