The No. 17 Texas Longhorns are struggling yet again with another slow start against a relatively easy opponent, leading the New Mexico Lobos 17-0 at halftime.
The Longhorns offense has struggled to stay on the field for most of the half, using a David Ash 49-yard touchdown scramble to take an early 7-0 lead and some good special teams play to give the defense some sort of cushion to work with. Despite the score, the Longhorns have struggled for most of the half and will have a lot of issues to address before the second half.
The Texas defense, which worked through a very slow start last week against Wyoming, scrambled to contain the triple-option offense of the Lobos. New Mexico was able to move up and down the field with ease, but they struggled once they reachied scoring territory. The Lobos, despite trailing on the scoreboard, dominated the first half by possessing the ball for nearly 20 minutes in the first and second quarter and getting 11 first downs, compared to just 6 by the Horns.
David Ash fought once again to move the ball downfield, relying mostly on checkdowns to fight an aggressive defensive front by Bob Davies' defense. Ash would take advantage of excellent field position at the end of the half, however, leading the Longhorns to a touchdown drive in the final minutes when Mike Davis took a screen pass 22 yards to the end zone.
Ash was 11-of-16 for 119 yards and a touchdown in the first half. The New Mexico Lobos accumulated 110 yards on the ground, with quarterback B.R. Holbrook passing for 32 yards on eight attempts.
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