Texas Longhorns top Ohio State Buckeyes in dramatic fashion

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Colt McCoy got the best of Ohio State this time.

The Texas quarterback was just a wide-eyed freshman playing his second college game in 2006 when No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Texas met in Austin and the Buckeyes waltzed out of town with a 24-7 victory that was a baptism of big hits.

That was then.

The savvy McCoy of 2009, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, is no comparison to the player of three years ago.

Dusting off the dirt after several big hits — and two illegal blows to the head — McCoy passed for 414 yards and two touchdowns, the second to Quan Cosby with 16 seconds to play, to carry third-ranked Texas to a 24-21 win over No. 10 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night.

McCoy finished with a school-record 41 completions and ran for Texas' first touchdown in the Longhorns' fifth straight bowl win.

McCoy's gritty performance could make him the clear favorite to win the Heisman next season if 2008 winner Sam Bradford of Oklahoma decides to leave for the NFL.

McCoy was at his best in the third quarter and on the final drive.

With Texas (12-1) trailing 6-3, he scored the Longhorns' first touchdown on a 14-yard run when he spun around Buckeyes cornerback Malcolm Jenkins. The defender had ducked his head and must have been surprised when McCoy easily danced around him to get into the end zone.

Texas' second TD came when McCoy rolled to his right, spotted Jordan Shipley in the end zone and fired just as Cosby, who was running the other way, stepped in for the grab and the score.

McCoy, pumping his fist, danced all the way back to the bench.

None of it came easy.

The Buckeyes battered McCoy all game, sacking him twice and knocking him down numerous other times. Twice in the first half he took shots to the head by defensive lineman Thaddeus Gibson. On one sack, Gibson wrapped up McCoy with both arms, picked him up and slammed him down like a wet fish.

But that was in the first half. In the second, McCoy had found his rhythm and Texas was on a roll.

After Ohio State (10-3) took a 21-17 lead on Terrelle Pryor's catch late in the fourth, McCoy coolly drove the Longhorns to the winning touchdown. With 16 seconds left, Texas had time for maybe three more plays when McCoy fired a dart to Cosby across the middle. Cosby slipped a tackle and dived into the end zone without a Buckeye defender within 10 yards.