Texas Comeback Feels Familiar

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 Saturday night in a Big 12 Conference game at Stillwater, Okla.

In the last three meetings, the Longhorns have outscored the Cowboys, 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 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.

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 bowl championship series standings, but the late rally could limit the damage.

“We did not even start off flat,” Young said. “If you watch film, we were playing our game. It was because they were pumped and they were excited, especially being at home in front of their fans. Who’s not going to be excited playing the No. 1 team in the nation?”

Texas is No. 1 in the BCS standings but No. 2 in the Associated Press, coaches and Harris Interactive polls.

Young ignited the comeback with an 80-yard touchdown scramble on the third play of the second half and had an eight-yard touchdown 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.

No. 5 Alabama 35, Utah State 3 -- Brodie Croyle threw three touchdown passes and D.J. Hall set a receiving record to lead the Crimson Tide (8-0) over the Aggies (2-5) in a nonconference game at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Hall finished with 11 catches for 157 yards, becoming the first Alabama receiver to have consecutive games with at least 10 receptions. Hall caught 10 balls for 139 yards last week.

No. 6 Miami 34, North Carolina 16 -- Tyrone Moss rushed for career highs of 195 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Hurricanes (6-1, 3-1) to a come-from-behind victory over the Tar Heels (3-4, 2-2) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Miami.

Miami trailed, 16-7, at halftime but scored three touchdowns in an eight-minute span of the third quarter to take control. The Hurricane defense held North Carolina to 18 yards of offense in the second half.

No. 7 Louisiana State 56, North Texas 3 -- Shyrone Carey ran for two touchdowns and fellow backup tailback Justin Vincent had a touchdown run as the Tigers (6-1) rolled over the Mean Green (2-5) in a nonconference game at Baton Rouge, La.

LSU won its fifth straight and 13th consecutive nonconference game.

No. 10 Florida State 35, Maryland 27 -- Drew Weatherford and James Coleman scored fourth-quarter touchdowns to lift the Seminoles (7-1, 5-1) over the Terrapins (4-4, 2-3) in an ACC game at Tallahassee, Fla.

Weatherford’s 15-yard run with 8:52 left gave the Seminoles a 28-27 lead and they scored three minutes later on Coleman’s one-yard run. Coleman’s score was set up by Ernie Sims’ interception.

No. 17 Texas Tech 28, Baylor 0 -- Taurean Henderson ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and Cody Hodges threw for another as the Red Raiders (7-1, 4-1) overcame three terrible quarters to defeat the Bears (4-4, 1-4) in a Big 12 game at Waco, Texas.

Texas Tech is off to its best start since 1976 when the team went 8-1, and the Red Raiders have won 10 straight over Baylor. The shutout was Tech’s first since 2002 and its first ever in a Big 12 road game.

No. 19 Auburn 27, Mississippi 3 -- Brandon Cox passed for 205 yards and a touchdown, and Kenny Irons ran for 101 yards and another score to lead the Tigers (6-2, 4-1) over the Rebels (3-5, 1-4) in a Southeastern Conference game at Auburn, Ala.

No. 20 Texas Christian 23, San Diego State 20 -- Cory Rodgers ran six yards for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter and David Roach had an interception in the end zone as the Horned Frogs (8-1, 6-0) held off the Aztecs (3-6, 2-4) in a Mountain West Conference game at San Diego.

No. 22 Fresno State 27, Hawaii 13 -- Wendell Mathis ran for 229 yards and three touchdowns, including a 78-yarder in the fourth quarter, to lead the Bulldogs (6-1, 4-0) over the Warriors (3-5, 3-3) in a Western Athletic Conference game at Honolulu for their first win at Aloha Stadium since 1994.

South Carolina 16, No. 23 Tennessee 15 -- Josh Brown kicked a 49-yard field goal with 2:45 left and the Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3) held on to defeat the Volunteers (3-4, 2-4) in an SEC game at Knoxville, Tenn., to end a 12-game losing streak to Tennessee.

OTHER GAMES

Adrian Peterson ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns and Oklahoma (5-3, 4-1) held on for a 31-24 win over Nebraska (5-3, 2-3) at Lincoln, Neb., giving the Cornhuskers consecutive losses in the same season for the first time since 1968. For the first time in 40 Oklahoma-Nebraska games, neither team was ranked.... Jordan Palmer threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns to lead Texas El Paso (6-1, 4-1) to a 38-31 Conference USA victory at Houston over Rice (0-7, 0-4), extending the Owls’ nation-leading losing streak to 13 games. Palmer became UTEP’s career total offense leader with 6,138 yards.

Curtis Brown rushed for 219 yards and four touchdowns to lead Brigham Young (4-4, 3-2) to a 62-41 victory over Air Force (3-6, 2-5) in a Mountain West game at Provo, Utah, and guaranteeing consecutive losing seasons for the Falcons for the first time under Coach Fisher DeBerry.... Brian Leonard and Ray Rice each ran for two touchdowns and Rutgers (6-2) became bowl eligible and clinched its first winning regular season since 1992 with a 31-21 nonconference victory over Navy (4-3) at Piscataway, N.J.... Chris Barclay rushed for 204 yards and broke the school career rushing record in leading Wake Forest (4-5, 3-3) to a 44-6 win over Duke (1-8, 0-6) in an ACC game at Durham, N.C. Barclay surpassed the mark of James McDougald, who had 3,811 yards from 1976 to ’79.