Austin, Texas ? Given the chance to get rich in the NFL, Roy Williams chose college over cash. Texas’ senior wide receiver stayed in school because he wanted to win a national championship.

Beating top-ranked Oklahoma (5-0 overall, 1-0 Big 12 Conference) Saturday — a team that has all but shut down Williams the last three years — would be a huge step toward making that decision pay off.

“Treat this like a national championship,” Williams told his teammates this week. “Because that’s what it is.

“We lose this, it’s either Cotton Bowl or Holiday Bowl,” he said, knowing that the Sugar Bowl, the site of this year’s BCS title game, would be out of reach.

Williams could have been playing for a Super Bowl this year. Already Texas’ career leader in catches (197), yards (3,183) and touchdowns (32), he was considered a lock to be a top-10 pick in last April’s draft.

And while he felt he was ready physically to make the jump, he wasn’t mentally ready to leave college. He wanted to win a Big 12 title, a national championship and the Biletnikoff award as the nation’s best receiver.

And he wanted to beat the Sooners.

To do all of that, Williams decided he needed to be a leader in the locker room as well as on the field.

It was Williams who dressed down his teammates after an early season loss to Arkansas, and he’s the one who organized the players’ short-lived media boycott before the Rice game.

Texas wide receiver roy williams, left, scores past Houston's Hanik Milligan in this file photo.

And it was Williams who went public with the goal of winning the rest of the games on the schedule.

“I just didn’t think a lot of people understood the difference between winning and losing,” he said. “When we lose you’re not supposed to be laughing, joking and having a good time. I saw some of that and we had to get everything straightened out. They were just young and didn’t understand. Me being the senior leader helped them understand.”

Williams mixes it up with the different units, stepping into special teams and defensive huddles to fire up his teammates.

“He’s really amazed us with how he’s stepped up,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “I think the players have put him in that position, too. He’s a guy they all point to. That gives a guy more confidence to lead.

“You give up some of that individualism,” Brown said. “It’s not just about him now, it’s about the team, it’s about winning.”

It nearly backfired on him.

Williams, shown before a team workout, returned for his senior season with the Longhorns for one reason: to win a championship.

With Texas (4-1, 1-0) losing in the fourth quarter to Kansas State, Williams yelled at the offensive line to give quarterback Vince Young more time to throw, only to drop a perfect pass that hit him right in the hands. Williams had a step on his defender and would have scored easily, but the third-down drop killed the drive.

“I threw my mouthpiece about 80 yards and said some harsh things,” Williams said. “They gave us time, and I dropped it.”

He was saved when Young scored the winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak late in the game. Williams said his teammates teased him about the drop.

“They gave it back to me on Sunday. They thought it was funny,” he said. “On that one I was too excited. My adrenaline was going too fast.”

Speed is what makes Williams so dangerous for defenses. NFL scouts love the combination of his size — 6-foot-4, 215 pounds — with speed that makes him a breakaway threat on every play.

The speed was missing from last year’s 35-24 loss to Oklahoma. Williams was hobbled because of a strained hamstring and caught only two passes for 68 yards. One of the catches was a 44-yarder that set up a first-quarter touchdown.

When Texas called for him to run a reverse, he was limping so badly that Sooners defensive lineman Tommie Harris caught him from behind.

Williams is healthy this year and says he’s put the drop against Kansas State behind him.

“That was probably the worst game I’ve ever played in my life: Pop Warner, junior high and high school,” he said.

The Sooners have contained Williams for three straight years, limiting him to 11 catches for 148 yards and no touchdowns.

Williams has 26 catches for 396 yards and five touchdowns this season and is likely to be one of the first picks in the 2004 draft.

But the money will wait until then. Taking care of Oklahoma comes first.

“They’re in the way of our ultimate goal,” Williams said. “The national championship.”