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Cowboys overcome K-State in offensive showcase

Nov 6, 2011 - 1:09 PM Stillwater, OK (Sports Network) - Joseph Randle's 23-yard rushing touchdown with over two minutes remaining in the final quarter lifted the third-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys over the 17th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats, 52-45, in a wild Big 12 affair.

Randle carried the ball 16 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys (9-0, 6-0 Big 12), who are off to their best start since the school's lone undefeated season in 1945. Randle caught five passes for 31 yards and a score.

Brandon Weeden had a monster game, completing 36-of-46 passes for an Oklahoma State single-game record 502 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions for the Cowboys, who have recorded nine wins for the fourth straight season.

Justin Blackmon caught 13 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns. The junior wide receiver surpassed 1,000 yards receiving for a second straight year. Tracy Moore hauled in nine passes for 146 yards and a score.

"That's enough excitement for one night. It's a good win for our team," Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy said. "I shared with them in the locker room that you're going to have some games like that when you play in a league that has quality football teams that are very well coached and prepared. We knew going in it was going to be a battle."

Collin Klein connected on 22-of-38 passes for 231 yards, a touchdown and an interception for the Wildcats (7-2, 4-2), who lost 58-17 to Oklahoma last week. Klein also carried the ball 29 times for 144 yards and three scores.

"We did some good things, but I also made some mistakes that we can't afford to have in critical field position situations," Klein said. "We hung tough, and fought together through the whole game, but ultimately we just came up short."

Down by six, 37-31, the Wildcats took over at their own 30 with 13:44 to play. Klein ran the ball four straight times to begin the 14-play drive. John Hubert then ran for 10 yards before Klein was sacked. Hubert came up with a big 15- yard catch to move the ball to the 30. Faced with a 3rd-and-1 from the 21, the Wildcats lost five yards on a failed option play. Following a timeout, Klein ran to his left for 13 yards and a first down. Klein followed with three more runs, with the last being a four-yard touchdown to the left for a 38-37 edge.

The Cowboys got the ball at their own 36 with 5:11 remaining. On the second play, Blackmon caught the ball over the middle and sprinted 54 yards into the end zone. The junior also caught the two-point conversion to make it a 45-38 contest.

The craziness continued on the ensuing kickoff as Tyler Lockett ran 80 yards down the left sideline to the 20-yard line. Klein kept the ball in his own hands, and rumbled 12 yards into the end zone on the third play to make it 45-45 with 3:18 left.

Oklahoma State's next drive started with a 33-yard Isaiah Anderson catch. Three plays later, Randle found a hole up the middle, made a man miss and ran 23 yards for the go-ahead score with 2:16 to go.

Klein kept the Wildcats in the game once again, converting a pair of fourth downs with his legs. He stopped the clock with 25 seconds left following a seven-yard run to the 27. Chris Harper made a great 22-yard catch along the left sideline with 12 ticks to play. Klein tried a fade to Lockett in the right corner of the end zone on 1st-and-goal, but it was broken up. Klein's next two passes also fell incomplete as time expired.

"We have a lot of fight. We knew we were never out of it," Weeden said. "We practice every Wednesday with our two-minute drill. We didn't worry one bit. There was no worry on the sideline because we knew we were going to go down and score. Our defense stepped up in a huge way."

Oklahoma State went three-and-out on offense to start the game, but forced a turnover on defense to get the ball back. On Kansas State's second play from scrimmage, Klein fumbled the football.

Randle walked into the end zone from four yards out to make it 7-0.

Following a KSU punt, Moore caught three straight passes of 20, 43 and seven yards to put the ball at the 11. Weeden then threw to his right for Blackmon, who ran into the end zone for a 14-0 margin with eight minutes to go in the opening quarter.

The Wildcats had to punt on their next possession, but Blackmon fumbled the ball on the return. Anthony Cantele made a 37-yard field goal to cut the gap to 14-3.

Kansas State got the ball right back after Tysyn Hartman picked off Weeden. Lockett took a reverse and sprinted 57 yards down the left sideline to put the ball at the five. Angelo Pease then took a direct snap and ran into the end zone to make it 14-10 late in the first quarter.

The momentum stayed with the Wildcats, who bridged the first and second frames with a nine-play, 76-yard scoring drive. A 34-yard catch by Tramaine Thompson set up KSU at the 16. Three plays later, Klein took a hard hit to his right shoulder on a four-yard score.

Allen Chapman picked off Weeden and went 60 yards the other way for a touchdown and a 24-14 Kansas State lead with 11 1/2 minutes remaining until halftime.

Weeden completed five straight passes to start Oklahoma State's next possession. The Cowboys settled for a 19-yard Quinn Sharp field goal to cut the gap to seven.

Klein was picked off by James Thomas, who returned the ball 43 yards to the five-yard line. Weeden then found Moore in the middle of the end zone to make it 24-24 with 6 1/2 minutes left.

Sharp capped off a wild first half with a 29-yard field goal to give the Cowboys a 27-24 edge.

Oklahoma State scored a touchdown on its first possession of the second half. Randle capped a 62-yard march with a 15-yard TD catch to make it 34-24.

The Wildcats responded with a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive, which Lockett ended with a 14-yard TD catch.

Blackmon was about to score on the Cowboys' next possession, but fumbled the ball into the end zone. David Garrett recovered the ball for the Wildcats.

Kansas State did little on offense and was forced to punt. Blackmon caught a 34-yard pass on the first play to set up Oklahoma State at the 42. The Cowboys moved the ball close to the 20, but settled for a 40-yard Sharp field goal to take a 37-31 lead early in the fourth.

Game Notes

Oklahoma State holds a 36-22 edge in the all-time series with Kansas State, and has won four straight meetings...The Cowboys lead the country with 31 forced turnovers...OSU had 575 yards of total offense, compared to 507 for KSU...The Boone Pickens Stadium crowd of 58,895 on Saturday night set the single-game home attendance record, breaking the previous record of 58,516 against Texas in 2009.