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McCoy, Texas notch first Big 12 win of season

Oct 13, 2007 - 9:52 PM AMES, Iowa (Ticker) -- Colt McCoy and Texas finally picked up a conference win.

McCoy passed for a season-high four touchdowns and ran for another score Saturday as the 23rd-ranked Longhorns rolled to their first Big 12 Conference victory this season, a 56-3 thrashing of Iowa State.

It was the first win since September 22 for Texas (5-2, 1-2 Big 12 South), which lost to rival Oklahoma in last week's annual "Red River Rivalry." The loss came seven days after the Longhorns suffered a 41-21 setback to Kansas state in Austin - the school's worst home loss under coach Mack Brown.

"I'm really proud of the guys today, to come out on the road with emotion after last week's Oklahoma game," Brown said. "The receivers played great. We protected the ball really well and in the second half we broke the turnover jinx we had."

"(The win) was really important for us," McCoy added. "To come out of the week and get turnovers and not give them up was really important."

McCoy was one of the main culprits in the loss to Kansas State, tossing four interceptions. The sophomore bounced back with a solid performance last week against Oklahoma and was brilliant in this contest, completing 23-of-30 passes for 298 yards with no interceptions.

"We hadn't executed very well in the past two weeks," McCoy said. "The spread is a big part of our offense, so when Coach Davis (offensive coordinator Greg Davis) said we'd throw the football around, it put a smile on my face. We executed that well and that's what won us the game."

The 205-pound McCoy also contributed on the ground with a 44-yard TD run late in the third quarter, the longest run of his career.

"We didn't want Colt to run it anymore," Brown admitted. "We wanted him to keep throwing and get in rhythm and get his confidence going into the rest of the season. He has (scrambled) all year. He's made a lot of plays off of his feet, and we have worked on the scramble coverage a lot."

With star wide receiver Limas Sweed sidelined due to a season-ending wrist injury, McCoy turned to senior wideout Nate Jones, who had seven catches for a career-high 125 yards.

McCoy tossed three TD passes in the first half, including a pair of scoring strikes to Jordan Shipley. Jamaal Charles ran for an eight-yard TD in the second quarter for Texas, which carried a 28-3 lead into the break.

The contest marked the reunion of Texas and Iowa State coach Gene Chizik, who spent the previous two seasons as the Longhorns' defensive coordinator.

"Texas has great athletes and great coaches," Chizik said. "Mack Brown is a classy man. He is a phenomenal football coach, one of the best if not the best in the country. Most programs would aspire to be something like them. Today I thought that was evident."

"The only bad thing about today is Gene Chizik was on the other sideline, and we care a lot about him," Brown added.

Iowa State quarterback Bret Meyer struggled all day, finishing 17-of-33 for 111 yards with two interceptions.

Jason Scales rushed for 77 yards on 19 carries for the Cyclones (1-6, 0-3 North), who fell to 0-7 all-time against Texas.