DALLAS — Colt McCoy was a mess. His right thumbnail was ready to fall off, a nagging cold was wearing him down and Oklahoma was confusing him with blitzes he’d never seen.
Then, with a chance to put the game away for No. 3 Texas midway through the fourth quarter, he threw an interception that could’ve turned into a go-ahead touchdown for the Sooners.
McCoy salvaged it all, though. He made a game-saving tackle on the pickoff return. Then, after his defense got him the ball back, he managed to grind out the final 3:31, sending No. 3 Texas to a 16-13 victory Saturday over a No. 20 Oklahoma team that lost Heisman winner Sam Bradford, who reinjured his right shoulder.
“You’ve got to be confident in yourself and trust your teammates,” McCoy said. ” ‘Let’s find a way to win.’ We did.”
The sloppy performance did little for McCoy’s chances of winning the Heisman Trophy, and it won’t earn much respect for a team that slipped a spot in last week’s poll. But what matters most to McCoy and the Longhorns is remaining in line to play for the national championship, and, well, it always feels good to beat their rivals from across the Red River, especially in front of 96,009, the largest crowd in the 104-game history of this series.
That explains why the usually humble McCoy gave a huge fist pump to the burnt orange end of the Cotton Bowl before the final snap, drawing a roar from fans already celebrating their fourth win over the Sooners in five years.
“It’s such an awesome feeling,” said McCoy, who joined Bobby Layne and Peter Gardere as the only Texas quarterbacks to beat Oklahoma three times. “This is one of the greatest games in college football.”
Backup Landry Jones put the Sooners up 6-0, and he drove them for their only touchdown right after Texas scored its only TD, tying the game at 13 in the third quarter.
But the Sooners ran for minus-16 yards on 22 tries.
Texas ran six straight times at the end, with McCoy keeping it three of them. His last plunge was for only 1 yard on third-and-8, but a penalty on Oklahoma provided the game- ending first down.
The Sooners have lost three games by a total of five points.
While last season showed they can lose this game but still win the Big 12, they have no chance at a national championship, and Bradford’s college career may be over.
“It’s really hard to put into words the frustration I feel right now,” Bradford said.
