UT redemption comes with OU win

ROOTING FOR OU?! — Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and the Longhorns need archrival Oklahoma to pull an upset of Texas Tech this weekend so the 'Horns can move back up in the BCS poll. AUSTIN (AP) — The Texas Longhorns were inspired after hearing Sanya Richards' firsthand account of her Olympic redemption.

After a needed rebound victory over Baylor, the Longhorns gave the game ball to the Texas alum who failed to win gold at Beijing in the individual event she had dominated, but who later ran the anchor lap in the 1,600-meter relay that gave the U.S. women a gold medal.

"No one knows more about a defeat at the toughest time of her life," coach Mack Brown said, relaying the bounce-back message Richards delivered to the team during the week. "You feel worse than you've ever felt, like you guys felt this week after the Tech game. ... But it feels even better to come back."

The Longhorns (9-1, 5-1 Big 12) feel a lot better after beating Baylor 45-21 on Saturday, a week after a last-second loss at Texas Tech knocked them out of the No. 1 spots in the AP poll, Bowl Championship Series standings and Big 12 South.

"Getting a win back under our belt, everybody's got the motivation," linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy said. "We're all high again."

The big problem for the Longhorns is they may not get the same opportunity at redemption as Richards, who, days before winning the team gold, had twice led the 400- meter individual final but slowed down because of a tightening hamstring to finish with a disappointing bronze medal.

No matter what Texas does the rest of the season, it may not get back in position for a shot at the college football equivalent of a gold medal — the national title.

Or even the Big 12 championship.

Penn State suffered its first loss Saturday, allowing Texas to move up to fourth in the AP poll, a slot above Oklahoma. The Longhorns moved up a spot in the new BCS standings to third, two ahead of the Sooners.

No. 1 Alabama survived overtime to win at LSU, but the even bigger obstacle for the Longhorns is Texas Tech. The Red Raiders validated and solidified their No. 2 ranking by following their monumental victory over Texas with a 56-20 dismantling of Oklahoma State.

If Texas wins next weekend at struggling Kansas, Longhorns fans will then have to do something that will be difficult, but necessary: root for Oklahoma.

The Sooners' next game is Nov. 22 at home against Texas Tech, which would be able to clinch the Big 12 South with a win at Norman.

Texas did all it could Saturday, improving to 11-0 against Baylor (3-7, 1-5) under Brown.

Colt McCoy completed 26 of 37 passes for 300 yards with five touchdowns to four different receivers even while not playing the last 13 minutes. Quan Cosby caught eight passes for 111 yards and two TDs after limited practice because of a back injury.

McCoy threw TD passes on Texas' first two drives, the first with a 35-yarder to Cosby. But Baylor freshman quarterback Robert Griffin scored on a 1-yard keeper and threw a 55-yard touchdown in a 4-minute span of the second quarter to tie it at 14.

Texas got the tiebreaking score when Ryan Palmer picked off a deflected pass, only Griffin's second interception this season, and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown.

"When Palmer made that play, it was big for us," McCoy said. "It got the momentum rolling."

Texas made it 28-14 before halftime on McCoy's 26-yard TD to Cosby. Baylor went three-and-out its first two second-half drives, and McCoy responded with TD passes both times.

Griffin had runs of 63 and 37 yards to go with his 55-yard TD pass to Kendall Wright, and Jay Finley added a 40-yard TD run. Take out those four plays that gained 195 yards and Baylor managed only 77 yards its other 45 snaps.

The loss ensured Baylor's 13th consecutive losing season, the first under new coach Art Briles, and eliminated any chance of becoming bowl eligible.

"It hurts. It hurts like hell," safety Jordan Lake said. "It's one thing we wanted to change this year. We wanted to go to a bowl."

Baylor is the only Big 12 team that hasn't had a winning season or been to a bowl since the league's inception in 1996.

With its 11th straight nine-win season, the nation's longest active streak, Texas will certainly be going to another bowl.

The issue for the Longhorns is whether they get the chance to go for the gold.