Final Score: (2) Texas 51, Missouri 20

Columbia, MO (Sports Network) - Vince Young threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another score, leading second-ranked Texas to a 51-20 rout of Missouri at Faurot Field.

Young completed 15-of-22 passes for 236 yards and ran for 108 yards on 13 carries, as Texas (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) won its conference opener for the seventh straight year. Next up for the Longhorns is a visit to the Cotton Bowl for the annual Red River Shootout with Oklahoma.

Texas finished with 349 rushing yards, including 97 on 15 carries by Jamaal Charles, who scored once on the ground and once through the air.

"We've got a chance to be really good and we haven't played near our best game yet," said Texas head coach Mack Brown. "We told our guys we can play much better than this and we'll have to continue to grow as a team, but the fun thing is were 4-0 and we don't think we've scratched the surface."

Brad Smith threw for 181 yards and ran for 57 with a pair of touchdowns to lead Missouri (2-2, 0-1), which has lost four straight to Texas.

Each of the first three Texas touchdowns came on the play following a Missouri turnover.

Brian Carter picked off a Smith pass on the third play of the game and returned the interception to the Missouri three-yard line, setting up a Charles touchdown run on the first Texas play for a 7-0 lead.

The Tigers were unfazed and marched 87 yards on 11 plays for the tying score. Smith ignited the drive with a pair of runs for 26 yards and Jimmy Jackson capped it with a 12-yard scoring jaunt with 10:06 left in the opening quarter.

After a trade of punts, the teams exchanged turnovers and the miscues again benefitted Texas.

Young had a pass picked off by Marcus Bacon at the Missouri 43-yard line, but Smith was sacked and fumbled on the very next play to give the Longhorns the ball at the Tiger 33. Young then broke free up the middle on the next play for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

Again Missouri answered with a lengthy touchdown march, as Smith finished off a 13-play, 80-yard series with a three-yard scoring run. The extra point failed, leaving the Tigers down by one with 1:13 remaining in the first quarter.

Texas then drove from its own 34 to the Missouri 10 before a pair of penalties and a sack pushed the Longhorns back to the 26. A 23-yard pass set up fourth down at the three, but Young recovered his own fumble and Texas turned the ball over on downs.

Missouri, again, gave it right back as Smith fumbled at his own 22 and Texas, following a holding penalty, scored on its first play after the turnover. Young found Charles with a 32-yard scoring toss to make it 21-13 with 10:06 to play in the half.

The Longhorns got the ball back after a punt and drove from their own 39 to the Missouri nine, but had to settle for a 26-yard field goal from David Pino.

"The turnovers in the first half against a football team like that...those are missed opportunities," said Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel. "It's difficult to win when you play a great football team. We certainly had some opportunities that we needed to take advantage of, turnovers at the time were very critical. I think they just wore us down a little bit."

Texas took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 80 yards for another touchdown. Young keyed the six-play series with a 36-yard run and finished it with a 27-yard scoring pass to Ramonce Taylor.

The Longhorns got the ball back after Aaron Ross returned a Missouri punt 29 yards to the Tiger 40, and Young again guided his team into the end zone. Young got it started with a 25-yard pass to Taylor and Henry Melton scored on a one-yard run to increase the lead to 37-13 with 8:46 remaining in the third quarter. The point-after attempt failed.

Melton scored again on another one-yard run with 10:18 left in the contest to make it 44-13 game and Ross returned a punt 88 yards for a score just over two minutes later.

Missouri tacked on a late touchdown when Smith scored on a one-yard run.

Game Notes

Texas leads the all-time series 15-5...The Longhorns finished with 585 yards, while Missouri totaled 330.