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AUSTIN, Texas (Ticker) -- Early on, Texas was getting a tougher than expected test against coach Mack Brown's former team. But the sixth-ranked Longhorns settled down after allowing two touchdowns in a six-minute span in the first half and routed North Carolina, 44-14, to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 1996. Brown spent 10 seasons at North Carolina, posting a combined 20-3 record over his last two seasons and earning bowl berths his last six years at the school. Before the game, Texas honored defensive tackle Cole Pittman, who was killed in a car crash in February. "It was an emotional day because of Cole Pittman," Brown said. "It was more emotional than any of us could have imagined. With such a great video on Cole before the game and there being so much emotion in the stadium, it really helped us to jump out to 14 points." Texas, which posted its 10th straight home victory, pulled away from a 14-14 tie by blanking the Tar Heels (0-3) over the final 43 minutes. It yielded minus-10 yards on North Carolina's first four possessions of the second half. Chris Simms was steady, if not spectacular, for the Longhorns, completing 17-of-35 for 167 yards. He also rushed for a one-yard TD in the first quarter. "We played it close to the vest so that their athletes didn't have the opportunity to make a play to turn the game around," Simms said. "We had to take what they gave us." Walk-on Dusty Mangum converted field goals of 36 and 49 yards in the final six minutes of the second quarter to give Texas a 20-14 halftime lead and added a 51-yarder in the third period. Cedric Brown capped a 12-play, 89-yard drive with a six-yard TD run that made it 26-14 with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter. The conversion pass failed. After Mangum's long field goal, third-string Texas quarterback Beau Trahan tackled Kevin Knight inside the 5 on the ensuing kickoff return. On the first play of the drive, tackle Maurice Gordon sacked Ronald Curry in the end zone for a safety that gave the Longhorns a 31-14 lead. "They did a great job on defense," Curry said. "I have to commend them. It wasn't a fluke game by them on defense. They have a very talented defense, very good secondary and linebackers." Curry was pressured throughout, completing just 5-of-20 for 69 yards and a pair of interceptions before giving way to Darian Durant in the fourth quarter. "We were after them in the first half," North Carolina coach John Bunting said. "We had them on the run. I was real proud of them. They gave a tremendous effort in a hostile environment." The Tar Heels have faced a brutal schedule early in the season. They opened with a 41-27 loss to defending national champion Oklahoma and face Florida State in two weeks. Nathan Vasher set a pair of Texas records by returning eight punts for 153 yards, including a 44-yard TD with 9:06 remaining in the game. "It seemed like everyone was hitting their blocks on my returns, so usually I would just have to try to make one person miss," Vasher said. "When they announced on the loudspeaker that I had broken some of the school's punt return records, I had to ask someone and make sure that was me." Brett Robin capped the scoring with a 12-yard TD run in the final minute. Texas jumped to its 14-0 lead in the first eight minutes on Cory Redding's 22-yard interception return and Simms' keeper. But the Tar Heels answered on TD runs of 20 yards by Curry and nine yards by Andre' Williams.
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