Longhorned

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Texas wide receiver Quan Cosby played four years of minor-league baseball, but saved his biggest home run for the final minute of the Longhorns' 24-21 win over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night.

Quarterback Colt McCoy led Texas on a 11-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Cosby catching a 26-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds to play to extend Ohio State's frustration in bowl games.

McCoy's throw to Cosby took the wind out of an Ohio State comeback that looked like it might have a storybook ending for both the Buckeyes and senior quarterback Todd Boeckman.

Texas, after falling behind 6-3 at halftime, dominated the third quarter to go up 17-6, heading into the final 15 minutes of the game.

McCoy (41 of 59 for 414 yards) scrambled 14 yards for a touchdown that put Texas in front 10-6, then came back to throw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Cosby to give the Longhorns a 17-6 lead with 1:04 left in the third quarter.

Ohio State chipped away at that lead, starting with a 44-yard field goal by Aaron Pettrey with 13:22 left in the game.

Then Boeckman, who got more playing time than at any time since he lost his starting job to freshman Terrelle Pryor four games into the season, connected on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Pryor with 7:26 left to make it a 17-15 game.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel had said he would play the two quarterbacks together against Texas and did on several occasions. It was a drastic turnaround from the rest of the season, when Tressel kept Boeckman on the bench even in situations where it appeared Ohio State needed more of a passing threat.

Boeckman (5 of 11 for 110 yards) completed two big passes in a 8-play, 73-yard drive that sent Ohio State ahead 21-17 with 2:05 to play. First, he hit tight end Jake Ballard with a 21-yard toss, then came back with a 22-yarder to wide receiver Brian Robiskie.

The go-ahead score came on a 15-yard run by tailback Dan Herron. Ohio State went for a two-point conversion and Boeckman hit Pryor again, but the conversion was overturned by a pass interference call. On the second try, Pryor's pass was incomplete.

Texas had one more drive left, though.

The Longhorns' coach Mack Brown praised McCoy's steady hand in the winning drive. "He's very confident. He never thinks he's going to lose and he rarely does," he said.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said, "I can't tell you how proud I am of these guys (Ohio State's seniors). I wanted so bad to send them out winners."

The two-quarterback system was something he used more because there was more time to prepare two QBs, he said.

"As far as Terrelle and Todd, both did their best to do what they could do for us," Tressel said.

No. 3 Texas (12-1) thought it should have been playing in the BCS national championship game instead of Oklahoma, which it beat 45-35 during the regular season.

After getting the victory, Brown made his case for the Longhorns being No. 1.

"I wasn't sure before, but Friday morning I'm going to vote Texas No. 1 (in the coaches poll) because I think this is the best team in the country," he said.

Ohio State (10-3) lost for the third straight year in a BCS bowl game.

Tailback Chris Wells rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries, but had only 10 yards on four carries in the second half. Pryor was 5 of 14 passing for 66 yards and rushed for 78 yards on 15 carries.

Ohio State led 6-3 at halftime, mainly on the strength of a defensive effort that pressured McCoy, sacking him two times and intercepting him when Texas threatened to get at least a field goal in the final minute of the opening half.

In the opening half, the Buckeyes held a Texas offense averaging 43.9 points a game without a touchdown. Offensively, Ohio State gained 204 yards and got 148 of that on the ground, more than twice the average of 73.6 yards a game the Longhorns gave up in their first 12 games.

The Buckeyes jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a 51-yard field goal by Aaron Pettrey with 39 seconds left in the first quarter.

Though that kick drew cheers from Ohio State fans, it might have made the superstitious among them shudder, since OSU scored first in each of its BCS title games the previous two seasons.

Texas evened the score 3-3 on a 27-yard field goal by Hunter Lawrence on its first possession after Pettrey's kick.

Ohio State regained the lead on a 29-yard field goal by Ryan Pretorius with 5:39 to play in the first half.