Emotional Victory for Texas, Brown

Mack Brown was crying before Texas even took the field Saturday against his old North Carolina team on Saturday at Austin, Texas.

In an emotional pregame ceremony, No. 4 Texas dedicated the game to former Longhorn defensive tackle Cole Pittman, who was killed in a February car crash.

Texas (2-0) took a knee instead of kicking the extra point after its last touchdown in a 44-14 victory Saturday. Pittman wore No. 44 for Texas last season, and the Longhorns wanted to preserve the final score.

“I think it’s a great tribute to the [Pittman] family,” said Brown, who was visibly upset during the pregame ceremony. “I was thinking about how to move the ball better. The kids deserve credit for [thinking of] that. The players ... all came to me and said ‘Take a knee.”’

Any emotions were supposed to be centered about Brown playing against the program that he had built into a national power only to see it crumble after he left after the 1997 season.

It was the Longhorns who jumped out early on the emotional spark, bolting to 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Defensive end Cory Redding, who used to play next to Pittman, returned an interception 22 yards for Texas’ first touchdown and Nathan Vasher’s long punt return set up a one-yard sneak by Chris Simms for a quick 14-0 lead. Vasher set a school record with 153 yards in punt returns.

Redding picked off Ronald Curry’s second pass of the game and ran for the left corner of the end zone. Curry tried to cut him off at the 5, but the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Redding leaped high and somersaulted over Curry for the touchdown.

Oklahoma 37, North Texas 10-The third-ranked Sooners gained 543 yards but committed 13 penalties and made several other mistakes in the win at Norman, Okla.

Nate Hybl completed 28 of 40 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns, and scored once on a sneak. Tailback Quentin Griffin scored on a run and a pass, and finished with 71 yards rushing and 111 receiving.

But there were too many mistakes to overlook, including a penalty that wiped out what would have been a 76-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety Roy Williams, who had two interceptions and also forced a fumble.

Oklahoma State 30, Louisiana Tech 23-Robbie Gillem recovered a fumble in the end zone to break a fourth-quarter tie as Oklahoma State (1-1) won at Stillwater, Okla. Luke McCown completed 29 of 54 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown for Louisiana Tech (1-1).

Colorado 51, San Jose State 15-Chris Brown ran for three touchdowns and 70 yards and the Buffaloes (2-1) had 566 yards of offense at Boulder, Colo.

San Jose State (0-2) had 305 yards of offense but had a punt blocked and turned the ball over two times. Deonce Whitaker had 66 yards on 18 carries.

Baylor 24, Arkansas 3-Derrick Cash’s 73-yard interception return helped Baylor (1-0) win at Waco, Texas. Greg Cicero, a former Servite High standout, completed 13 of 30 passes for 168 yards and had a 37-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Newhouse, son of former Dallas Cowboy fullback Robert Newhouse. Arkansas State is 0-2.

Texas Tech 42, New Mexico 30- Kliff Kingsbury completed 30 of 49 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns, and Ivory McCann returned a kickoff 100-plus yards for Texas Tech (1-0) at Lubbock, Texas. New Mexico is 1-1.

Iowa State 45, Northern Iowa 0-Quarterback Seneca Wallace ran for 97 yards and two touchdowns, and Ennis Haywood gained 107 yards and scored two touchdowns in 20 carries for the Cyclones in their opener at Ames, Iowa. Northern Iowa (1-1) plays in Division I-AA.

Missouri 40, Southwest Texas 6-Zack Abron scored two first-half touchdowns and ran for 106 yards as Missouri (1-1) held Southwest Texas (1-1), a Division I-AA school, to minus-23 yards rushing in the first half at Columbia, Mo.