DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium — Austin, Texas  •  Nov. 21, 2009 •  Attendance 101,357

There  was  much  to  celebrate  late  into  the darkness  on  the  40 Acres —  and  all points burnt orange — Saturday. Texas had  just put the fnishing touches on a 51-20 victory over a feisty and ready-to-play Kansas team, a win that guaranteed the Horns a Big 12 South title and a berth in the conference championship game Dec. 5 in Arlington.

On Senior Night at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium before an all-time record throng of 101,357 and a national  television audience, the Longhorns partied hard and in all the right ways.

Winning  the  division  for  the  frst  time since 2005 was goal No. 1 coming  into the season, but the triumph against the Jayhawks produced even more memories — including some that may stand the test of time. With the win —  his  43rd  as  a  starter —quarterback Colt McCoy  set  the NCAA  record  for  career QB victories.

“I’m extremely proud of Colt,” offensive coordinator Greg Davis  said  of  his  quarterback’s performance and  the record. “To win more  games  than  anyone who’s  played  the game  is  quite  an  honor,  and  it  couldn’t  go to  a more deserving young man.  I’m  like  a proud father.”

McCoy’s  laser-sharp  passes  to  receiver Jordan  Shipley  (who  caught  10  throws  for a game-high 108 yards against KU) allowed Shipley  to  set a UT  single-season  record  for receiving yards in a season with 1,204, supplanting  the  former  mark  of  1,188  established by Kwame Cavil in 1999.

Most  importantly,  the win  allowed Texas  to  stay on  track  for  the BCS national  title game.  Only  the  Thanksgiving  night  game against rival A&M and the Big 12 Championship game  against Nebraska —  in Cowboys Stadium —  stand between  these Horns  and another trip to Pasadena.

In  the aftermath of  the victory over  the Jayhawks, the 21-member senior class made its way around the rim of the huge stadium and took a ceremonial bow. McCoy escorted a  group  to  the  far  northeast  corner  of  the field and fired off Smokey the Cannon, then turned and gave the huge Big Bertha drum a belt or two for added emphasis.

“I’ve never hit the drum or shot the cannon,” McCoy  said.  “They were  both  pretty sweet. I’m in the Cowboys service organization on  campus,  and  they’ve  always wanted me to pull the cannon, but I was afraid I was going to get a 15-yarder. I guess tonight was the perfect time to do it.”

McCoy hit on 32 of 41 passes  for 396 yards and four touchdowns as he connected with seven different receivers. His touchdown passes were both pretty and picturesque and included  41-  and  12-yard  strikes  to  James Kirkendoll,  a  38-yard  beauty  on  a  crossing pattern  to  Shipley  and  a floated-just-so-perfectly  68-yard  bomb  to Malcolm Williams.

McCoy also ran 12 times, mostly scrambling to keep plays alive.

“I just wanted to come out here and execute because we have  a  long  stretch  ahead of  us,”  McCoy  said.  “Kansas  was  bringing its  safeties up  to  stop  the  run, but our receivers played great, and the offensive line gave me protection. We were able to take advantage  of  our  play-action  stuff tonight.”

The Horns also scored via the rush, as Cody Johnson — again moved to the role  of  short-yardage  back —  rammed home  from  a  yard  out,  and Tre’ Newton  (the  highlighted  back  against Kansas)  added  a  19-yard TD  run  midway through the fourth quarter. Newton led Texas with  66  yards  on  12  carries  and added 36 more on  three catches out of the backfield.

And when UT  didn’t find  the  endzone,  they  still  got  points,  garnering three Hunter Lawrence  field  goals — from 49, 47 and 35 yards, respectively —the first a career-best for the senior placekicker.

The Texas  defense  played  another  solid game,  holding  off  a  Kansas  attack  that was razor-sharp  as  it  racked up 303  yards  (256 through via the pass). The Jayhawks have lost six straight games after beginning the season red-hot.

Todd  Reesing,  the  Jayhawks’  talented senior quarterback  from Austin, did himself proud with a gutsy performance  in  the  face of  a  daunting Horns’  rush  that  sacked him five times. “It was fun playing in the stadium where I grew up watching UT as a kid,” Reesing said. “The outcome isn’t what we wanted, but we did our best, and that’s all you can ask. Texas has probably  the  fastest defense we’ve faced. They’re extremely physical, they know their assignments and they play hard.”