With a Healthy Colt, UT's No. 1 Ranking Is the Real McCoy

Some Longhorn football fans will tell you the fabled 15-14 win in 1969 over Arkansas is the game. I lean toward the 1977 UT-OU matchup that saw third-string quarterback Randy McEachern come in after first- and second-teamers Mark McBath and Jon Aune were thrown around the field like rag dolls. McEachern knew that his job was to hand the ball to Heisman-bound Earl Campbell, a brick wall of a man who mowed through defenders. Texas won 13-6 after being held winless in the series for six years.

Which brings us to the Texas Longhorns, Version 2008. Texas played like a No. 1 football team for the first two quarters against Missouri. Period. They were the best in the land and this week's opponents, Crazy Mike Gundy's Oklahoma State Cowboys, should prepare for a swift and thorough bitch-slapping on Saturday. Scores on all five possessions in the half. Held Missouri to a field goal. Colt McCoy, who should have t-shirt makers churning out "Vince who?" models at this moment, was almost perfect while still in this lopsided 56-31 Tiger-beating that wasn't nearly that close. He connected on 29 or 32 passes for 337 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more. He even picked up his own fumble and turned it into a completion. He was a machine.

And the defense was just as good. Missouri, the touted big test for the new No. 1 proved a vapid punching bag with its star QB Chase Daniel savagely cluster-tackled by a Texas defense that has arisen from the grave with grinning Brian Orakpo leading the in-your-face charge. And Texas has found two more receivers in Brandon Collins and sticky-fingered Malcolm Williams.

This is a team that deserves its No. 1 ranking. No doubt about it. The only thing that will stop the Longhorns from winning, save a trip to Lubbock, is attrition. The Horns have already adjusted to losing a quality tight end, but they might crumble if the wrong players go down. First on that list is McCoy. His bootlegs are a delight to watch, but end with a too-long-held breath. And it's not all him; a few key losses on the line as the season winds down could open gaping wounds for the Horns and the bleeding is what kills championship teams. Stay strong, Colt. Nobody remembers Mark McBath. They will remember you if you stay healthy until the bitter end.