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Texas aims to hold on top ranking

Oct 18, 2008 - 10:13 AM (12) Missouri (5-1) at (1) Texas (6-0), 8:00 pm EDT

AUSTIN, Texas (Ticker) -- Now it's Texas with the giant bull's eye on its back.

The Longhorns become the latest team to try to hold on to the No. 1 ranking Saturday when they host 12th-ranked Missouri in another pivotal Big 12 Conference contest.

Texas (6-0, 2-0 Big 12 South) is the fourth team to hold the top spot this season, joining preseason No. 1 Georgia, Southern California and Oklahoma. The Longhorns climbed four spots after a 45-35 upset win over the Sooners, who were last week's No. 1.

Texas is ranked No. 1 for the first time since beating Southern California, 41-38, in the 2005 BCS title game. But the Longhorns have no time to rest on their laurels, as they will be facing a desperate Missouri team that was surprised by Oklahoma State, 28-23, last week.

"Being ranked No. 1 shows respect for what we've accomplished through the early part of the season, but nobody really knows who is No. 1 at this point," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "Our team has just played well for six weeks, and we know more about where we are today than we did last (week). But we have a long way to go and a lot of room to improve."

Still, the Longhorns emerged as a legitimate title contender following their win over the Sooners in which they rallied from a 28-20 deficit in the third quarter. They also were twice down by 11 points in the first half.

Colt McCoy, who has taken a back seat to some of the other high-profile quarterbacks in the Big 12 Conference, may have entered the Heisman Trophy picture with his performance against Oklahoma. The junior completed 28-of-35 passes for 277 yards with a touchdown and no turnovers.

The win over the Sooners left Texas in a three-way tie atop the Big 12 South with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech - teams the Longhorns face in consecutive week following their contest against Missouri. First, Texas takes on the Tigers (5-1, 1-1 Big 12 North), who were shocked at home by Oklahoma State.

Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel might have been the Heisman favorite entering last week, but his stock dropped after he threw three interceptions against the Cowboys.

"(Daniel's) frustrated because he's a winner and a competitor like everyone else in there," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. "We'll learn from it and move on."

Through five games, Missouri's offense appeared unstoppable. The Tigers did not have a single three-and-out in their first 49 possessions and had no punts in their previous two games.

Now, Missouri is looking to regroup as it tries to rebound from an unexpected loss.

The Tigers began the season with aspirations of challenging for a national championship and the Big 12 title. Hopes for the former likely ended last week as Missouri dropped nine spots in the poll, and chances for the latter could be in jeopardy as well with a loss to Texas.