By Wendell Barnhouse | wendell@big12sports.com
Big 12 Sports.com Correspondent

DALLAS - When your quarterback has to make a key tackle, chances are your team isn't in a great position to win. And chances are the QB might not even make the tackle.

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy had an imperfect day on offense but a perfect day as a defender. His lock-down, one-on-one tackle of Oklahoma's Brian Jackson kept the Sooners defensive back from returning a McCoy interception for a touchdown that would have given OU the lead.

"Colt didn't miss a tackle all day," Texas coach Mack Brown cracked.

Easy for him to make jokes. Brown's second-ranked Longhorns played well enough to lose but still ended up winning. Texas won the Red River Rivalry for the fourth time in the last five games with a homely 16-13 verdict over the 20th-ranked Sooners (3-3, 1-0).

The first Bowl Championship Series standings will be announced Sunday. Florida and Alabama are expected to occupy the top two spots. No matter where the Longhorns are in Week One of the BCS, they know that they've lasted this long with a zero in the loss column. Texas got some help Saturday with one-loss lurkers Ohio State and Virginia Tech losing road games. BCS projections had the Hokies at No. 3 in the first BCS standings but that's no longer possible.

The Longhorns (6-0, 3-0 in the Big 12) are still in the national championship hunt because they walked out of the Cotton Bowl with a victory that had more twists, turns, ups and downs than a State Fair rollercoaster. And there were times the game was as distorted as the images in a fun house mirror.

Of all the big plays in all the Red River Rivalry games in all the world (Casablanca reference), McCoy made the worst and the best on one snap. The goat/hero status flipped in a matter of seconds.

After Aaron Williams' leaping interception gave Texas a first down at the OU 20, the Longhorns were in position to pad their flimsy 16-13 lead. On third and two, McCoy tried a slant pass to freshman Marquise Goodwin. A similar play had resulted in UT's only touchdown.

Goodwin adjusted his route, McCoy misread the play and Jackson jumped in for a clean pick around the OU 10 yard line. Ahead of him lay 90 yards of green grass.

"I knew I was gonna make the tackle 'cause I was so mad I threw the interception," said McCoy, who was 21-of-39 for 127 yards.

"That was a great tackle, play of the game," Texas safety Earl Thomas said. "His (tackling) form? Ah, I don't know. He might have closed his eyes."

Thomas ended the Sooners' possession following McCoy's interception by picking off Landry Jones after OU had reached its own 45.

Landry Jones? Yeah. Yet another plot twist to this game was that Jones had to make his second relief appearance. Sam Bradford, who suffered a sprained throwing shoulder late in the first half of the Sooners' opener against BYU, lasted less than five minutes against Texas.

On OU's second possession, Bradford was sacked for a loss of 17 by a blitzing Williams. Bradford fell on his right shoulder and didn't return. He might have been the only spectator among the 96,009 not in crimson or burnt orange; Bradford watched the second half from the sidelines wearing a gray t-shirt.

"It's extremely frustrating the way this season has gone for me," said Bradford, who completed 2-of-6 passes for 77 yards on OU's opening drive for a field goal. "I missed three games, came back to start here, get hurt again and not finish … it's hard to put into words the frustration I feel right now."

Frustration is also the operative word for both offenses. The Sooners finished with 311 yards (and five turnovers), the Longhorns with 269. Any offensive momentum for either team was squelched by a combined 21 penalties for 228 yards. Oklahoma's minus 16 yards rushing was its fewest in 104 games in this series.

Oklahoma woulda coulda shoulda taken control in the first quarter but two of their first three drives produced field goals instead of touchdowns.

"That's a win for us," Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said. "We came off the field after those two possessions and told our guys we'd won because we kept 'em out of the end zone."

It didn't appear Texas would ever find the end zone. Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables lined up his players to negate UT's passing game and its four- and five-wide receiver sets.

"Give all the credit to Oklahoma," McCoy said. "They came with four or five different defenses that I had never seen in my life. We came in thinking we'd have the middle of the field open and they completely took that away from us."

Texas' only first-half points came courtesy of a muffed punt by OU's Dominique Franks that the Longhorns recovered at the Sooners' 18. The "drive" to set up Hunter Lawrence's 42-yard field goal (his first of three) went backward six yards.

Twice in the second quarter, OU linebacker Keenan Clayton jumped short out routes and dropped interceptions. Particularly on the second drop, a catch likely would have resulted in a pick six.

"That's what I'm saying about this season: We're a play or two away," said Sooners' coach Bob Stoops, whose team has lost three games by a total of five points. "That second one was as pretty and in his hands as he can be. He just didn't catch it. That's part of the game. That's how close it's been for us this season."

If not for a late first-half "surge" Texas would have had more penalty yards than total yards at intermission. As it was, the Longhorns had 99 yards on 38 plays and had just 40 yards on 16 attempts - with 23 of those coming on a McCoy run that ended with him losing a fumble.

In the second half, Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis used tight end Greg Smith in more formations and the Longhorns rededicated themselves to running the ball. UT gained 102 yards on 24 second-half attempts. Fozzy Whittaker had a career-high 18 carries for a season-high 71 yards … and no doubt had the best RRR game of anyone named Foswhitt.

Goodwin's 14-yard touchdown catch was one of his four receptions for a team-best 36 yards. The freshman from nearby Garland, Texas went to UT on a track-and-field scholarship. Because of his summer competition in that sport, Goodwin was one of the last players who show up for preseason practice.

"There are a lot of track guys who can't play football," Brown said. "There are a lot of guys who are fast but can't cut, can't get open. He's really good. I watched him two-a-days and said, 'Guys, we've got to get this guy on the field.'"

The 5-9, 170-pound Goodwin shrugged off OU safety Quinton Carter's tackle attempt at the 5-yard line. His diving 11-yard sideline reception helped set up Lawrence's game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter.

If the Longhorns can win their third Big 12 Conference title, chances are (assuming they lose no more than once) they'll play for the national championship. The defense is playing at a level worthy of a crystal football. The offense?

"The good news is we haven't played our best yet," Brown said. After scoring just three offensive TDs in the last two games, he had better be right.

"We're 6-0," said McCoy, who has five turnovers (2 interceptions, 3 lost fumbles) in the last two games. "The good thing is we haven't played up to our potential. It might be scary if we start playing really well."

What's scary for Texas fans is that McCoy injured his right thumb in the first quarter. His hand hit the helmet of OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and the nail was nearly torn off. The question is whether there's any damage to ligaments or if the injury will limit McCoy's effectiveness.

"This was a hard-fought win," said Brown, whose team will play at Missouri Saturday. "Obviously, this is where we start, not where we finish."