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DALLAS -- The kid with the perfect name bounced around the field when it was over, collecting hugs like they were bobble heads, gazing into an end zone of orange, those eyes glossed over, a black Longhorns sticker underneath them both.
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| Texas coach Mack Brown has his hands full with his young QB this season. (Getty Images) |
"Great job, Colt!" hollered one small cheerleader.
"You played awesome, Colt!" screamed a group of fans from the front row.
And it went on like this for several minutes, cheers from every direction. All the while, the kid with the perfect name -- perfect, at least, if you're the QB at Texas and people with Southern accents are screaming it -- just kept bouncing around, nodding his head, never really saying much until finally the moment hit him.
It came right after The Eyes of Texas concluded, right after that cannon fired for what felt like the millionth time, right after the Longhorns had done again what it is they couldn't do for those five long years not too long ago: Dominate Oklahoma in a 28-10 beatdown in the Red River Shootout.
"Woooooo!" yelled Colt McCoy, to no one in particular. "Yeahhhh!"
A woo and a yeah.
That's it.
But really, are any more words necessary?
Doesn't that pretty much summarize things?
"After the game was over, the celebration was great," McCoy said 20 minutes later, his vocabulary now expanded for a horde of media in a tent somewhere between the Cotton Bowl, a tilt-a-whirl, a fried Twinkie stand and the other countless things from the State Fair of Texas that make this annual get-together more than just another football game.
"The celebration felt like it should when you win. What a tremendous feeling. I can't even explain it."
There are lots of reasons why No. 7 Texas (5-1) beat No. 14 Oklahoma (3-2) Saturday. To keep it simple, I'll list five, one for each of the Sooner turnovers that doomed Bob Stoops' team more than any Pac-10 official ever could.
Reason No. 1: Those five Oklahoma turnovers.
Reason No. 2: Oklahoma's offensive line was dominated.
Reason No. 3: Oklahoma's defensive line was dominated.
Reason No. 4: Adrian Peterson had as many bad plays as great ones.
Reason No. 5: Colt McCoy grew up.
"Our quarterback was trying to be a leader and motivate," said Texas running back Selvin Young. "I was just telling him, 'Take it over. It's your day.'"
It was his day.
With apologies to Aaron Ross (two interceptions) and Rashad Bobino (10 total tackles), the day indeed belonged to McCoy, the baby-faced quarterback from tiny Tuscola, Texas, who had the impossible task this season of replacing Vince Young for the national champion Longhorns.
From the start, all those eyes of Texas were on McCoy, piercing McCoy, watching his every move. And when he stumbled against top-ranked Ohio State in the second game of the year, there were many who wondered where this was going, and whether the 20-year-old would get straight soon enough to win this big game in Big D, the same game that had some rabid fans calling for Mack Brown's job until he finally bested Oklahoma in 2005 in a prelude to that BCS title.
Now, those doubts are gone.
In a return to the big stage for the first time since that Ohio State defeat, McCoy looked four years removed from that underwhelming performance on national television, not just four weeks. He made reads like a veteran. He checked off like a veteran. He stood tall in the pocket like a veteran, holding firm when Oklahoma's 290-pound Roy Miller came barreling in, never flinching while releasing the pass, taking a hit and watching Jordan Shipley catch the ball in the right corner of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown that gave Texas a 21-10 advantage with 2:46 left in the third quarter.
If you're looking for a game-changing moment, that might be it. More importantly, though, it could be a season-changing moment for Texas. It's a career-changing moment for McCoy, who finished the day 11-for-18 for 108 yards passing, two touchdowns and -- here's the key -- no interceptions.
See, for Texas to go where it wants to go -- and make no mistake, it still wants to go back to that BCS title game -- it needs McCoy to be good. Not Vince Young good. Not wow-did-you-see-that good. But good enough to toss the ball down the field every once in a while, good enough to make plays, good enough to keep the opposition honest, which in turn allows Texas to run the ball with its pair of talented backs.
On Saturday, McCoy was exactly that good. When he saw Limas Sweed isolated on the left side, he hit him for a 33-yard touchdown. When he saw Oklahoma in a 3-5 defense, he found the gap on a quarterback sneak, got low, kept his legs churning and tallied 6 yards that had the Texas portion of the 76,260 people in attendance offering a standing ovation.
To be clear, it was nothing fancy. None of it was the stuff of highlight films. But all of it was clean, smart and effective, the culmination of a month of hard work -- both on the field and off -- that has McCoy's numbers steadily improving as he grows comfortable in this larger-than-life role.
In the four games since that loss to Ohio State, McCoy has completed 49 of 64 passes for 622 yards and eight touchdowns. In the process, he's thrown just one interception, and that's the kind of steadiness Texas needs going forward as it moves toward another Big 12 title, and maybe more.
"My job is to lead this offense," McCoy said simply.
Following a day in which he helped lead Texas to a rout of its rival, it appears the kid with the perfect name is going to be capable of doing exactly that.