AUSTIN (AP) – It was the worst performance by the Texas defense this season.
Oklahoma State, sitting at the bottom of the Big 12, rolled up 250 yards rushing and put up 28 points on a Longhorns defense that had dominated most opponents this season.
While the game will be remembered for quarterback Vince Young’s 506 yards of total offense as Texas rallied to win 47-28, the Cowboys moved the ball almost at will in the first half and had the Longhorns reeling.
It certainly angered senior defensive tackle Rod Wright.
“You won’t see the Texas defense play like that again,” Wright said as the Longhorns (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) prepare to meet Baylor on Saturday.
The Bears (4-4, 1-4) were shut out last week by Texas Tech and will face a Texas team determined to put its worst game of the year far in the past.
“We’re going to talk shutout this week,” Wright said. “We’re going to talk shutout next week. That’s just our mentality as a defense.”
While the Longhorns haven’t posted a shutout since the 2004 season opener, the defense had been dominant at times this season and had done a good job keeping teams out of the end zone.
Against Ohio State, the Buckeyes started three drives in Texas territory but managed just one touchdown in a 25-22 Texas win. Against Texas Tech, the Longhorns gave up 468 yards passing but held the No. 1 scoring offense in the country to 17 points.
Texas defenders said Oklahoma State’s early success was due in part to the Cowboys mixing up their offense and cut blocking on the line of scrimmage. The Longhorns said they just weren’t ready for the early punch by a Cowboys team that didn’t seem capable of posing much of a threat.
Oklahoma State’s Mike Hamilton ran for 194 yards after no opponent had rushed for more than 86 yards this season against Texas. Alex Pena threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Longhorns fell behind 28-9.
“We weren’t real proud of our run defense,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “We’ll try to stop the run first (against Baylor). If you can’t stop the run, you’ve got problems.”
Baylor ranks 10th in the Big 12 in scoring offense (22 points per game) and ninth in rushing (121.8 yards).
Some Texas players admitted the Longhorns were sloppy against Oklahoma State. Texas had a brief visit to No. 1 in the Bowl Championship Series standings last week and had watched film of a team that was generally regarded as the worst in the Big 12.
“We just weren’t as focused as we should be,” said safety Michael Griffin.
Wright seemed embarrassed by the lackluster first half.
“It exposed us a little bit,” he said. “If we’re not playing our game, you can gash us.”
Brown has tried to knock out any chance it could happen again this week against a Baylor team that has played better than its record suggests. The Bears have lost two overtime road games in the Big 12. at Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
Brown said he ran the Longhorns through their toughest practice in weeks Tuesday to shake things up a bit for a team expected to win the Big 12 and play in the Rose Bowl for the BCS championship.
Wright said he expects the Longhorns will return quickly to top form.
“I want to dominate teams because we’re supposed to do it,” he said. “And I know we can.”