Texas hardly perfect but prevails in end

Colt McCoy made rare mistakes. The Texas defense got pushed around and the Longhorns watched their big lead and momentum disappear.

Suddenly, the No. 1 team in the country looked vulnerable.

Yet here they are, still unbeaten, and with still more tough games to play.

McCoy passed for 391 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, but the Longhorns’ defense needed to come up with two huge stands in a 28-24 win over No. 7 Oklahoma State in a Big 12 Conference game after he threw a third-quarter interception and fumbled in the fourth.

“We’re not going to beat everybody by 50 or 60,” Texas cornerback Ryan Palmer said. “We showed we can dig down and fight.”

Texas led, 28-21, when McCoy threw the interception -- his first in 101 pass attempts over the last four games -- and the Cowboys seemed to have stolen all the momentum with the ball near midfield.

Instead of allowing a touchdown, Texas held Oklahoma State to a field goal that cut the lead to four. And when McCoy fumbled as he was swarmed by three defenders at the Cowboys 10 late in the fourth, Texas didn’t allow them to get past their own 30.

Texas fans have watched McCoy play with near-perfect precision and the turnovers seemed to stun the crowd of 98,515.

“No one plays this game perfect,” said wide receiver Jordan Shipley, McCoy’s roommate who was also his favorite target with 15 catches for 168 yards.

Texas (8-0, 4-0) had a chance for a final touchdown after getting the ball back at the 30, driving to the one before a busted call on fourth down gave Oklahoma State (7-1, 3-1) one last chance to cover 99 yards in about 30 seconds. The Cowboys got to midfield before a desperation pass fell just short of the end zone on the final play.