Texas Routes Oklahoma State

Sports News - November 1st, 2009 - Written by John

Through all of the pros on the Texas Longhorns' resume, there has been one glaring con in their argument for National Title consideration. Eight weeks into the season and no games against a currently-ranked top-20 team. But the key word is current. They have breezed past Oklahoma and Texas Tech, dropping them in the rankings below 20 and almost punishing themselves in the process.

Saturday night was another case-and-point when the Longhorns jumped another major hurdle in their schedule, and really their only remaining one, stepping on the gas and blowing out no. 14 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Texas housed two interceptions and Colt McCoy threw his 100th career collegiate touchdown to improve to 8-0 with a 41-14 win over the Cowboys. They avoided the kind of letdown that drew comparisons to the Texas Tech game of a year ago, in which the Longhorns had a leg up in the National Championship race, only to be eliminated with a loss to the Red Raiders.

"That was a bad feeling, and I think [Mack Brown] kind of put it on the seniors' shoulders and said, 'Hey, this is your team. You control your destiny,' " McCoy said.

"Don't let it happen again."

It didn't. Texas is third in the country and will play in the title game if they remain undefeated. The only teams in front of them (Florida and Alabama) still have to face each other in the SEC title game, provided they both stay unbeaten as well. If not, the Longhorns will have already passed them anyway.

Texas dominated the game and only gave up two cheap touchdowns coming at the end of both halfs.

Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas each had picks that they returned to the end zone to provide the extra padding, and Cody Johnson had two cheap touchdown plunges in the win, both coming inside the two.

"This game was basically kind of like the Tech game. If we got past this same time last year, we would have had a better shot at the championship," Curtis Brown said. "This game, we just went in trying to grind. We played like this was the championship game and came out pretty good."

It wasn't like Oklahoma State didn't have opportunities. Cowboy receivers missed several critical passes, including a sure touchdown in the corner of the end zone that would've narrowed the margin early in the game. Instead they leave with a line of five turnovers which led to 28 points and Zac Robinson lost his title of the league's top passer.

Texas didn't pull away until the second quarter, and led 24-7 at the half. Brown's 77-yard interception return broke the game open, 17-0 and Malcolm Williams answered a Cowboys' touchdown late in the second quarter with an 11-yard scoring reception with nine seconds left. The Longhorns then poured it on in after the break, getting Thomas' 31-yard interception return and a two-yard score by Johnson in the third quarter to make it 41-7.

Oklahoma State was the only team to score in the fourth when Robinson hit Justin Blackmon from six yards out.

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