AUSTIN, Texas — If you're looking for anecdotal evidence of Colt McCoy's impact on Texas' psyche, consider the following:

Fresh off a brilliant upset of Oklahoma, ranked No. 1 during the season for the first time in 24 years, Texas egos had reason to swell. McCoy was ready with a needle. He told his teammates after a practice last week that OU was history, Missouri loomed and personal accolades could wait. Then for visual support, he took the most recent copy of Sports Illustrated, the one with his image on the cover, and threw it in the garbage.

Unless anyone suspected that McCoy had a couple of dozen issues back in his room, the message was clear to his teammates.

And now it's obvious to the rest of the nation after a 56-31 trashing Saturday of No. 11 Missouri.

How badly did Texas dominate the Tigers? The Longhorns gave Missouri its worst loss in the Chase Daniel era and made the bearer of that title look ordinary in the process.

How good was McCoy? He certainly didn't hurt his Heisman odds, completing 29 of 32 passes for 337 yards, two touchdowns passing and another couple rushing before a national TV audience.

How good has McCoy been at Royal-Memorial Stadium? He's thrown almost as many touchdowns this season (12) as incompletions (14). In four games in Austin, he's completed 86 percent of his passes.

How good is McCoy? He's having the same impact on this Texas team that Vince Young had on his in 2005, and you might remember where that led.

Any more questions?

Young's single greatest accomplishment in a remarkable career was to make Texas believe in its talent. The Longhorns lined up like soldiers behind him. He gave substance to Texas' swagger.

And McCoy's style? He leads Texas in touchdowns, not raps. The Longhorns have adopted his persona just the same.

The tip on McCoy became clear to yours truly last week at the postgame news conference in the Cotton Bowl. From one end of the podium to the other, Texas players passed the praise.

The Longhorns don't act like a cast of stars, and they shouldn't. They're not. But they get more mileage out of their ability than any Texas team in memory.

Of course, McCoy leads by example. He came to Texas as a 179-pound overgrown Opie out of Tuscola. Now 210 pounds, he bench presses 300 pounds, a small burden compared with how he's put Texas on his back.

Until events of the last two weeks, Daniel had a similar reputation in Missouri.

Oklahoma State's pass rush hurried Daniel into uncharacteristic mistakes in a 28-23 loss at home. He completed 21 of 31 passes Saturday for 318 yards and only one interception. But the numbers were misleading.

The difference between the two Heisman hopeful quarterbacks was McCoy's ability to adapt to the rush.

Example: In the second quarter, McCoy scrambled right out of the pocket and was stripped by Tommy Chavis. The ball bounced once and back up into McCoy's hands. He kept on running, looked downfield and threw sidearm 23 yards to Quan Cosby.

And what did McCoy have to say after describing what happened on that play?

"Give credit to the offensive line," he said. "They did great."

Not if you watched McCoy running all over the field, they didn't.

If McCoy has a fault, it's that he's too willing to put himself at risk. He takes chances he probably shouldn't, especially if Texas would like to vacation in Miami this winter.

But you can't ask him to be something he's not. He's a tough, hard-nosed kid. An unquestioned leader.

The best player on the best team in the nation. He'll make a few more magazine covers before this season is over.