Normal voter reaction after a loss is to drop a team a few spots, no matter how narrow the margin.

But there was nothing normal about Saturday’s OSU Texas showdown of undefeated teams. And if the voters and the computer geeks take time to study the top-ranked Longhorns’ 28-24 win over the Cowboys, they should come to a similar conclusion.

If Texas (8-0, 4-0 Big 12) is No. 1, as all those polls and computer readouts proclaimed last week, then where do you rank OSU (7-1, 3-1)? How about No. 1A."

There should be no doubt that the Cowboys deserve to be higher than the No. 7 and No. 8 spots they held respectively a week ago in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls.

Even their No. 6 slot in the first BCS standings isn’t high enough.

OSU certainly made believers Saturday out of the largest crowd to ever attend a football game in the state of Texas when they pushed the top-ranked Longhorns to the hilt before 98,518 spectators at Memorial Stadium.

No opponent has fought Texas on its home turf this season with the ferocity and heart displayed by the Pokes.

Just a week earlier, then-No.

11Missouri came to Texas and got spanked, 56-31.

That’s why Mack Brown looked like he’d been in a fist fight as the pale and sweat soaked Texas coach greeted OSU coach Mike Gundy at midfield for a post game handshake.

“He really didn’t look very good at that particular time,” Gundy said. “I think ‘relieved’ is the right word.”

Brown wasn’t the only one happy that the Longhorns survived a classic Big 12 Conference showdown.

Texans everywhere were relieved when a Longhorn defender knocked down OSU quarterback Zac Robinson’s Hail Mary pass on the game’s final play.

“If they are No. 1 in the country, then we’re obviously not very far behind,” Robinson said. “We know we’re right there.”

The Cowboys also know they learned a lot about themselves in this battle.

They proved their best start (7-0) since 1945 wasn’t a fluke, achieved only because of inferior competition.

More importantly, this OSU team demonstrated it will fight instead of fold against a Texas program that has broken the Pokes’ hearts in recent seasons.

Instead of blowing big leads, like they’ve done against the boys in burnt orange three of the last four seasons, the boys in the bright orange almost made Texas blow a 14-point lead.

A year after Gundy declared his program wasn’t ready “for the big time” following an embarrassing loss at Georgia, the Cowboys’ fourth-year coach knows this team can compete on the biggest stages against the highest-ranked teams.

“We didn’t come down here to finish second,” Gundy said. “We thought we could win this game.

And our players played well enough to win the game today.”

Gundy pointed the finger of blame for the loss directly at himself. Also the o6ensive coordinator, Gundy criticized his play selection on OSU’s second-to-last drive.

After three runs by Kendall Hunter picked up a combined 21 yards, Gundy called three pass plays, which resulted in a sack, a 1-yard scramble by Robinson and then an inside screen to receiver Dez Bryant on fourthand- 6 that lost 3 yards.

“The playing on (that) drive was poor and my fault,” Gundy said. “The plays didn’t work, and that’s my responsibility.”

Play-calling isn’t the only thing the Cowboys will second- guess the next few days.

There was a Hunter fumble when he appeared headed for OSU’s first touchdown, and a roughing the passer penalty that wiped out an interception and eventually led to a Texas TD.

And the defense, which improved dramatically the past two games, made Texas quarterback Colt McCoy look like the Heisman Trophy frontrunner.

Using a short passing game, the savvy McCoy dinked and dunked his way up and down the field, completing 18 consecutive passes at one point.

In the recent past, OSU would have collapsed against Texas when it trailed 28-14 midway through the third quarter. But the defense regrouped and proved this is a new-look OSU team with pride, when it intercepted a McCoy pass and forced him to fumble as the Cowboys almost pulled o6 the upset.

“The Big 12 champion (OU) lost two games last year, and the national champion (LSU) lost two games last year,” Robinson said. “So we’re still right where we want to be.”

Hopefully, the voters will put OSU where it deserves to be — higher in the polls, not lower.