Published: November 01, 2009 01:08 am         

Robinson throws 4 interceptions in 41-14 loss

STILLWATER (AP) — 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 de-fense 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 2 and 1 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 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 opener against New Mexico State Texas returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Future NFL players Derrick Johnson and Michael Huff did it in that game.

Blake Gideon and Chykie Brown had picks as Robinson exceeded his interception total from the first seven games of the season and doubled the amount he’d ever had in a single game.

Robinson finished 15 for 28 for 143 yards and one touchdown, a meaningless 6-yard toss to Justin Blackmon after the Longhorns already had a 41-7 advantage.

For the second straight week, McCoy was able to spend most of the fourth quarter watching freshman Garrett Gilbert run the offense in a blowout.

It was quite the turnaround from last Halloween weekend, when Texas Tech knocked off the top-ranked Longhorns 39-33 to spoil their bid for an undefeated season.

The blowout was a rarity in a series that had seen Texas rally from deficits of 28, 21 and 19 points win in the previous five meetings. Mack Brown moved to 12-0 against the Cowboys.

Oklahoma State was in a gambling mood early on, going for it on fourth down three times in the first half and converting twice. But the Cowboys ended up with little to show for it. Anyiam, filling in for ineligible All-America receiver Dez Bryant, dropped a potential touchdown pass on OSU’s failed fourth-down try and Dan Bailey also missed a 45-yard field goal in the first half.

Anyiam’s fumble, recovered by Gideon, set up the Texas offense for its first touchdown and a 10-0 lead — and it ended up being a sign of things to come.

Kendall Hunter, the Big 12’s leading rusher last season, returned after missing five weeks with an ankle injury but had just one rush for 1 yard — immediately before Thomas’ interception return.