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AUSTIN – Colt McCoy passed the toughness test.

So did his Texas teammates, in a 52-10 win Saturday over Florida Atlantic.

Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger, who had suggested that Texas had more talent that grit, had a different view afterward.

"I know one thing, they're a lot tougher than we are," Schnellenberger said.

Nobody symbolized the Texas effort in what coach Mack Brown called a "near-perfect opener" more than McCoy.

The junior quarterback joined Vince Young as the only players in Texas history to pass for more than 200 yards and run for more than 100 in multiple games. McCoy threw for three touchdowns and ran for another.

"I thought Colt played as good a game as I've ever seen him," Brown said. "He was just unbelievable."

Young, McCoy's predecessor, saw his No. 10 retired in a pregame ceremony and then watched from the sideline. After delivering a national championship, Young became the standard by which future Texas quarterbacks will be measured.

He and McCoy exchanged text messages this week.

"I congratulated him with what he's going through, and the things that he's accomplishing in his football career that are going to pay off a long way for him," Young said before the game.

The yardage did not come easy for McCoy.

He shook off three called late hits. In the process, he looked as sharp as he did during his record-setting freshman year. McCoy completed 24-of-29 passes for 222 yards and ran for 103 yards on 12 carries.

Two of the late-hit penalties came on a second-quarter drive that gave Texas a 21-3 lead when McCoy found Jordan Shipley on a 9-yard touchdown pass.

"I did get hit out of bounds a couple of times," McCoy said. "I compete really hard, so when I go out of bounds, I don't really know what's going on. I just want to get on the field and keep on going.

"I guess if Vince was right there, he was probably talking trash to those guys, too."

A few breakdowns gave Brown enough fodder to motivate his team for a potential trap game Saturday at UTEP.

The young secondary allowed too many big plays early. Florida Atlantic quarterback Rusty Smith threw for 226 yards in the first half before leaving in the third quarter.

Yet the defense did its job when it mattered most.

It forced a bad snap to Smith in the first quarter with Florida Atlantic at the Texas 16, and Sergio Kindle (Woodrow Wilson) recovered the fumble. In the second quarter, Earl Thomas got his hand on a Smith pass and Ryan Palmer made the interception in the end zone.

In the second half, the Longhorns allowed just 53 yards and expanded a 28-10 halftime lead.

And Texas was tough enough.

Defensive tackle Roy Miller set the tone two hours before the game, as Texas walked into Royal-Memorial Stadium followed by Florida Atlantic. He whipped off his shirt and tried to fire up his teammates on the field.

"There's a lesson to be learned," Miller said. "Anytime you talk before a game, you learn to keep your mouth shut."