Longhorns again make most of second chance
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Vince Young rushed for a career-high 267 yards and two scores and threw two touchdown passes as No. 2 Texas scorched Oklahoma State in the second half for a third straight season in a 47-28 win last night.
In the past three meetings, the Longhorns have outscored Oklahoma State, 118-0, in the second half after trailing at halftime in each game.
Texas came back from a 35-7 deficit last season, scoring 42 unanswered points in the second half of a 56-35 win in Austin. A year earlier, the Cowboys led, 16-14, in Stillwater before the Longhorns reeled off 41 consecutive points.
This time, the Longhorns (8-0, 5-0) trailed by as many as 19 points before rallying to stay on track to earn a spot in the Rose Bowl and play for a national title. The Longhorns passed defending national champion Southern California by .0007 for the top spot in the Bowl Championsip Series standings last week.
After struggling against the last-place Cowboys (3-5, 0-5) -- the only Big 12 team without a conference win -- the Longhorns might have opened the door for third-place Virginia Tech to close the gap in the BCS standings, but the late rally could limit the damage.
Young ignited the comeback with an 80-yard touchdown scramble on the third play of the second half and added an 8-yard TD run late in the third quarter to bring the Longhorns within 28-26. He then found tight end Neale Tweedie open for his first career touchdown on a 21-yard post pattern to give Texas a 34-28 lead.
Ramonce Taylor added touchdown runs from 57 and 12 yards in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Earlier, Young threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to David Thomas to give him the most touchdown catches for a tight end in Texas history with 13.
In the process, Young set school records for the longest touchdown run by a quarterback and the most yards of total offense in a game.
Young ran for 133 yards on 12 first-half carries, but that was overshadowed by his two turnovers and two unique connections between Al Pena and D'Juan Woods for Oklahoma State scores.
The Cowboys caught the Longhorns off-guard on fourth and 1 on their second possession when they broke the huddle quickly with three backs, snapped the ball immediately, and Pena faked a handoff to Julius Crosslin up the middle before tossing a 49-yard touchdown pass to Woods, who was 15 yards beyond the nearest defender.
After a Young fumble late in the first half, Pena zipped a pass to Luke Frazier, but it deflected into the air and Woods snagged it with his right hand and zoomed into the end zone for a 30-yard score and a 28-9 Cowboys lead.
Pena also capitalized on a Young interception in the first quarter by scoring on a 17-yard option run one play later.
Mike Hamilton ran for a career-high 194 yards on 31 carries for Oklahoma State.
