STILLWATER, Okla. --- A greedy Texas defense is making Colt McCoy's life so much easier.

Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas each returned interceptions for touchdowns, and Cody Johnson had two short TD runs as the No. 3 Longhorns routed No. 13 Oklahoma State 41-14 on Saturday night to establish themselves as the clear frontrunner in the Big 12 South.

McCoy had an efficient 171-yard performance and threw his 100th career touchdown pass, and the Longhorns avoided the kind of letdown on Halloween weekend that cost them a chance to play for the Big 12 and national championships a year ago.

Texas (8-0, 5-0) came in with the nation's toughest defense against the run, then played havoc with Zac Robinson and the Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-1) passing attack. Robinson came in as the conference's top-rated passer after breaking the Cowboys' record for accuracy in a game last week, but threw a career-high four picks.

NO. 10 OREGON 47, NO. 4 SOUTHERN CAL 20

In Eugene, Ore., Jeremiah Masoli threw for 222 yards and a touchdown and ran for 164 more yards with another score and Oregon ran past Southern Cal for the Trojans' worst loss since 1997.

Redshirt freshman LaMichael James ran for 184 yards and a score as the Ducks (7-1, 5-0 Pacific-10) racked up 391 yards on the ground against the Trojans.

Southern California (6-2, 3-2) had not lost a game by more than a touchdown since a 27-16 loss to Notre Dame in 2001, Pete Carroll's first season as coach.

It was USC's worst lost since a 35-7 defeat to Arizona State on Oct. 11, 1997.

NO. 5 CINCINNATI 28, SYRACUSE 7

In Syracuse, N.Y., Zach Collaros threw four touchdown passes, the Cincinnati defense forced two critical turnovers and the Bearcats beat Syracuse.

Collaros hit Armon Binns on scoring passes of 81 and 13 yards, Kazeem Alli for 16 yards off a fake field goal, and Adrien Robinson for 4 yards as Cincinnati (8-0, 4-0 Big East) won its 14th consecutive regular-season game to remain in contention for the national championship.

Collaros finished 22 of 28 for 295 yards and no turnovers against Syracuse (3-5, 0-3), playing again in place of injured quarterback Tony Pike.

NO. 6 BOISE STATE 45, SAN JOSE STATE 7

In Boise, Idaho, Kellen Moore threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another to lead Boise State to its eighth consecutive win.

Boise State (8-0, 3-0 Western Athletic Conference) also got plenty of help from its defense, which held the Spartans (1-6, 0-3) to 221 total yards and forced two turnovers that led to touchdowns.

Moore was 21 of 33 before heading to the sidelines at the start of the fourth quarter. His three TD passes gave him 24 this season. His first TD pass was a 61-yarder to younger brother Kirby Moore.

NO. 7 IOWA 42, INDIANA 24

In Iowa City, Iowa, Ricky Stanzi overcame a career-high five interceptions to throw two long touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, helping Iowa rally.

Brandon Wegher had a career-high 118 yards rushing and three TDs for the Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten), who scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to pull off yet another improbable win.

Stanzi threw four interceptions in the third quarter alone, allowing Indiana (4-5, 1-4) to take a 24-14 lead into the fourth quarter.

Stanzi responded by hitting Marvin McNutt for a 92-yard touchdown passes and, moments later, connected with Derrell Johnson-Koulianos from 66 yards to put Iowa ahead 28-24 with 11:38 left.

Wegher made it 35-24 on a 6-yard TD run and added a 27-yard score with 1:12 remaining.

NO. 8 TCU 41, UNLV 0

In Fort Worth, Texas, Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes, Ed Wesley scored running and catching the ball and the TCU defense smothered UNLV to get its first shutout of the season.

It was another dominating performance for the Horned Frogs (8-0, 4-0 Mountain West), who for now are in position to be this season's BCS buster.

TCU won its 10th consecutive game overall, and 12th in a row at home -- a span at Amon Carter Stadium in which the Frogs have outscored their opponents by an average margin of 43-9 since a loss to Utah two years ago. The 19th-ranked Utes will be in Fort Worth in two weeks.

NO. 12 PENN STATE 34, NORTHWESTERN 13

In Evanston, Ill., Penn State shut out Northwestern in the second half and the Nittany Lions scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns in less than four minutes to beat Northwestern.

Daryll Clark threw a 53-yard TD pass to Derek Moye and Evan Royster broke off a 69-yard scoring run to highlight the fourth-quarter surge that took 3 minutes, 40 seconds.

Penn State (8-1 4-1 in the Big Ten) trailed 10-3 in the second quarter when Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka was forced out with a leg injury. And the Nittany Lions were still behind 13-10 at the half. But they blanked the Wildcats and backup QB Dan Persa in the final two quarters and gave coach Joe Paterno his 391st win.

NO. 15 HOUSTON 50, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 43

In Houston, Case Keenum threw for a career-high 559 yards and had five touchdowns, his last coming with 21 seconds remaining, and Houston escaped with a win over Southern Mississippi.

Keenum broke the tie with a 28-yard pass to Patrick Edwards. The Golden Eagles had a chance to tie it, but Martevious Young's heave from midfield was knocked down in the end zone as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

Keenum's other TD passes went for 33, 55, 14 and 17 yards as Houston (7-1, 3-1 Conference USA) won its fourth consecutive game.

NO. 17 OHIO STATE 45, NEW MEXICO STATE 0

In Columbus, Ohio, No. 17 Ohio State needed a tuneup. New Mexico State needed $850,000.

Both got what they wanted Saturday, when Dane Sanzenbacher caught two touchdown passes and Terrelle Pryor threw for one and ran for another.

The game was a respite for Ohio State (7-2), which closes the regular season with pivotal Big Ten games at Penn State, against Iowa and at Michigan. Tempering the win was the possible loss of kicker Aaron Pettrey, who left with an apparent knee injury.

NO. 19 UTAH 22, WYOMING 10

In Salt Lake City, freshman Jordan Wynn passed for 82 yards and a touchdown in his college debut, replacing starter Terrance Cain in the second half and rallying the Utes.

Eddie Wide tied a school record with his fifth straight 100-yard rushing game and added a late touchdown to seal the win for Utah (7-1, 4-0 Mountain West), which trailed 10-3 at halftime.

NO. 22 OKLAHOMA 42, KANSAS STATE 30

In Norman, Okla., Landry Jones passed for 294 yards and four touchdowns and DeMarco Murray scored three times to help Oklahoma hold off Kansas State.

Jones was making his fifth career start and first since Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford announced his career with the Sooners was over because of a shoulder injury.

The redshirt freshman completed 26 of 37 passes as Oklahoma (5-3, 3-1 Big 12) jumped to a quick 21-0 lead and hung on while Kansas State (5-4, 3-2) twice closed to within five points in the second half.

NO. 25 NOTRE DAME 40, WASHINGTON STATE 14

In San Antonio, Golden Tate scored two touchdowns, including a spectacular grab of a desperation heave at the end of the first half, and Notre Dame got its first easy win in almost two months.

Robert Hughes ran for 131 yards on 24 carries and had a touchdown for Notre Dame (6-2), delighting a Texas crowd that was overwhelmingly filled with Fighting Irish fans.