2007 Texas vs. Oklahoma State football game

The 2007 Texas vs. Oklahoma State football game was a college football game played November 3, 2007 between the 2007 Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Oklahoma State (OSU) took an early lead in the game and led 35-14 at the start of the fourth quarter. For the fourth time in five years, the Longhorns staged a big rally to win the game. This time, Texas overcame a 21-point fourth quarter deficit to win 38-35 as time expired. It was the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in Texas Longhorn history.
Before the game
Through 2006, Texas had played the OSU Cowboys football program 21 times and held a 19-2 record from 1916 through 2006. Texas came into the 2007 game with a nine-game active winning streak against OSU. The Cowboys' only two victories occurred in 1944 and 1997.
Since then, Texas had won every game, but most have been close-fought contests. Texas won the 1998 game 37-34 on a Kris Stockton field goal with 3 seconds left. In 2000, Texas trailed 7-3 before scoring 39 unanswered points. In 2001, Texas trailed by 10 in the first quarter but ultimately won 45-17. Texas made an interception to preserve a 17-15 win in 2002.
In three of the last four meetings, the Longhorns needed come-from-behind rallies in order to win. The 2003 Longhorns fell behind by 10 in the first quarter but won 55-16. Over the three meetings from 2003-05, the Longhorns outscored the Cowboys by a combined second-half score of 118-0. The pre-game festivities included an appearance by Challenger, the first bald eagle ever trained to free-fly into sports stadiums, and a fly-over by four F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Oklahoma Air National Guard’s 138th Fighter Wing piloted by Oklahoma State alumni.
Second quarter
Cowboy quarterback Zac Robinson scored a rushing touchdown on that drive to give OSU a 21-point lead. Texas narrowed the lead back to 14 with an eight-play drive that culminated in a touchdown by Jamaal Charles. The Horns' defense forced the Cowboys to try for a field goal and the 37-yard attempt by Jason Ricks was no good. Texas pulled within 7 points on a 20-yard touchdown pass from McCoy to tight end Jermichael Finley. The Cowboys fumbled the ball to the Longhorns at the Texas 23-yard line, but the Longhorns could not make a first down and they were forced to punt. OSU took over at their 36-yard line with 4:00 left in the half. From there, the Cowboys scored on a pass to Brandon Pettigrew to take a 28-14 lead into half-time. In the 2006 Nebraska game Bailey kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired. At the time, he was a walk-on player who was not even listed on the Longhorn depth chart.
Analysis
Fox Sports selected Jamaal Charles and Jacob Lacey as their player-of-the-game for Texas and Oklahoma State, respectively. ESPN remarked, "For the second straight week, Jamaal Charles led a late charge for the 15th-ranked Longhorns. He scored two of his three touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Texas (No. 14 AP) outscored Oklahoma State 24-0 in the final 15 minutes." Kirk Bohls, also writing for the Statesman, said "Texas may be the prettiest ugly team in the country, but winning hides a lot of blemishes". Bohls pointed out that Texas had won five games (during 2007) in which the team has trailed and that three times Texas has had to recover an onsides kick to preserve their win. He credited Texas' customary no-huddle, hurry-up offense and their confidence for seeing them to victory in pressure packed games. He also opined that the Horns might be the best two-loss team in college football and that they might make it into a Bowl Championship Series game. and likely eliminated their chance of winning the Big 12 Conference South Division. OSU offensive coordinator Larry Fedora called the loss "gut-wrenching".
Defensive coordinator Tim Beckman added, "I’m extremely disappointed for the seniors, the fans and for everybody involved with Cowboy football."
The Stillwater News Press reported, "It’s almost too much to take, hearing that Twilight Zone music playing as it happens in front of you. There’s not enough antacid in this community for Oklahoma State football fans, as they were witness to another gut-grinder at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday afternoon...24 unanswered points, all coming in a 311-yard fourth quarter for the Longhorns. It was the kind of comeback that probably made a lot of people in attendance want to puke."

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