A win is what’s real for McCoy

Colt McCoy was a mess. His right thumbnail was ready to fall off, a nagging cold was wearing him down and Oklahoma was confusing him with blitzes he’d never seen.

Then, with a chance to put the game away for Texas midway through the fourth quarter, he threw an interception that could’ve turned into a go-ahead touchdown for the Sooners.

McCoy salvaged it all. He made a game-saving tackle on the pickoff return. Then, after his defense got him the ball back, he managed to grind out the final 3:31, sending No. 3 Texas to a 16-13 victory Saturday over a No. 20 Oklahoma team that again lost Heisman winner Sam Bradford.

The sloppy performance did little for McCoy’s chances of winning the Heisman Trophy and it won’t earn much respect for a team that slipped a spot in last week’s poll. But what matters most to McCoy and the Longhorns (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) is remaining in line to play for the national championship -- and, well, it always feels good to beat their rivals from across the Red River, especially in front of 96,009, the largest crowd in the 104-game history of this series.

That explains why the usually humble McCoy gave a huge fist pump to the burnt-orange end of the Cotton Bowl before the final snap, drawing a roar from fans already celebrating their fourth win over the Sooners (3-3, 1-1) in five years.

“It’s such an awesome feeling,” said McCoy, who joined Bobby Layne and Peter Gardere as the only Texas quarterbacks to beat Oklahoma three times. “This is one of the greatest games in college football. Knowing it wasn’t that pretty, but you gave it your best effort. . . . I’m speechless.”

In the first quarter, Bradford reaggravated the right shoulder injury he sustained in the opener. Backup Landry Jones put the Sooners up 6-0 and he drove them for their only touchdown right after Texas scored its only touchdown, tying the score at 13-13 in the third quarter.