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Brinkley helps Houston to upset over Oklahoma State

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Brandon Brinkley makes an interception against Oklahoma State last season.
  • Wes Bloomquist •
  • Originally published September 16, 2009 at 10:21 p.m., updated September 16, 2009 at 10:30 p.m.

Brandon Brinkley and his Houston Cougars teammates believed it was possible even if almost no one gave them a chance.

Unranked and representing Conference USA, thinking of upsetting then No. 5-ranked Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. seemed like an impossible feat. After all, the Cowboys had just beat the University of Georgia in the first week of the college football season.

But Houston pulled the upset, taking a 45-35 win over the Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday.

"It was awesome to go in there and play the way we did," said Brinkley, a three-year starting cornerback who graduated from Bay City. "That stadium gets crazy."

With the win, Houston earned its first national ranking in 18 seasons, coming in at No. 21 after their first win over a top-five opponent since it beat No. 3 Texas 29-15 in 1981.

"We have to be able to move on and stay focused on our goals," said Brinkley, a senior kinesiology major. "We really enjoyed the win, but we still have tons of goals for this team."

Brinkley, who came into the season with seven career interceptions and 122 tackles, had four tackles in the win over the Cowboys and also had a pass breakup. For the season, he six tackles and also recovered a fumble in the Cougars' 55-7 win over Northwestern State to start the season.

The Cougar defense limited OSU quarterback Zac Robinson to 240 yards passing and wide receiver Dez Bryant to five receptions.

"You can't take anything away from him," said Brinkley, who held his own against Bryant in coverage. "He's probably the best receiver in the country. It makes you feel pretty good as a defense to be able to stop them once."

Houston is off this week before hosting Texas Tech next week at Robertson Stadium.

"I think Tech is going to be even harder," Brinkley said. "They're going to throw the ball all over the field like our offense does. That's hard as a defense to stop every play."

FOOTBALL

Tre Gray (Cuero) caught six passes for 68 yards and a 6-yard touchdown to help lead Richmond to a 16-15 win over Delaware on Saturday.

Kyle Noack (Cuero) threw for 95 yards and a touchdown and Rocky Vaclavick (Edna) had an interception in Mary Hardin-Baylor's 42-7 win over Southern Nazarene.

Chris Baer (Shiner) and Caleb Urban (Memorial) caught three passes each in Trinity University's 22-21 win over Texas Lutheran. Dennis Grebe (Bay City) led Trinity with six tackles and Justin Campbell (Memorial) started on the Tigers' offensive line. Anthony Smith (Bay City) ran for a touchdown and Trey Parma (Yorktown) played on defense for TLU.

Dustin Appling (El Campo) caught one pass for 29 yards and recorded two tackles in Texas A&M-Kingsville's 39-7 win over East Central Oklahoma. Aaron Buckley (Palacios) also had a tackle for the Javelinas, while Tim Byerly (Memorial) started on the offensive line.

Thomas Byrne (Memorial) and Keith Barefield Jr. (Memorial) played for Northwest Oklahoma State University in a loss to Black Hills State on Saturday. Barefield started at tight end and caught one pass for eight yards while Thomas had one tackle and gained 13 yards on one carry.

Hank Gilley (St. Joseph) helped lead Midwestern State to a 52-3 win over Northeastern State. The victory propelled the Mustangs to a No. 24 ranking in this week's American Football Coaches' Association Division II Poll.

Soccer

Korey Schroeder (Memorial) made seven saves in goal to help lead West Texas A&M to a 3-1 win over UT-Permian Basin on Sunday.

VOLLEYBALL

Jess Morris (Goliad) had two digs in Texas A&M-Kingsville's 26-24, 25-23, 25-12 win over Texas A&M-International. The win improved the Javelinas to 9-3 on the season.


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