Longhorns Make Texas' Sized Statement In Duke's Mayo Classic
The talk of the offseason may have been the revamped passing game, but Lee Vela reminded the country he's pretty good too. The redshirt junior erupted for 163 yards in the 1st half, ultimately finishing the explosive opening win with 301 yards and two touchdowns.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| #1 Texas | 21 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 59 |
| #11 USC | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Q | Team | Time | Play | TEX | USC |
| 1st | TEX | 8:34 | Miguel Jerman, 7 Yd Pass From Maurice Uwazurike | 7 | 0 |
| 1st | TEX | 6:36 | Tyler Biggs, 47 Yd Pass From Maurice Uwazurike | 14 | 0 |
| 1st | TEX | 1:00 | Tyler Biggs, 5 Yd Pass From Maurice Uwazurike | 21 | 0 |
| 2nd | USC | 2:30 | Terrell Thomas, 7 Yd Pass From Zac Ansah | 21 | 7 |
| 2nd | TEX | 2:25 | Lee Vela, 73 Yd Run | 28 | 7 |
| 2nd | TEX | 0:42 | Miguel Jerman, 78 Yd Pass From Maurice Uwazurike | 35 | 7 |
| 3rd | USC | 6:23 | Patrick Temple, 82 Yd Pass From Zac Ansah | 35 | 14 |
| 3rd | TEX | 4:56 | Miguel Jerman, 14 Yd Pass From Maurice Uwazurike | 42 | 14 |
| 4th | TEX | 10:12 | Edward Jaimes, 44 Yd FG | 45 | 14 |
| 4th | USC | 7:47 | Ryan DeLuca, 5 Yd Pass From Zac Ansah | 45 | 17 |
| 4th | TEX | 3:!2 | Lee Vela, 73 Yd Run | 52 | 17 |
| 4th | USC | 1:52 | Devin Hawkins, 65 Yd Pass From Zac Ansah | 52 | 24 |
| 4th | TEX | 0:56 | Prince Oluokun, 42 Yd Pass Fron Darryl Ekanem | 59 | 24 |
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Texas Longhorns Stats
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| Maurice Uwazurike | 11/19, 219 Yds, 5 TD, INT |
| Darryl Ekanem | 1/2, 42 Yds, TD |
| Lee Vela | 23 Att, 301 Yds, 2 TD |
| Earl Petty | 6 Att, 43 Yds |
| Maurice Uwazurike | 5 Att, 65 YDs |
| Miguel Jerman | 6 Rec, 135 Yds, 3 TD |
| Tyler Biggs | 2 Rec, 52 Yds, 2 TD |
| Prince Oluokun | 2 Rec, 53 Yds, TD |
| Earl Petty | 2 Rec, 21 Yds |
| LB Miguel Giuliano | 3 Tkl, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks |
| DT Sione Savage | 6 Tkl, 3 TFL, 1.5 Sacks |
| DE James Mosely | 5 Tkl, 3 TFL, 2.5 Sacks |
| SS Jayden Singleton | 6 Tkl, TFL |
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| Zac Ansah (79) | 28/39, 493 Yds, 4 TD |
| Ryan DeLuca (84) | 10 Att, 33 Yds |
| Zac Ansah (79) | 7 Att, -33 Yds |
| Josh DiNucci (84) | 2 Att, 11 Yds |
| Devin Hawkins (73) | 7 Rec, 155 Yds, TD |
| Terrell Thomas (81) | 7 Rec, 108 Yds, TD |
| Patrick Temple (79) | 5 Rec, 125 Yds, TD |
| Ryan DeLuca (84) | 4 Rec, 25 Yds, TD |
| Dom Nunn (79) | 3 Rec, 45 Yds |
| Gordon Nordin (78) | 2 Re, 35 Yds |
| MLB James Halterman (89) | 9 Tkl, TFL |
| LB Juan Hunt (88) | 6 Tkl, TFL, Sack |
| CB Deion Hannah (88) | 5 Tkl, TFL |
| FS Kenneth Shurmr (86) | 4 Tkl, INT |
LEFT - Freshman James Mosely made an immediate impact for DC Quincey Lincoln; tallying two sacks in the Longhorns impressive opening week victory.
CENTER - Zac Ansah found his rhythm in the 2nd half with a pair of big plays, but it was too little too late for the Trojans.
RIGHT - Mo was feeling himself early, tossing four of his five touchdown passes in the 1st half to spark a 35-7 halftime lead.
Charlotte, NC. - The offseason chatter in Austin focused heavily on Texas’ revamped passing attack under Nash Savage in his second year at the helm. But in the season-opening Duke’s Mayo Classic, it was the ground game that stole the show, as the Longhorns bulldozed the 11th-ranked USC Trojans in a 59–28 rout.
Preseason Heisman contender Lee Vela, last year’s backup to Marquis Pettis, ran wild in the first half—racking up 163 yards en route to a jaw-dropping 301-yard performance for the redshirt junior.
Vela set the tone early with a 35-yard run that left two defenders on the turf. From there, Texas was off and running.
By the time USC fans settled into their seats at Bank of America Stadium, the Trojans were already down 14–0. Texas opened with a crisp five-play, 82-yard scoring drive, while USC followed it up with a disastrous three-and-out that netted negative ten yards. The Longhorns quickly extended the lead with a 47-yard bomb to tight end Tyler Biggs, who was inexplicably left wide open by the USC secondary.
The avalanche continued. Texas scored again on its third possession of the first quarter, burying USC in a 21–0 hole. By the end of the first frame, the Longhorns had racked up 205 total yards. USC? Zero. The Trojans managed just three passing yards and minus-three on the ground.
USC finally showed signs of life in the second quarter. They picked off QB Maurice Uwazurike and forced a quick punt on the next Texas drive. But a missed field goal nullified the momentum, and even after getting on the board with a solid eight-play touchdown drive, they immediately gave it back. Lee Vela broke loose again, this time for a 73-yard touchdown that silenced the brief roar from the USC faithful.
A stalled USC drive near midfield ended with back-to-back sacks by Texas freshman James Mosely gave the Texas offense one last opportunity. Prior to the offense taking the field, cameras caught Uwazurike in an animated exchange with offensive coordinator Colt McCoy on the sideline.
“He’s begging for one more shot with just under a minute left,” speculated Kirk Herbstreit from the booth. “And from the looks of his reaction, he didn’t get it.”
Wrong, Kirk.
Uwazurike returned to the field and promptly uncorked the best throw of the game—a perfect fade to WR Miguel Jerman, who hauled it in over the shoulder and strolled into the end zone, waving goodbye to the stunned USC fans who made the trip from California.
To their credit, USC QB Zac Ansah put up eye-popping numbers—finishing with 493 yards and four touchdowns—but every time the Trojans threatened to make it interesting, Texas slammed the door with another explosive play.
Things got heated late. Tensions boiled over following an ill-timed USC onside kick while trailing 52–28 with under two minutes to play.
“You want to throw the ball and take deep shots in the fourth quarter? Fine. That’s our job to stop you,” said Savage postgame. “But an onside kick, down four touchdowns, with two minutes left? C’mon, man.”
When asked about the animated postgame exchange with USC head coach Ryan Walters, Savage shrugged it off as a difference in philosophy.
“He didn’t like the deep shot to PO at the end. I told him not to give me the ball at midfield on an onside kick,” Savage quipped.
Regardless of the late drama, the game was a statement win for Savage and the Longhorns as they aim to build on a strong debut season in Austin—one that still fell short of the lofty expectations set by Savage’s legendary résumé.
Meanwhile, Savage’s former protégé Kadin Semonza and the Ball State Cardinals opened their season with a narrow loss—falling 35–28 to 12th-ranked Georgia in the Vegas Kickoff Classic. It marks Ball State’s second season-opening loss in three years.
Junior redshirt QB Manny Livings got the start over Konrad Silverman and delivered a mixed bag in his debut. He threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns but also tossed two costly red zone interceptions in the first half, allowing Georgia to hang around. Two more picks in the fourth quarter helped the Bulldogs mount a 25-point surge and complete the comeback over the defending three-time national champions.
Texas will return home to DKR Stadium next week for a marquee matchup against No. 9 Nebraska, marking the highly anticipated renewal of a classic rivalry.
49 #13 Georgia Tech @ Tennessee 28
35 #4 Georgia @ #8 Ball State 28
20 Texas A&M @ #20 Kansas State 31
27 Virginia Tech @ #17 Ole Miss 21
21 #6 Florida State @ Auburn 10
26 Duke @ Alabama 21
17 FCS @ Mississippi State 52
5 FCS @ #3 Oklahoma 58
Notable Week One Matchups
35 #2 Houston @ #12 Syracuse 17
