Defense leads No. 3 Texas to rout of No. 13 OSU
The Associated Press
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45
Published: October 31, 2009
STILLWATER — A greedy Texas defense is making Colt McCoy's life so much easier.
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Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas each returned interceptions for touchdowns, and Cody Johnson had two short TD runs as the No. 3 Longhorns routed No. 13 Oklahoma State 41-14 on Saturday night to establish themselves as the clear frontrunner in the Big 12 South.
McCoy had an efficient 171-yard performance and threw his 100th career touchdown pass, and the Longhorns avoided the kind of letdown on Halloween weekend that cost them a chance to play for the Big 12 and national championships a year ago.
Texas (8-0, 5-0) came in with the nation's toughest defense against the run, then played havoc with Zac Robinson and the Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-1) passing attack. Robinson came in as the conference's top-rated passer after breaking the Cowboys' record for accuracy in a game last week, but threw a career-high four picks against the Longhorns.
Texas scored 28 points off of Oklahoma State's five turnovers, with Brown and Thomas cashing in immediately and Johnson scoring on runs of 2 and 1 yards after two other takeaways.
That left McCoy, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, needing to do nothing spectacular in front of a Boone Pickens Stadium record crowd of 58,516.
He had a 44-yard pass to Malcolm Williams to set up Hunter Lawrence's 40-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half. Two plays later, Thomas jumped in front of Hubert Anyiam to intercept Robinson's pass and race 31 yards untouched into the end zone for a 34-7 lead.
Earlier, Brown scored on a 77-yard return after stepping in front of a pass intended for Dameron Fooks and racing down the OSU sideline. Defensive end Sergio Kindle toppled Robinson to eliminate the final offensive player chasing him.
It was the first time since the 2003 season opener against New Mexico State that Texas returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Future NFL players Derrick Johnson and Michael Huff did it in that game.
Blake Gideon and Chykie Brown also had picks as Robinson exceeded his interception total from the first seven games of the season and doubled the amount he'd ever had in a single game.
Robinson finished 15 for 28 for 143 yards and one touchdown, a meaningless 6-yard toss to Justin Blackmon after the Longhorns already had a 41-7 advantage.
For the second straight week, McCoy was able to spend most of the fourth quarter watching freshman Garrett Gilbert run the offense in a blowout.
It was quite the turnaround from last Halloween weekend, when Texas Tech knocked off the top-ranked Longhorns 39-33 to spoil their bid for an undefeated season.
The blowout was a rarity in a series that had seen Texas rally from deficits of 28, 21 and 19 points win in the previous five meetings. Mack Brown moved to 12-0 against the Cowboys.
Oklahoma State was in a gambling mood early on, going for it on fourth down three times in the first half and converting twice. But the Cowboys ended up with little to show for it. Anyiam, filling in for ineligible All-America receiver Dez Bryant, dropped a potential touchdown pass on OSU's failed fourth-down try and Dan Bailey also missed a 45-yard field goal in the first half.
Anyiam's fumble, recovered by Gideon, set up the Texas offense for its first touchdown and a 10-0 lead — and it ended up being a sign of things to come.
Kendall Hunter, the Big 12's leading rusher last season, returned after missing five weeks with an ankle injury but had just one rush for 1 yard — immediately before Thomas' interception return.
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OU fans posting on here are losers.
Congrats on losing to UT and being sore loser fans. It shows your class.
you
are
gloating
Get it? You may have been rooting for OSU to win not for them to win, but instead for pathetic personal reasons...so OU can improve their chances to get into the conference championship game. Get a life. Any life but your own because it is obviously so entwined with the result on a football field that you would cheer for a rival. That is pathetic. OU could not do it by themselves so you now want others to pick up your pieces. Pathetic.
About as pathetic as your reading comprehension. The calls altered the game. Not saying OSU would have won because they made too many mistakes on their own. But to go from third and 20 something to first and ten because a lineman lowers his arms? Momentum could have been different if the right call been made on the strip and OSU scored. Again, doubt it would have been enough to overcome their own mistakes, but if you have ever played football, momentum is everything.
So just because I'm here I'm gloating? Whatever because I was rooting for OSU!!! XT is a LUCKY team not a better team. I'm still mad that OU lost them.
Also you can't blame refs for a 41-14 A#@ whooping. Don't get there...at some point that team has to look at themselves in the mirror.
OSU had to have a flawless game go win and everybody knew that. They were far from flawless. They got beat by a better team. I can live with that.
I can't speak for everyone but I love the state of Texas and Oklahoma. But XT University sucks!!!
The same georgia team that got destroyed today by Flordia.
FOU, OKC don't be mad at OU Fans for Oklahoma State choking!!! Y'all need to man up and look at yourselves in the mirror.
Don't bite the hand that feeds you!
No true OU fan gloats when XT wins a game. For this ONE night Oklahoma State had the support of both OU and OSU fans because we as OU fans hate XT that much. But what did Oklahoma State do??? Fold like a deck of cards. All Broke Back Mountain supporters in orange and black need to get out of my face!!!
I can't be;ieve the mdeia in this market promoted this game in the manner in which they did. The biggest game in program history? No. All you had to do to break this game down was basically ask this question of yourself? Where does OSU on either side of the ball-- have an edge? And the answer would be...nowhere unless Dez Bryant had played...maybe Russell. No surprise Texas won--but I thought the margin would float between 14 to 7 sevens points depending on who scored a late TD. The Texas secondary is superb and I think if Colt continues to play like he has the last two weeks that Texas will beat either Florida, Alabama or whoever in the BCS National Championship Game. Congrats to the Horns and I hope Colt wins the Heisman. What a tough, classy kid.
El Prez, Deer Creek
Alamo Bowl is too good for this years Oklahoma State team. They deserve to stay home. I cannot believe that these guy laid down to XT like that. No freakin' manhood from the top down with these guys and I'll say it till proven otherwise.
I've been reading one point and 3 point junk for weeks. Whether it is by 1 point or 100 points, the games count folks. They count toward losses AND wins.
Here lies the problem with Oklahoma State football...If OSU's only goal in life is to beat OU every year than it is true...The Oklahoma State football program is truly gutless and doesn't deserve to exist. Boone Pickens is wasting his time and money funding a program whose aspirations is not to win a National Championship but to only beat one school on their schedule.
And Fou, we will see what your Cowboys can do in Norman.