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McCoy, Texas bounce back against Baylor

Nov 8, 2008 - 11:22 PM AUSTIN, Texas (Ticker) -- Colt McCoy and Texas did not let last week's crushing defeat linger.

McCoy threw five touchdown passes Saturday - one shy of a career high - as the seventh-ranked Longhorns routed Baylor, 45-21, to keep alive their national championship hopes.

The Heisman Trophy candidate was hit on numerous occasions by Baylor's physical defense and threw a pair of interceptions, the first one allowing the Bears to briefly climb back into the game. McCoy had just five picks coming into the game.

"We were banged up all the way across the board," McCoy said. "Me, Quan (Cosby) and the offensive line were all a little hurt. They were doing a couple of zone blitzes we hadn't seen all year, and one of them got me pretty good.

"We were able to handle that, and in the first half, we didn't play well. In the second half, we came out and played really physical and put the game away."

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin gave the Longhorns some problems, throwing a 55-yard touchdown pass to Kendall Wright and ripping off a season-high 63-yard run that led to a touchdown which was called back because of a penalty.

"I think (Griffin's) a very complete quarterback," Baylor coach Art Briles said. "I think he's exactly what our team needs from a leadership standpoint, from an athletic standpoint and a passing standpoint."

Still, Texas (9-1, 5-1 Big 12 South) showed no negative effects from last week's 39-33 defeat to Texas Tech, putting together long touchdown drives on its first two possessions.

McCoy threw TD strikes of 35 yards to Cosby and 1 yard to Greg Smith to give the Longhorns a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.

"You want to get the bad taste out of your mouth after a loss, especially when you were the No. 1 team in the country with so many things riding on it, and you get beat on the last second of the game," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "I mean, I felt bad on Monday, and I know the kids did."

Baylor safety Krys Buerck returned an interception 46 yards to the Longhorns' 6-yard line to provide some hope for the Bears, who have not won in Austin since 1991. Buerck's pick led to Griffin's 1-yard TD run.

After forcing a three-and-out, Baylor (3-7, 1-5) tied the contest on Griffin's long TD strike to Wright with nine minutes remaining in the first half.

Hunter Lawrence missed a 44-yard field goal on Texas' next possession, but the Longhorns got a break that enabled them to regain control and eventually pull away.

Cornerback Ryan Palmer returned Griffin's deflected pass 22 yards for a touchdown three minutes later, giving the Longhorns a 21-14 lead and beginning a string of 31 straight points for Texas.

"Defensively, I thought Ryan Palmer's interception turned the game," Brown added. "The momentum pretty much changed for us, and it never turned back."

McCoy and Cosby hooked up again for a 26-yard score with 1:58 left in the half, staking Texas to a 28-14 halftime lead.

After getting a brief scare in the opening 30 minutes, the Longhorns wore down the Bears in the second half with an effective ground attack. Foswhitt Whittaker paced Texas on the ground with 77 yards on 15 carries.

McCoy, who completed 26-of-37 yards for 300 yards, threw two more TDs in the third quarter, raising his total to 28 for the season.

With the contest in hand, McCoy spent the fourth quarter on the bench as the Longhorns enjoyed a laugher following four straight games against ranked opponents.

"He did a great job of buying time with his feet," Briles said. "We knew he was going to try to do that. We did a good job of putting pressure on him. We just couldn't finish it off and take him down."

Griffin completed only 6-of-19 passes for 71 yards, but he rushed for 101 yards on 13 carries.

Backup kicker Ryan Bailey accounted for the Longhorns' final points with a 30-yard field goal - his first of the season - with just under six minutes remaining.

Baylor ended Texas' run of points on Jay Finley's 40-yard TD scamper with 4:58 remaining.