Big Plays Belong to Texas in Victory

Colt McCoy probably doesn’t realize how quickly things have changed in the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry.

Not long ago, the No. 7 Longhorns were the ones getting outhustled and outcoached.

Now, it’s the No. 14 Sooners who are finding ways to lose -- like having their best player give up on a loose ball near his end zone with the game still on the line in the fourth quarter.

Adrian Peterson thought the ball bouncing off his hands meant an incomplete pass, not a fumbled lateral. Texas cornerback Aaron Ross wasn’t sure, but scooped it up and scored just in case, and wound up with the touchdown that sealed a 28-10 victory Saturday in the 101st edition of the Red River rivalry.

“I’m just sitting there like, ‘What the, you know, is going on?’ ” Peterson said afterward, still puzzled by what happened.

Texas improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12 Conference. Oklahoma fell to 3-2, 0-1..

McCoy overcame a slow start by throwing two touchdown passes in the third quarter to turn a 10-7 halftime deficit into a 21-10 lead. Ross did the rest, following his head’s up play with a pair of interceptions that ended the Sooners’ final two drives.

McCoy’s numbers were mediocre -- 11 of 18 for 108 yards, plus 11 more rushing -- but his poise helped make the difference. He overcame an awful second quarter and never turned the ball over.

“When we’ve come out of this game with a huge deficit, it’s usually been because of turnovers,” Texas Coach Mack Brown said. “Today, they lost five and we lost none. And that’s why the game got to where it is.”

Texas has won 17 straight conference games. This one puts the Longhorns in the lead for the Big 12 South and a spot in the conference title game.

Peterson ran 25 times for 109 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown, but Texas was able to focus on him because none of Oklahoma’s other play-makers made the Longhorns pay for it.