Media Credit: Peter Franklin Texas tight end Jermichael Finley goes up and makes a catch against Kansas State. Finley ended as the Longhorns' leading receiver with four catches and 51 yards, but the Wildcats won 41-21.

Texas lost three games last year. Texas lost to Kansas State last year.

Heck, Texas even lost a rare game on its home turf in 2006 to rival Texas A&M, so there's nothing completely new about what happened to the Longhorns on Saturday.

But every loss cuts just as deep.

"We're not used to losing around here," said Texas coach Mack Brown. "Especially like that."

The No. 7 Longhorns fell 41-21 to an unranked Wildcats squad in front of 84,864 unhappy fans at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, marking their first loss of the 2007 season and putting them in an early Big 12 Conference hole.

The way Texas (4-1, 0-1 Big 12) lost to Kansas State (3-1, 1-0) might've been even more troubling than the loss itself.

Though they were at home, the Longhorns failed time and again to gain momentum Saturday and, in a situation eerily similar to last season's 45-42 Kansas State win, finished the game without starting quarterback Colt McCoy.

McCoy was thrown to the ground in the second quarter and his helmet bounced off the grass. Though he was able to stand, McCoy seemed woozy after the hit and left early for halftime.

McCoy's playing had already been deteriorating, though. After starting the game 6-for-6, the sophomore gave up two interceptions and had just six more completions before leaving for the locker room.

Though true freshman John Chiles warmed up on the sidelines as the teams prepared for the second-half kick, McCoy started the second half and played through most of it.

In the end though, he had to leave the sidelines after the team doctors determined he could have sustained a mild concussion from the second-quarter play.

"After coming out of the game just before halftime, our physicians evaluated and cleared Colt to play at halftime," said Texas trainer Kenny Boyd in a released statement. "He began showing symptoms of a mild concussion in the fourth quarter, and our medical staff pulled him immediately."

Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis said McCoy was throwing up on the sidelines before the quarterback left the field with a large portion of the Texas fans cheering his exit.

Continued...

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