Ricks lifts OSU over Kansas State

By: David YoungBlood

Sports Writer

Junior kicker Jason Ricks hit a field goal with seconds remaining and Oklahoma State survived another shootout to defeat Kansas State 41-39 on Saturday for its first homecoming victory in four years.

“Obviously, it was a big win for Oklahoma State,” coach Mike Gundy said. “It was nice that we could come through on Homecoming. We had tremendous fan support; it’s what makes OSU special. I just want to give it up for our fans and the way they came out and supported out team.”

Oklahoma State (5-3, 3-1 Big 12) looked sharp on offense again, piling up 510 total yards, including 329 yards on the ground, to outscore the high-powered passing offense of Kansas State (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) and maintain a tie for 1st place in the Big 12 South.

Sponsored Ad

Senior running back Dantrell Savage led the way again for the Cowboys, finishing with 124 rushing yards—his fourth straight game with more than 100 yards on the ground—and a touchdown. Sophomore quarterback Zac Robinson was 11-25 with 181 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, adding 109 rushing yards.

“I thought he did a heck of a job,” offensive coordinator Larry Fedora said of Robinson. “He made some plays when they had to be made, pulling the ball down, scrambling; he did some phenomenal things today.”

The offense failed to click early and the Wildcats jumped out to a quick lead. Trailing 14-0, quarterback Zac Robinson would throw deep to senior receiver Adarius Bowman, only to have it intercepted on the Wildcat 1-yard line by senior defensive back Byron Garvin.

Near the end of the first quarter, the offense would start to find its rhythm, as Robinson and freshman running back Kendall Hunter slashed through the Wildcat defense to set up a 24-yard touchdown pass, with Robinson throwing the fade to freshman receiver Dez Bryant, who made a leaping grab to draw the Pokes within 14-7.

The Kansas State offense was relentless, however, scoring on a yard pass to senior receiver Jordy Nelson, who would finish the game with 12 catches for 176 yards and three touchdowns. The Cowboys immediately struck back, with sophomore Perrish Cox returning the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to make the score 21-14. It was the longest return by a Cowboy since Barry Sanders returned a kick 100 yards in 1988.

“We challenged Perrish all week on special teams, and he stepped up and made a play,” Gundy said. “We’d been struggling on offense, and that was a huge momentum swing.”

After a forced fumble by Cowboy safety Quentin Moore, the Cowboys marched down the field again. A deep pass from junior receiver Seth Newton to Bowman was broken up at the last second by senior Marcus Watts, but the Pokes still made it to the K-State 2 before senior running backs Julius Crosslin and Dantrell Savage were stopped short of the goal line on four straight runs, giving the ball back to the Wildcats on downs.

The Cowboys got the ball back with 1:59 left in the first half and drove to the 10-yard line, when Bryant appeared to be pushed out of the end zone but didn’t get the call. OSU settled for a field goal and trailed 21-17 at half.

On the first drive of the second half, the Cowboys survived a Robinson interception that was ruled incomplete upon review, and Hunter picked up a first down on a crucial 4th and 2 to set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Savage as OSU took its first lead of the game, 24-21.

Trailing 28-24 near the end of the third quarter, a Cowboy punt hit off the leg of a Wildcat player and was recovered by the Pokes. Oklahoma State drove down to the KSU 4, but was again struck by miscues, as a holding call backed the Pokes up. However, on 3rd and 9 from the 10, Bryant caught a short pass and squirted by defenders for his second touchdown of the game to put OSU up 31-28.

After a Kansas State field goal tied the game at 31-31, Robinson connected with junior tight end Brandon Pettigrew, who shook off a Wildcat tackler and sprinted in for a ?-yard touchdown with less than five minutes remaining to put the Pokes on top, 38-31, and conjure memories of his game-winning catch against Texas Tech.

“Brandon did was he does when we get the ball in his hands,” Fedora said. “He makes a play. More times than not when he touches the ball, he makes something happen.”

Kansas State looked unstoppable on offense, though, and drove right back down the field to score a touchdown and bring the game to 38-37 with 1:10 left. Rather than kick the extra point for the tie, however, the Wildcats went for two and converted on a pass to Nelson to go up 39-38.

Bowman, who finished with six catches for 81 yards, said the team’s faith never wavered, even trailing with just barely more than a minute remaining.

“I looked at our offense and said, ‘if they leave us a minute on the clock, we’re gonna win,’” Bowman said. “I got faith in our offense.”

Senior receiver Tommy Devereaux returned the kickoff to the OSU 42 to give the Cowboys good field position. Robinson threw up a pass to Savage, who leaped over a defender and hauled it in for a 24-yard gain down to the 18-yard line.

The Cowboys let the clock run down to six seconds left in the game, then Ricks’ 26-yard field goal split the uprights with :02 remaining and the Cowboys won 41-39.

“I really think this win could spark us off to a lot more wins this season,” Bowman said. “To win the Big XII South, this was a must-win game. Our confidence is really high, and I think it’s only going to carry on throughout the rest of the season.”