Texas’ defense stifles Oklahoma
Colt McCoy picked up where Vince Young left off in one important area: beating Oklahoma.
After a lousy second quarter that left Longhorns fans pining for their departed leader, McCoy rallied with two perfect passes for touchdowns in the third quarter and cornerback Aaron Ross made game-changing plays in the fourth, carrying No. 7 Texas past the No. 14 Sooners 28-10 Saturday in Dallas.
McCoy, a redshirt freshman who watched Young beat OU and everyone else en route to the national championship last year, failed his first big test last month against No. 1 Ohio State. While that loss ended a 21-game winning streak, this victory kept alive two other important streaks for the Longhorns: 17 straight conference wins … and two in a row against Oklahoma.
Texas (5-1, 2-0 Big 12) trailed 10-7 at halftime and was in a big rut after gaining a single yard in the second quarter. The defense stopped the Sooners (3-2, 0-1) on the opening drive of the second half, then the defense took over.
Adrian Peterson ran 25 times for 109 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown for Oklahoma, but the Sooners were unable to put points on the board in the second half.
(1) Ohio State 35, Bowling Green 7: At Columbus, Ohio, Troy Smith threw three touchdown passes, Antonio Pittman ran for two scores and the Buckeyes started their second month as the No. 1 team in the nation with an easy victory over Bowling Green.
The Buckeyes (6-0) toyed with the Falcons (3-3), tacking on two touchdowns in the final quarter to turn a surprisingly close 21-7 game into a rout. Ohio State stretched the nation’s longest winning streak to 13.
(4) West Virginia 42, Mississippi State 14: At Starkville, Miss., Steve Slaton ran for 185 yards, Pat White rushed for two touchdowns and the Mountaineers defense made two interceptions deep in its territory to lead to the victory over the Bulldogs (1-5).
Slaton helped the Mountaineers (5-0) extend the nation’s second-longest win streak to 12 games and moved into fourth on the school’s all-time touchdown list with his 24th score in 15 career games.
(5) Florida 23, LSU 10: At Gainesville, Fla., Tim Tebow threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score to give the Gators (6-0, 4-0 SEC) a win over the Tigers (4-2, 1-2).
The Gators are 6-0 for the first time since 1996 – the school’s lone national championship season – and extended their home winning streak to 13 games. The Gators also beat the Tigers for the first time in three years and won their 18th straight homecoming game.
(6) Michigan 31, Michigan State 13: At Ann Arbor, Mich., Chad Henne threw three touchdown passes – two to Mario Manningham – in the victory over the Spartans, the fifth straight win by the Wolverines in the century-old series.
Big Ten rushing leader Mike Hart ran for 122 yards despite sitting out the fourth quarter as the Wolverines (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) kept their national championship aspirations alive. The Spartans (3-3, 0-2) dropped their third straight and did little to take the heat off embattled coach John L. Smith, who has been criticized by Spartans fans and the media following home losses to Notre Dame and Illinois the previous two weeks.
(13) Tennessee 51, (10) Georgia 33: At Athens, Ga., Erik Ainge threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Volunteers (5-1, 1-1 SEC) to a wild win that defied the norm in the defensive-minded Southeastern Conference.
Arian Foster scored three times for the Volunteers, all on 1-yard runs. The Vols piled up 383 yards and 27 first downs, going 6 for 6 scoring touchdowns when in the red zone of the Bulldogs (5-1, 2-1).
(15) Clemson 27, Wake Forest 17: At Winston-Salem, N.C., C.J. Spiller ran 72 yards for the go-ahead touchdown and defensive lineman Gaines Adams returned a fumble for a score to spark a Tigers rally from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to get the victory over the Demon Deacons (5-1, 1-1 ACC).
Adams started the Tigers comeback when he returned a fumble 66 yards for the momentum-changing score on the first play of the fourth quarter. Spiller finished with 104 yards and James Davis added 95 for the Tigers (5-1, 3-1).
(18) Georgia Tech 27, Maryland 23: At Atlanta, Tashard Choice rushed for a career-high 138 yards and two touchdowns and the Yellow Jackets (5-1, 3-0 ACC) rallied from a nine-point deficit and survived a last-minute scare to beat the Terrapins (3-2, 0-1).
Choice posted his second straight 100-yard game. Reggie Ball added 84 yards rushing with a touchdown and completed another touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson as the Yellow Jackets won their fifth straight game.
19) Iowa 47, Purdue 17: At Iowa City, Iowa, Drew Tate threw two touchdown passes and Damian Sims ran for two more scores to help the Hawkeyes (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) beat the Boilermakers (4-2, 1-1) and rebound from last week’s demoralizing loss to top-ranked Ohio State.
The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early lead, rolled up 286 yards rushing and a season-high 539 total yards. The Boilermakers amassed 456 total yards, but much of that came in the second half when they trailed by as many as 24 points.
(22) Nebraska 28, Iowa State 7: At Ames, Iowa, Cody Glenn rushed 148 yards and two touchdowns, Brandon Jackson added 116 yards and a score and the Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-0 Big 12) defense did the rest in the victory over the Cyclones (3-3, 0-2).
(23) Missouri 38, Texas Tech 21: At Lubbock, Texas, Chase Daniel threw for 171 yards and a touchdown, and Missouri returned two interceptions for scores as the Tigers (6-0, 2-0 Big 12) beat the Red Raiders (4-2, 1-1) to start 6-0 for the first time in 33 years.
Though Daniel led the offense, it was the Tigers defense that set up most of the scoring. Four turnovers – two interceptions and two fumbles – by Tech quarterback Graham Harrell led to 28 points for the Tigers.