Oklahoma State Meets Its Match in Texas A

Reggie McNeal threw two touchdown passes -- one on a desperation pass tipped by Terrence Murphy to DeQawn Mobley -- and ran for two more scores to help No. 23 Texas A&M; stun No. 16 Oklahoma State, 36-20, Saturday night at Stillwater, Okla.

The Aggies bolted to a 20-0 lead as Oklahoma State had an uncharacteristic string of penalties and turnovers.

“It was tough,” Cowboy linebacker Lawrence Pinson said. “It seemed like everything that could happen bad went bad.”

After Oklahoma State quarterback Donovan Woods cut it to 20-6 with a two-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds left in the second quarter, McNeal launched a 55-yard touchdown pass to Mobley on the final play of the half.

McNeal let loose the high-arcing pass, and Murphy leaped inside the five to tip the ball to Mobley, who dived to catch it in the end zone.

Coach Dennis Franchione said the Aggies (5-1, 3-0 Big 12) practice the play, called 8-69 Hail Mary, every Thursday, and McNeal said they’re successful on about three out of every four attempts.

“The Hail Mary was big, real big,” McNeal said. “It took the fans and them out of the game.”

It was set up after Taylor Schuster picked up a third-down fumble by McNeal and advanced it for a first down. Then Murphy, who has a 41 1/2 -inch vertical leap, did his part.

The pass gave the Aggies a 27-6 lead and took the Cowboys (5-1, 2-1) out of their run-first game plan.

“It hurt,” Cowboy running back Vernand Morency said. “It hit us real hard.”

Morency scored on a one-yard dive on the first play of the fourth quarter and Billy Bajema caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Woods as the Cowboys pulled to 36-20 with 8:58 to play, but they could get no closer.

Morency, who entered as the nation’s leading rusher at 173.8 yards a game, had 111 yards in 28 carries but also lost his first two fumbles on consecutive possessions in the first half. Another drive stalled after a holding penalty, and the Aggies took advantage.

“We did things out there that’s not us and they capitalized on them,” Morency said.

No. 9 Texas 28, Missouri 20 -- Cedric Benson’s hard-nosed running, combined with a slew of Tiger mistakes, allowed the Longhorns to shake off a post-Oklahoma hangover and hang on for the win at Austin, Texas.

Benson rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns as Texas (5-1, 2-1) won despite a shaky passing game that produced only 58 yards and two interceptions.

“We cannot [pass] it any worse than we did today and we won,” Coach Mack Brown said. “For us to throw that poorly and win says something about the spirit of this club.”

Benson overcame three fumbles -- he recovered two himself -- to score Texas’ last two touchdowns and pound out critical yards in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers (4-2, 2-1) pulled within 28-20 in the fourth quarter on Brad Smith’s one-yard touchdown run, but missed the extra point when Smith dropped the snap. Missouri outgained Texas, 358-299.

Nebraska 59, Baylor 27 -- Joe Dailey became the first Cornhusker quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards and tied a school record with five touchdown passes in a rout of the Bears (2-4, 0-3) at Lincoln, Neb.

Dailey completed 13 of 20 passes for 342 yards, breaking the previous Nebraska record of 297 yards set by Dave Humm against Wisconsin in 1973. Nebraska is 4-2 overall, 2-1 in the Big 12. Baylor (2-4, 0-3) is 0-34 in Big 12 road games.

Colorado 19, Iowa State 14 -- Mason Crosby kicked four field goals -- one a school-record 60-yarder and another from 54 yards -- and the Buffaloes (4-2, 1-2) took advantage of the Cyclones’ shaky special teams to win at Boulder, Colo. It was the 13th conference loss in a row for Iowa State (2-4, 0-3).