Texas rides another big game by McCoy to easy win

[November 28, 2008]  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- All Texas and Colt McCoy can do now is wait.

McCoy passed for two touchdowns, ran for two more and No. 4 Texas snapped a two-game losing streak to rival Texas A&M with a 49-9 victory Thursday night, a performance that may or may not have been impressive enough to boost McCoy's chances for the Heisman Trophy and his team's position in the Bowl Championship Series.

The 40-point win was the largest in the rivalry since a 48-0 Texas victory in 1898.

McCoy was 23-of-28 passing for 311 yards and he added 49 yards rushing for Texas (11-1, 7-1 Big 12) to earn his first win over the Aggies (4-8, 2-6) in three tries. He also got career victory No. 31, passing Vince Young to set a Texas record for starting quarterbacks.

Cody Johnson ran for 102 yards and two scores for the Longhorns, with most of his yards coming in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.

Texas, currently No. 2 in the BCS standings, now must wait to see what happens this weekend to determine if its national title dreams are intact. The Longhorns are in prime position for at least a berth in a BCS bowl, but need some help if the team that spent a month at No. 1 will be able to play for the Big 12 title and BCS national championship.

A potential three-way tie for the Big 12 South division could swing to No. 3 Oklahoma if it beats No. 11 Oklahoma State on Saturday and leaps Texas in the BCS rankings. Even if the Sooners lose, No. 7 Texas Tech still holds a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Longhorns going into the Red Raiders' game against Baylor.

That's why Texas needed a big win over a big rival in front of a national television audience. Style matters at this point in the season and the question now is whether Texas' victory impressed BCS voters. The Associated Press rankings are not part of the BCS.

While the final score was lopsided, the Longhorns quickly found themselves in a physical battle.

The game got chippy even before the start. Shortly before kickoff, dozens of Longhorns and Aggies players were exchanging words in the end zone before coaches and game officials broke it up. After McCoy capped an 80-yard opening drive with a 14-yard TD run, he was sacked three times in the first half and knocked down on several other occasions.

The Texas defense, however, held the Aggies to minus-1 yard on their first three possessions. The Aggies tried to find a spark in the second quarter with backup quarterback Stephen McGee, who beat Texas the last two years.

McGee passed for 207 yards but could only lead A&M to a first-half field goal. Starting QB Jerrod Johnson returned in the fourth.

McCoy's TD passes of 20 yards to Brandon Collins and Quan Cosby made it 21-3 at halftime. The strike to Cosby came three plays after McCoy had been staggered with a hard hit to the chest.

In the third, Texas marched 80 yards on five plays and McCoy got his second rushing TD, this one covering 16 yards. McCoy split two defenders and got spun high in the air when he leaped between them at the goal line.

The Aggies have struggled mightily under first-year coach Mike Sherman in a season that began with a loss at home to Arkansas State and never got any better. The Aggies went winless in the Big 12 South for the first time.

[Associated Press; By JIM VERTUNO]

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