(Previous weekly reviews are here)
Texas Longhorns 45 Oklahoma 35
In the most entertaining college football game of the season to date, the Longhorns (6-0/2-0 Big !2) vaulted to No. 1 in the AP, Harris and Coaches Top 25 polls with their win over the Sooners (5-1/1-1 Big 12).
Texas prevented OU’s prolific passing offense from getting too far ahead for three quarters of the game and then eventually wore down the Sooners to pull the game out in the fourth quarter. Although QB Colt McCoy (28-35-0/277 yds/1 TD) and his receivers get most of the publicity, I thought that the Longhorns’ offensive and defensive line play in the second half — particularly in the fourth quarter — was the difference in this one.
The Horns better not rest on their laurels, however, as they face a killer schedule down the stretch — 11th-ranked Missouri (5-1/1-1 Big 12), 8th-ranked Oklahoma State (6-0/2-0 Big 12), 7th-ranked Texas Tech (6-0/2-0 Big 12), and 16th-ranked Kansas (5-1/2-0 Big 12) in four of the next five weeks. The Horns are solid, but I don’t see them going undefeated through that stretch.