Dallas ? Vince Young and Texas are legitimate contenders now. And not just in the Big 12 Conference.

Sure, everyone knew the Longhorns and their senior quarterback were talented. They beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day and this season are ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press college football poll, behind only defending national champion Southern Cal.

But until the Longhorns’ impressive 25-22 comeback victory at Ohio State over the weekend, few seemed willing to anoint Texas a primary challenger to USC or Young as a serious Heisman Trophy candidate to challenge the reigning winner, Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart.

“Coming up here, everybody picked us to lose,” coach Mack Brown said. “Nobody gave us a chance.”

And that was just in the game against the then-No. 4 Buckeyes, who hadn’t lost a nonconference home game in 15 years. Texas had lost nine straight to top 10 teams.

Their outlook suddenly is much rosier. And they know it.

“Thanks for coming,” Young shouted at Ohio State fans while he was leaving the field Saturday night. “But we’re going to the Rose Bowl.”

If the Longhorns can get back to the Rose Bowl in January, this time it would be for the national championship – and likely against USC.

Texas University's Roy Miller celebrates the Longhorns' 25-22 victory over Ohio State. No. 2-ranked UT beat then-No. 4 OSU on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

OK, so there is that little matter of the Big 12 still in front of them. Plus, that big red thorn in their side known as Oklahoma, which has beaten Texas five straight years and kept the Longhorns from winning a conference title under Brown despite four straight 10-win seasons.

Texas plays its final nonconference game against Rice, then has a break before beginning Big 12 play at Missouri. The showdown at the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma is Oct. 8.

While it is a tremendous stretch, some could make the argument that perennial last-place Baylor is better at this point than No. 21 Oklahoma, which has been to the last two Bowl Championship Series title games.

Remember, the Bears (2-0 for the first time since 2001) won their season opener at SMU, which Saturday night beat TCU, which had pulled off the first-week shocker in Norman.

(Watch out Texas A&M. Those SMU Mustangs on Saturday will be in College Station).

Sure, we all know that the Sooners would be a heavy favorite against Baylor. But Oklahoma still has some serious problems it has to solve.

Adrian Peterson, a Heisman Trophy finalist as a freshman last season, ran for 220 yards Saturday in a 31-15 victory over Tulsa. Peterson had 180 yards and three touchdowns after halftime when the Sooners didn’t even attempt a pass.

Red-shirt freshman Rhett Bomar was 5-of-13 passing for 42 yards and two interceptions in his first start.

“We need to develop a passing game that our players can execute. For whatever reason, for the past two weeks what we have been doing hasn’t been productive,” coach Bob Stoops said. “That is being about as kind as I can be. We are not going to continue to go through the year like this and not be able to throw the football some.”

Stoops knows Peterson isn’t going to be able to beat teams by himself all season. Plus, UCLA is going to provide a much tougher challenge next weekend than did Tulsa – or TCU.

While the Texas-Ohio State game was much-hyped, and lived up to the billing deserved by a matchup of non-conference powers rarely seen in the regular season, Brown wasn’t the only Big 12 coach who beat a Top 10 opponent.

Iowa State stunned state rival Iowa, 23-3, with the Cyclones getting all of their points after turnovers and holding the then-No. 8 Hawkeyes without a touchdown in their annual game for the first time since 1978. It was coach Dan McCarney’s first win over a Top 10 team, and the first for Iowa State since beating seventh-ranked Nebraska 19-10 in 1992.

“This is the sweetest win over Iowa that I’ve experienced,” said safety Nik Moser, who was around for two other victories over Iowa. “We wanted to prove a point, and I think we did.”

The Cyclones get some time to savor the victory, with a week off before next playing at Army.

“We can enjoy this win a little bit, but we need to come back and focus,” quarterback Bret Meyer said. “It’s great to celebrate, but at the same time we need to remember that going to Army is a business trip.”

Insert QB here: It doesn’t seem to matter who Texas Tech has at quarterback. The passing yards just keep piling up.

Cody Hodges is the third straight fifth-year senior to start for the Red Raiders, watching from the sideline for four seasons before getting their chance. The last two led the nation in passing, and Hodges is already No. 1 after his first game.

Hodges threw for 454 yards and four touchdowns in the Red Raiders’ 56-3 victory over Florida International. He also showed a dimension missing from the past quarterbacks: he ran seven times for 44 yards, including a 17-yard TD run.

“He really does have good pocket presence. It’s not just quick feet or how fast the guy is,” coach Mike Leach said. “It’s sort of instinctual.”

Extra points: Nebraska followed up its 11-quarterback sack performance against Maine in the season opener with five more against Wake Forest. With 16 sacks in two games, the Cornhuskers have already equaled their 2004 total. The Huskers also have four defensive touchdowns, twice as many as the offense. “It’s not an issue or problem,” defensive lineman Titus Adams said. “Nebraska won … not the defense.” … Kansas isn’t missing John Randle, last year’s top rusher who was kicked off the team, as much as it thought it might. Junior Jon Cornish, used primarily on scout teams and special teams in the past, ran for 103 yards and three TDs on 10 carries against Appalachian State. He also scored a TD two weeks ago.