AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Xavier Worthy caught a 44-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, Jerrin Thompson added an interception return for another score minutes later, and No. 4 Texas pulled away late from Wyoming for a 31-10 victory Saturday night that pushed the Longhorns to 3-0 for the first time since 2012.
Jonathon Brooks added 164 yards rushing for Texas.
After an impressive win at Alabama, Texas jumped to its highest ranking in 14 years, then came home to find itself in a dogfight for three quarters with a program that has never beaten a top-10 opponent.
Wyoming (2-1) had already beaten Texas Tech of the Big 12 and wasn’t intimidated by the Texas sellout crowd of about 100,000 and the fancy new stadium light show for the Longhorns.
The Cowboys struck first with Harrison Waylee’s 62-yard touchdown run on their first possession, then rallied to tie it at 10-10 late in the third with a 17-play drive that started inside their own 5 yard line.
Texas had the individual talent to take over in the fourth quarter.
Worthy caught a short sideline pass and looked like he was pinned there. Then he wasn’t. Worthy avoided one hit, then another two defenders as he tight-roped along the sideline all the way to the end zone.
Texas extended the lead to 24-10 on Quinn Ewers' short yard touchdown run. On Wyoming's next possession, Thompson stepped in front of a short pass from Evan Svoboda and went untouched 27 yards to the score.
THE TAKEAWAY
Wyoming: The Cowboys had some new names in key roles on offense. Svoboda got the start at quarterback in place of Andrew Peasely, whose gritty performance against Texas Tech carried Wyoming to that upset victory. Svoboda was solid until the late interception with 136 yards passing. Waylee, a transfer from Northern Illinois, played in his first game of the season and rushed for 110 yards.
Texas: The Longhorns avoided a massive letdown and upset on a night Ewers and the offense struggled for much of the game. Texas had just 316 total yards. Ewers passed for just 57 yards in the first half, missed receivers on several throws and floated a pass into coverage that should have been intercepted before Texas' first field goal. He will need to sharpen up like he was against Alabama heading into Big 12 play.
UP NEXT
Wyoming hosts Appalachian State on Saturday.
Texas starts its final Big 12 season at Baylor on Saturday.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
