Oklahoma State has bigger plans for season

Unlike Nebraska a month ago, Oklahoma State wasn't about to waste a chance to pound slumping Texas.

Not with so much negative history nagging at them and so much still at stake this season.

The Cowboys' dominant 33-16 win over the Longhorns - Oklahoma State led by 30 before Texas scored two late touchdowns - wiped away 12 years of frustration in a bitter losing streak.

And more important for this season, it gave them yet another big confidence boost. The Cowboys (9-1, 5-1) are still on top of the Big 12 South and with two games to play, they can focus on chasing their biggest goals: a Big 12 title and a berth in a BCS bowl.

''We can accomplish anything this year,'' Oklahoma State receiver Bo Bowling said.

It would seem like it the way the Cowboys have been slicing up defenses behind quarterback Brandon Weeden, receiver Justin Blackmon and running back Kendall Hunter.

Texas coach Mack Brown certainly was impressed after the Cowboys rolled up 532 yards. The back-breaking play was Blackmon's 67-yard touchdown in the second quarter that beat good coverage by Texas cornerback Aaron Williams.

''He's Michael Crabtree,'' Brown said of Blackmon, ''but stronger.''

Weeden passed for 409 yards and Hunter ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

''This win was big for me personally,'' said Hunter, one of more than 50 Cowboys players from the state of Texas. ''I wanted it badly.''

So did anyone at Oklahoma State who had watched the 12-year losing streak to the Longhorns. The skid included several excruciating collapses when the Cowboys let big leads slip away.

''We were due,'' Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. ''They've had our number for a while.''

The Cowboys play at Kansas next week before hosting Oklahoma in the Bedlam series, a game they haven't won since 2002.

''It's the best Oklahoma State team we've seen,'' Brown said.

Oklahoma State's only loss was to Big 12 North leader Nebraska and a rematch could come in the Big 12 title game.

For Texas, the fourth consecutive home loss just compounded the misery of the worst season in 13 under Brown. Teams that haven't beaten Texas in years are routinely thumping the Longhorns on their home field.

Iowa State got its first win ever against Texas and Baylor followed that a week later with its first win against the Longhorns since 1997.

Texas (4-6, 2-5) is in last place in the division and hasn't won at home since Sept. 11. The Longhorns have lost six of their last seven games. Their 20-13 victory at Nebraska looks more mysterious every week.

Brown said he'll try to pull his team together for the last two games.

First, Texas plays Florida Atlantic, a team that looked like a patsy just a few days ago but now comes to Austin with a three-game winning streak.

Then the Longhorns host rival Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night. The Aggies have won four in a row and still have a chance to force a three-way tie in the South if Oklahoma State stumbles.

Texas must win both games to avoid its first losing season since 1997 and qualify for a bowl.

''I told the kids we've got 12 days left in this season, that's all we've got guaranteed,'' Brown said. ''It's important for the kids to feel like they came back, fought and accomplished something at the end.''