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McCoy sets Texas season TD mark in win over Oklahoma State

Nov 5, 2006 - 3:27 AM AUSTIN, Texas (Ticker) -- In the illustrious history of Texas football, no quarterback ever has thrown more touchdowns in a season than Colt McCoy.

A redshirt freshman, McCoy tossed three touchdowns as the fourth-ranked Longhorns won a school record-tying 21st consecutive league game with a 36-10 Big 12 Conference triumph over Oklahoma State.

McCoy completed 23-of-29 passes for a season-high 346 yards without an interception for Texas (9-1, 6-0 Big 12 South), which also won 21 straight Southwest Conference games from 1968-71.

"(McCoy is) playing with great poise," Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis said. "He understands what we are trying to do and he understands where problems in protections are. ... I think the biggest thing is poise and confidence and (McCoy) is a real tough guy. He's playing at a pretty high level and there are still things that we can do better."

McCoy has 27 TD passes this season, one more than the mark set by Chris Simms in 2002 and tied by Vince Young last year.

"It's great, but the most important thing was to get a win," McCoy said. "They came out and got after us in the beginning, and we had to really come together and fight. It's a great win and a good conference win, and we need to be ready for Kansas State next week."

McCoy established the mark with a 27-yard TD toss to tight end Jermichael Finley, a fellow redshirt freshman, with 5:18 to go in the third quarter.

The score gave Texas a 30-10 cushion and came three plays after the Longhorns were given a new set of downs on a roughing the kicker penalty.

"Colt played really well today," Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. "He made some nice plays. He threw some balls up there and his guys went up and got them. Our defensive coaches had a lot of respect for him going into the game as a savvy player."

Bobby Reid went just 11-of-28 for 123 yards with two interceptions for the Cowboys (5-4, 2-3 South), who have lost nine straight matchups with the Longhorns and 14 of the last 15.

"They (Longhorns) are very good. We knew that going in," Gundy said. "There is a reason why they won the national championship last year and there is a reason why they are ranked fourth this year. They have good players and their coaches do a good job in coaching."

Oklahoma State held halftime leads in each of the past three encounters, only to get blown out in the second half. That was not the case Saturday as Texas scored the game's first 17 points and took a 20-3 advantage into the break.

The Longhorns opened a 10-0 lead on a 13-yard pass from McCoy to Nate Jones with 12:01 to play in the second quarter. Grant Jones fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Ryan Palmer recovered for Texas at the Oklahoma State 28, and McCoy hit Billy Pittman in the end zone on the next play.

After Ryan Bailey's third field goal, a 19-yarder, gave Texas a 23-3 advantage with 9:47 left in the third quarter, Grant Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a score. The last time the Longhorns allowed a kickoff return for a TD also came against Oklahoma State, in 2001.

It was the second kickoff return TD for the Cowboys this season. They had not had more than one in a season since 1987, when Barry Sanders had two.