No. 3 Texas 41, No. 13 Oklahoma State 14

Stillwater, Okla. — A greedy Texas defense is making Colt McCoy’s life so much easier.

Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas each returned interceptions for touchdowns, and Cody Johnson had two short TD runs as the No. 3 Longhorns routed No. 13 Oklahoma State, 41-14, on Saturday night to establish themselves as the clear frontrunner in the Big 12 South.

McCoy had an efficient 171-yard performance and threw his 100th career touchdown pass, and the Longhorns avoided the kind of letdown on Halloween weekend that cost them a chance to play for the Big 12 and national championships a year ago.

Texas (8-0, 5-0) came in with the nation’s toughest defense against the run, then played havoc with Zac Robinson and the Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-1) passing attack. Robinson came in as the conference’s top-rated passer after breaking the Cowboys’ record for accuracy in a game last week, but threw a career-high four picks against the Longhorns.

Texas scored 28 points off of Oklahoma State’s five turnovers, with Brown and Thomas cashing in immediately and Johnson scoring on runs of two and one yards after two other takeaways.

That left McCoy, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, needing to do nothing spectacular in front of a Boone Pickens Stadium record crowd of 58,516.

He had a 44-yard pass to Malcolm Williams to set up Hunter Lawrence’s 40-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half. Two plays later, Thomas jumped in front of Hubert Anyiam to intercept Robinson’s pass and race 31 yards untouched into the end zone for a 34-7 Texas lead.

Earlier, Brown scored on a 77-yard return after stepping in front of a pass intended for Dameron Fooks and racing down the OSU sideline. Defensive end Sergio Kindle toppled Robinson to eliminate the final offensive player chasing him.

It was the first time since the 2003 season opener against New Mexico State that Texas returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Future NFL players Derrick Johnson and Michael Huff did it in that game.

No. 22 Oklahoma 42, Kansas State 30

Norman, Okla. — Landry Jones passed for 294 yards and four touchdowns. and DeMarco Murray scored three times to help Oklahoma hold off Kansas State.

Jones was making his fifth career start and first since Sam Bradford announced his career with OU was over because of a shoulder injury.

The red-shirt freshman completed 26 of 37 passes as Oklahoma (5-3, 3-1 Big 12) jumped to a quick 21-0 lead and hung on while Kansas State (5-4, 3-2) twice closed to within five points in the second half.

Two of Murray’s touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, on a six-yard reception and a three-yard run.

Oklahoma stopped Kansas State on downs at the K-State 41 with 4:10 left and Oklahoma’s Quinton Carter intercepted a pass from Grant Gregory at the Sooners two with 42 seconds left.

Missouri 36, Colorado 17

Boulder, Colo. — Danario Alexander caught two touchdown passes while Missouri’s swarming defense had eight sacks and forced four turnovers, helping the Tigers hold off Colorado and end a three-game slide.

The Tigers (5-3, 1-3 Big 12) jumped out to a big lead, scoring 33 straight points, and appeared on their way to another rout of Colorado (2-6, 1-3).

Instead, the Tigers had to hold off the Buffaloes’ second-half surge. The defense came up big in the final quarter, ending three Colorado drives on fourth-down stops and another on an interception.

Derrick Washington rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown, while Alexander finished with eight catches for 123 yards.

Blaine Gabbert hardly looked hobbled by a right ankle sprain in the first half, leading the Tigers to a 33-3 lead at halftime.

Nebraska 20, Baylor 10

Waco, Texas — Freshman Cody Green led Nebraska to points on its first three drives in his first college start as the Cornhuskers ended a two-game losing streak.

Justin Blatchford returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, Dontrayevous Robinson added a rushing score and Jared Crick had a school record of five sacks to help Nebraska (5-3, 2-2 Big 12) beat Baylor (3-5, 0-4) for the 10th straight time.

Texas A&M 35, Iowa State 10

College Station, Texas — Jerrod Johnson threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score, and Texas A&M’s offense dominated in the Aggies’ victory.

Cyrus Gray rushed for 119 yards and Christine Michael had a touchdown run for A&M (5-3, 2-2 Big 12), which gained 501 yards, went 10-for-13 on third-down conversions and never punted.