Hudson Card shines in debut as No. 21 Texas routs No. 23 Louisiana
Hudson Card passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score in his first collegiate start as No. 21 Texas began the Steve Sarkisian era with a 38-18 win over No. 23 Louisiana on Saturday afternoon in the season-opener for both teams in Austin, Texas.
Card was 14-of-21 passing and connected with six different receivers while playing three quarters for the Longhorns (1-0). Bijan Robinson ran for 103 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 73 yards and another score in Texas’ romp while Jordan Whittington led all receivers with seven catches for a career-best 113 yards.
The Longhorns’ defense limited Louisiana to 359 yards, 179 of which came in the final 12:24 of the game after things were out of reach. Dual-threat Ragin’ Cajuns’ quarterback Levi Lewis passed for 282 yards and a scoring pass late, combining with Kyren Lacy on a 19-yard touchdown.
Louisiana (0-1) got on the board first via a 37-yard field goal by Kenneth Almendares at the end of a 42-yard drive with 8:16 to play in the first quarter. Texas answered with an 18-yard TD pass from Card to Robinson at the 2:25 mark of the first that culminated an 11-play, 70-yard march.
The Longhorns added to their lead when Card hit Cade Brewer on a 6-yard touchdown pass with two minutes to play before halftime. Almendares booted a career-long 48-yard field goal on the final play of the half to allow the Ragin’ Cajuns to pull to within 14-6 at the break.
Robinson stutter-stepped his way to a 7-yard TD run on the opening drive of the third quarter to push Texas’ lead to 21-6. Louisiana responded on the ensuing possession with a 27-yard touchdown run around right end by Chris Smith before Almendares’ extra point was blocked by the Longhorns’ Keondre Coburn.
Card’s 3-yard scoring run expanded Texas’ advantage to 28-12 with 2:43 to play in the third quarter. Whittington’s 14-yard catch-and-run TD from backup quarterback Casey Thompson early in the fourth quarter removed any real notion of a comeback from Louisiana.
Texas’ Cameron Dicker booted a 49-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to provide the final margin of victory.
–Field Level Media
