Texas’ Rally Is of Historic Proportions

Thoroughly dominated in the first half and trailing at one point, 35-7, Texas Coach Mack Brown had a halftime message for his players: They would win.

Cedric Benson scored five touchdowns Saturday night and No. 6 Texas turned it on after halftime and defeated No. 19 Oklahoma State, 56-35, at Austin, Texas.

The Longhorns trailed, 35-14, at halftime when Brown told the Longhorns they would score on their first drive of the third quarter and go on to win. He even predicted a final score of 42-35.

“Unbelievable,” Brown said. “After the game I apologized for underestimating them.”

Benson’s fourth touchdown gave Texas its first lead at 42-35 early in the fourth quarter. His last, a six-yard bullrush in which he pushed four defenders across the goal line, put the exclamation point on the incredible comeback.

“That shows the character of this team as far as how tough we are,” senior linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “We never gave up.”

A little perspective on how big of a rally it was: In 111 years of playing football, the biggest deficit the Longhorns (8-1, 5-1 in the Big 12) had ever overcome to win was 19 points three seasons ago in a Holiday Bowl victory over Washington.

For Oklahoma State (6-3, 3-3), it will go down as one of the most stunning losses in the history of the program.

If the Cowboys had managed to shake off the hangover of their three-point loss to No. 2 Oklahoma the previous game, Coach Les Miles isn’t likely to shake the hurt from this one anytime soon.

“I’ve never been through one like that,” Miles said. “There will be some pain. There’s no way to have a game like this where you don’t ache.”

Bo Scaife caught a five-yard touchdown pass with three seconds left before halftime to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 35-14. The Longhorns thought anything was possible.

“There was a lot of energy in the locker room,” Benson said. “Most teams would have laid down and given up.”

Iowa State 34, Nebraska 27 -- Bret Meyer threw for a career-best 345 yards and three touchdowns at Ames, Iowa, to lead the surging Cyclones (5-4, 3-3) past Nebraska (5-4, 3-3) and into a tie for first place in the Big 12 North.

If the Cyclones win their final two games, at Kansas State and home against Missouri, they will be the North champions and play in the Big 12 championship game for the first time.

Texas Tech 42, Baylor 17 -- Sonny Cumbie threw for 397 yards and five touchdowns at Lubbock, Texas, as the Red Raiders (6-3, 4-2) handed the Bears (3-6, 1-5) their 35th consecutive conference road loss.

Kansas State 35, Missouri 24 -- Backup quarterback Allen Webb threw two touchdown passes and Darren Sproles ran for two scores, helping the Wildcats (4-5, 2-4) rally from an early 21-point deficit to defeat the Tigers (4-5, 2-4) at Columbia, Mo. Missouri has lost four in a row.

Colorado 30, Kansas 21 -- Stephone Robinson scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 48-yard punt return and Lawrence Vickers added a late score as the Buffaloes (5-4, 2-4) rallied from a 14-0 deficit and defeated the Jayhawks (3-6, 1-5) at Lawrence, Kan.