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Robinson, Bryant shine in Oklahoma State rout

Nov 2, 2008 - 1:31 AM STILLWATER, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Although he is being overshadowed in a conference loaded with great quarterbacks, Zac Robinson continued to star.

Robinson threw five touchdowns passes - including four to Dez Bryant - as 10th-ranked Oklahoma State rolled to a 59-17 rout of Iowa State on Saturday.

Bryant finished with nine catches for 171 yards and Kendall Hunter added 104 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Cowboys (8-1, 4-1 Big 12 South), who suffered no letdown following a loss last weekend at top-ranked Texas.

"It feels great, but we are still thinking about that loss last week," said Oklahoma State cornerback Perrish Cox, who grabbed an interception in the second quarter. "We wish we could have that one back, but it still feels good."

In fact, Oklahoma State gave the nation's top team all it could handle due in a big part to Robinson, who threw for 199 yards and a TD before a Hail Mary at the end of the game fell short of the goal line.

Entering this matchup as the nation's fifth-rated active career passer at 157.02, Robinson continued his efficient ways. The junior completed 18-of-27 passes for 395 yards with an interception, marking the eighth time in nine games that he has completed at least 65 percent of his attempts.

Robinson has been one of the more unheralded quarterbacks in a Big 12 Conference that also features Texas' Colt McCoy, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Missouri's Chase Daniel.

Robinson also rushed six times for 66 yards. His top target, Bryant, caught three of his career-best TD haul in the opening half as Oklahoma State rolled to a 28-10 advantage.

Robinson added two more touchdown passes in the third quarter to extend the lead to 52-10. It is the fifth time that the Cowboys have scored at least 50 points in a game, tying a school record from 1988.

"It's a lot of fun. That is definitely what we strive for," Robinson said. "We want to get explosive plays. That is what we want to do. A lot of those plays in the throwing game were open today, as well as the running game on options and stuff. Most of the time, it's the other 10 guys that are not touching the ball. The offensive line played great, and they are a reason why we had so many big plays."

Included in the third quarter outburst was a 95-yard scoring play to Jeremy Broadway, setting the record for the longest pass in school history.

"He is definitely one of the fastest guys on our team," Robinson said. "He caught it and was gone."

With the victory, the Cowboys opened a season at 8-1 for the third time in school history, and first since 1985. The win also marked the first time that Oklahoma State has posted eight wins by November 1.

"It was good to get that victory and get back on the winning track," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "It was nice to get the eighth win."

It was another big game for the sophomore Bryant, who closed within two touchdowns of tying the school's single-season of 17, set by Rashaun Woods in 2002.

Iowa State (2-7, 0-5 North) absorbed its eighth straight Big 12 loss despite receiving an NCAA-record 319 return yards from freshman Leonard Johnson.

Johnson had a pair of big kickoff returns to set up a pair of scoring drives for the Cyclones. A 72-yard burst up the left sideline in the first quarter led to a 1-yard scoring rush by Alexander Robinson that made it 7-7.

The Florida recruit also ripped off a 73-yard return midway through the second quarter en route to a 38-yard field goal by Grant Mahoney that capped the first-half scoring.

"If you really look at it, it's really one of the only the bright spots of our team," Iowa State coach Gene Chizik said. "Lenny was certainly that today. He did a great job on kickoff return. He's been close to breaking them numerous times this year. He's got a knack for it and I think the guys are doing a great job blocking for him up front."

Johnson, who finished with nine returns, also ran back a kickoff 48 yards in the third.

"I was disappointed in our kick coverage," Gundy said. "We've got some work in that area. We take a lot of pride in our special teams, and our staff is disappointed. We'll work hard this week to correct that."

Austen Arnaud threw for 242 yards but was intercepted twice for Iowa State, which fell to 2-8-1 at Stillwater since 1982.