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New Mexico was moving the ball on No. 17 Texas, keeping the Longhorns off balance behind the running and throwing of quarterback B.R. Holbrook.
Most importantly, the Lobos were doing a good job keeping the Texas offense off the field.
But one jarring hit in the second quarter knocked Holbrook off the field, taking away any chance the Lobos had of staying close in a game that slowly turned into a 45-0 rout.
Texas quarterback David Ash scored on a 49-yard touchdown run and had receivers turn short throws into two more scores. The Longhorns (2-0) led 17-0 at halftime and blew the game open with four touchdowns in the second half.
New Mexico (1-1) held the ball for nearly 20 minutes in the first half, but the offense stalled when Holbrook took a hard hit from Texas defensive back Quandre Diggs that included helmet-to-helmet contact. Lobos first-year coach Bob Davie screamed for a penalty but didn't get one.
Holbrook was helped off the field and escorted to the locker room, leaving the New Mexico offense in the hands of freshman Cole Gautsche.
Gautsche threw an interception to Diggs on his first pass attempt.
''Offensively, when B.R. was in the game, there's no question we had some things we could do. We moved the ball well in the first half,'' Davie said. ''He took a shot. I thought it was a 15-yard penalty.''
Davie said Holbrook actually suffered a rib injury on the play but that initial X-rays were negative. Holbrook was 5 of 8 for 32 yards and had 39 yards rushing when he left. Gautsche finished 0 for 4 passing and ran for 35 yards.
''I feel beat up but it was good experience for me to get out there and have time out there. Splitting time with B.R. is a total different feel than going out there by yourself, just down after down,'' Gautsche said.
Ash was 16 of 22 for a career-high 221 yards for Texas (2-0), with touchdown passes of 22 yards to Mike Davis and 45 yards to Daje Johnson.
The pass to Johnson was a shovel toss behind the line of scrimmage. Johnson zipped around the right end to break for the end zone on Texas' first drive of the third quarter.
''That's a stat-builder right there,'' Ash said of his third touchdown pass of the season. ''I didn't do much.''
Texas coach Mack Brown had said he wanted to see Ash get more comfortable in the passing game, especially throwing deep. What the Longhorns got was another solid performance by a quarterback still feeling his way through the offense.
Ash misfired on his deep throws early and was sacked twice in the first half, but again showed he can manage a short passing game and use his legs to make big plays.
The touchdown run came on Texas' sixth play from scrimmage. Ash rolled right, cut up field and spun back to his left, scampering past three defenders in the middle of the field to break into the open.
Texas had just four offensive possessions in the first half and scored three times. Ash let his receivers do the work on the touchdown throws.
Davis' touchdown came in the final minute of the half. He was running to his left when he caught a short pass just across the line of scrimmage and quickly turned past a defender to find a lane to the end zone to make it 17-0.
Joe Bergeron and D.J. Monroe added second-half touchdown runs for the Longhorns. Ash came out of the game at the start of the fourth quarter for Case McCoy, who threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to M.J. McFarland, for the final score.
