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Robinson, Bryant help Oklahoma State stay unbeaten

Oct 19, 2008 - 1:41 AM STILLWATER, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Oklahoma State avoided a potential trap to complete its best start in over 60 years.

Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant hooked up for a pair of second-quarter touchdowns Saturday as the 10th-ranked Cowboys crushed Baylor, 34-6, in what amounted to a tune-up for next week's Big 12 Conference showdown with top-ranked Texas.

"Once you get this far along, they're all great wins," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "I was proud of the team today. They played very well as a group."

One week after shocking then-No. 2 Missouri in Columbia, Oklahoma State (7-0, 3-0 Big 12 South) got off to a slow start and appeared headed toward a letdown against the lowly Bears.

But after losing a fumble in the first quarter, the Cowboys bounced back with a business-like effort to improve to 7-0 for the first time since 1945.

Oklahoma State won the Sugar Bowl and finished 9-0 that season - and a win next week in Austin would give the Cowboys a legitimate chance at returning to a major bowl game.

"I think our team is too young to even think about stuff like that," Robinson said. "We just go out and play. We are the same team. Guys are acting the same way they did at the beginning of the season.

"People are still picking on us, and we know it is going to be tough next week."

The Cowboys might have been looking ahead to next week, as Baylor jumped to a 6-0 lead on Jacoby Jones' 1-yard TD run just 8 1/2 minutes into the contest.

But Robinson quarterbacked Oklahoma State to touchdowns on its next four drives.

"We have a lot of maturity on this team," Gundy said. "We have a lot of chemistry among the group. When we were in team meetings Monday and Tuesday, I could tell by looking in their eyes they were serious.

"There are a lot of good things going on right now, but the guys have done a good job about staying focused."

The Cowboys went ahead, 14-6, on Robinson's first TD pass of the game, a 37-yarder to Bryant less than three minutes into the second quarter.

The duo of Robinson and Bryant hooked up again for a 9-yarder to make it 21-6 with 5:41 remaining in the first half.

Robinson completed 13-of-20 passes for 237 yards and also ran for 56 yards. Eleven of those completions were to Bryant, who finished with 211 yards.

"Some of the stuff that (Bryant) does is great," Robinson said. "He just makes plays. He is a great receiver, and I wouldn't trade him for anybody."

Kendall Hunter rushed for 93 yards while Keith Toston scored on a pair of short runs for the Cowboys, who improved to 12-1 against Baylor since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.

"They're a good football team - just exactly what I thought," Baylor coach Art Briles said. "There's a reason that they haven't been beaten this year. They play hard, they've got good people and they're well coached."

True freshman Robert Griffin finished 16-of-28 for 164 yards for Baylor (3-4, 1-2 South), which snapped its 13-game conference losing streak last week with a win over Iowa State.