Associated Press
STILLWATER, Okla. -- A greedy Texas defense is making Colt McCoy's life so much easier.
Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas each returned interceptions for touchdowns, and Cody Johnson had two short TD runs as the No. 3 Longhorns routed No. 13 Oklahoma State 41-14 on Saturday night to establish themselves as the clear frontrunner in the Big 12 South.
McCoy had an efficient 171-yard performance and threw his 100th career touchdown pass, and the Longhorns avoided the kind of letdown on Halloween weekend that cost them a chance to play for the Big 12 and national championships a year ago.
Texas (8-0, 5-0) came in with the nation's toughest defense against the run, then played havoc with Zac Robinson and the Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-1) passing attack. Robinson came in as the conference's top-rated passer after breaking the Cowboys' record for accuracy in a game last week, but threw a career-high four picks against the Longhorns.
Texas scored 28 points off of Oklahoma State's five turnovers, with Brown and Thomas cashing in immediately and Johnson scoring on runs of 2 and 1 yards after two other takeaways.
That left McCoy, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, needing to do nothing spectacular in front of a Boone Pickens Stadium record crowd of 58,516.
He had a 44-yard pass to Malcolm Williams to set up Hunter Lawrence's 40-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half. Two plays later, Thomas jumped in front of Hubert Anyiam to intercept Robinson's pass and race 31 yards untouched into the end zone for a 34-7 lead.
Earlier, Brown scored on a 77-yard return after stepping in front of a pass intended for Dameron Fooks and racing down the OSU sideline. Defensive end Sergio Kindle toppled Robinson to eliminate the final offensive player chasing him.
It was the first time since the 2003 season opener against New Mexico State that Texas returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Future NFL players Derrick Johnson and Michael Huff did it in that game.
Blake Gideon and Chykie Brown also had picks as Robinson exceeded his interception total from the first seven games of the season and doubled the amount he'd ever had in a single game.
Robinson finished 15 for 28 for 143 yards and one touchdown, a meaningless 6-yard toss to Justin Blackmon after the Longhorns already had a 41-7 advantage.
For the second straight week, McCoy was able to spend most of the fourth quarter watching freshman Garrett Gilbert run the offense.
The blowout was a rarity in a series that had seen Texas rally from deficits of 28, 21 and 19 points to win in the previous five meetings.
Oklahoma State was in a gambling mood early on, going for it on fourth down three times in the first half and converting twice. But the Cowboys ended up with little to show for it. Anyiam, filling in for ineligible All-America receiver Dez Bryant, dropped a potential touchdown pass on OSU's failed fourth-down try and Dan Bailey also missed a 45-yard field goal in the first half.
Anyiam's fumble set up the Texas offense for its first touchdown and a 10-0 lead -- and it ended up being a sign of things to come.
Kendall Hunter, the Big 12's leading rusher last season, returned after missing five weeks with an ankle injury but had just one rush for 1 yard -- immediately before Thomas' interception return.
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No. 22 Oklahoma 42, Kansas State 30: NORMAN, Okla. -- Landry Jones passed for 294 yards and four touchdowns and DeMarco Murray scored three times to help No. 22 Oklahoma hold off Kansas State.
Jones was making his fifth career start and first since Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford announced his career with the Sooners was over because of a shoulder injury.
The redshirt freshman completed 26 of 37 passes as Oklahoma (5-3, 3-1 Big 12) jumped to a quick 21-0 lead and hung on while Kansas State (5-4, 3-2) twice closed to within five points in the second half.
Two of Murray's touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, on a 6-yard reception and a 3-yard run that helped the Sooners hang onto the lead.
Oklahoma stopped Kansas State on downs at the K-State 41 with 4:10 left and Oklahoma's Quinton Carter intercepted a pass from Grant Gregory at the Sooners 2 with 42 seconds left.
The Wildcats' Brandon Banks returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, the fifth time he's scored on a kickoff return in his career and the fourth time this season -- both Big 12 records. He also caught nine passes for 156 yards.
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Texas Tech 42, Kansas 21: LUBBOCK -- Baron Batch rushed for 123 yards and four touchdowns.
The Red Raiders scored 28 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to hand the Jayhawks their third consecutive loss. Batch had three of his four scores in the period.
Dezmon Briscoe had nine receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown for Kansas (5-3, 1-3 Big 12), which lost four of its five fumbles. Todd Reesing completed 20 of 35 passes for 181 yards, his worst outing since his 162 yards last year in a win over Kansas State.
Reesing's 6-yard toss to Briscoe gave the Jayhawks a 21-14 lead with 5 seconds left in the third, but Texas Tech (6-3, 3-2) dominated the fourth.
Batch had TD runs of 1 and 17 yards to give the Red Raiders a 28-21 lead with 8:49 remaining. LaRon Moore pounced on a fumbled snap and returned it 31 yards for another score before Batch's 11-yard run capped the scoring with 2:05 left.
Texas Tech's Seth Doege, a redshirt freshman making his first start, completed 14 of 28 passes for 159 yards, including a 61-yard strike to Detron Lewis that tied it at 7 early in the second.
One-time starter Taylor Potts replaced Doege in the second half and finished 11 for 19 for 94 yards.
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Nebraska 20, Baylor 10: WACO -- Freshman Cody Green led Nebraska to points on its first three drives in his first college start as the Cornhuskers ended a two-game losing streak.
Justin Blatchford returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, Dontrayevous Robinson added a rushing score and Jared Crick had a school record of five sacks to help Nebraska (5-3, 2-2 Big 12) beat Baylor (3-5, 0-4) for the 10th-straight time.
Green, a Texas high school star from a town about 200 miles southeast of Waco, was 12 of 21 for 128 yards passing to stake Nebraska to a 20-0 lead. The Huskers had scored a just 17 combined points in recent home losses to Texas Tech and Iowa State, and they matched a school record with eight turnovers against the latter.
Baylor lost its fourth in a row and hasn't beaten Nebraska since 1956. Clifton Odom returned an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter to bring the Bears within 10.
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini promised personnel changes earlier this week after watching his offense sputter in consecutive lackluster performances. The biggest move came at quarterback, where junior Zac Lee had started the first seven games of the season.
Green got a hand from the Huskers' special teams before he even took the field.
Eric Martin came up the middle and blocked Derek Epperson's punt on the first series of the game. Blatchford scooped up the loose ball at 25 and dove into the end zone right.
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Missouri 36, Colorado 17: BOULDER, Colo. -- Danario Alexander caught two touchdown passes while Missouri's swarming defense had eight sacks and forced four turnovers.
The Tigers (5-3, 1-3 Big 12) jumped out to a big lead, scoring 33 straight points, and appeared on their way to another rout of Colorado (2-6, 1-3).
Instead, the Tigers had to hold off the Buffaloes' second-half surge. The defense came up big in the final quarter, ending three Colorado drives on fourth-down stops and another on an interception.
Derrick Washington rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown, while Alexander finished with eight catches for 123 yards.
Blaine Gabbert hardly looked hobbled by a right ankle sprain in the first half, leading the Tigers to a 33-3 lead at halftime. The offense bogged down in the second half, gaining just 94 yards.
Gabbert finished 17 of 29 for 192 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions.
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