Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Hurts, No. 10 Oklahoma rally to beat No. 12 Baylor
NO. 10 OKLAHOMA 34, NO. 12 BAYLOR 31
WACO, Texas — Gabe Brkic kicked a 31-yard field goal with 1:45 left after Jalen Hurts threw four touchdown passes in a big comeback and No. 10 Oklahoma kept its playoff hopes alive and ended No. 12 Baylor’s bid for an undefeated season, beating the Bears.
While the Sooners (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 10 CFP) were without standout receiver CeeDee Lamb, Hurts was 30of-42 passing for 297 yards with all of his TDs coming after Baylor took a 28-3 lead early in the second quarter. The quarterback, who had three turnovers, also ran for 114 yards.
Baylor (9-1, 6-1, No. 13 CFP), which had its 11-game winning streak snapped, joined No. 7 Minnesota in losing their first games Saturday. The only remaining undefeated FBS teams are No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson.
Oklahoma erased a three-touchdown halftime deficit and tied the game at 31all on Hurts’ 2-yard TD pass to Brayden Willis with 5:25 left. The Bears had run only seven plays for 35 yards in the second half until that point, and their only first down had been on a play when JaMycal Hasty fumbled, and then punted again.
The Bears had one more chance after the field goal. They got to the Sooners 40 before linebacker Nik Bonitto’s interception with 29 seconds left.
Charlie Brewer threw two touchdown passes to Denzel Mims and ran for two more in the first half when the Bears jumped out to a 28-3 lead.
Oklahoma and Baylor could meet again in three weeks in the Big 12 championship game.
IOWA STATE 23, NO. 22 TEXAS 21
AMES, Iowa — Connor Assalley kicke a 36-yard field goal as time expired and Iowa State knocked off 22ndranked Texas to snap a twogame losing streak.
Brock Purdy had 354 yards passing and two TDs for the Cyclones (6-4, 4-3 Big 12). They beat the Longhorns (64, 4-3) for just the third time in 17 tries despite blowing a 13-point lead.
Brayden Narveson missed an apparent 42-yard field goal with 2:12 to go, but Texas was called for being offside and Iowa State was awarded a first down by inches.
The Cyclones — who have lost twice by a point in 2019 — elected to play for the field goal. Assalley rewarded coach Matt Campbell’s faith in him by knocking the winner down the middle.
Sam Ehlinger gave Texas a 21-20 lead with a brilliant 7-yard TD pass to Malcom Epps on fourth down with 5:37 to go. But the Cyclones stuffed the Longhorns on their next possession, and Purdy took Iowa State 63 yards in three minutes to set up Assalley’s kick.
Ehlinger had 273 yards and three TDs for Texas, losers of three of its last five.
WEST VIRGINIA 24, KANSAS STATE 20
MANHATTAN, Kan. — West Virginia cornerback Hakeem Bailey intercepted Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson’s floating pass toward the end zone in the closing seconds, allowing the Mountaineers to escape with an upset of the Wildcats.
Jarret Doege, starting in place of Austin Kendall, threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns in the first start for the Bowling Green transfer in more than a year. His biggest throw came on thirdand-22 in the fourth quarter, a 50-yard touchdown heave that gave West Virginia (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) the lead.
The Wildcats (6-4, 3-4) had plenty of chances to answer, but they turned the ball over on downs and then punted before their final drive. Thompson led them briskly downfield, but his second-down throw floated in the wind whipping out of the south and Bailey outjumped the intended target.
That allowed West Virginia to snap a five-game skid, its longest losing streak since 1986.
The Wildcats, who almost never altered their look under Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder, donned a throwback uniform to 1988 with white helmets and script “Cats” across them.
Perhaps they should have chosen a season in which they didn’t go 0-11.
Thompson was 24 of 39 for 299 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and Kansas State had trouble moving the ball all night against a team that allowed 38 points to Texas Tech last week.
The Wildcats ran 32 times but averaged just 3.2 yards per attempt.
NO. 25 OKLAHOMA STATE 31, KANSAS 13
STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy broke away from his usual approach to postseason awards and lobbied for Chuba Hubbard to be a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Hubbard, the nation’s leading rusher, ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 25 Oklahoma State rolled past Kansas.
He has rushed for 1,726 yards this season in 10 games. Gundy believes if Hubbard leads Power Five backs in rushing, he should get an invitation to New York for the Heisman ceremony.
“He deserves to be there,” Gundy said. “And I can honestly say that for him because he’s a very humble, hardworking young man. And you know me — I don’t step out there much.”
Hubbard’s yardage total is the fifth-best in school history for a season, trailing 1988 Heisman winner Barry Sanders, 1977 Heisman runner-up Terry Miller, Ernest Anderson and Thurman Thomas. He has two regular-season games remaining, and on his current pace, he would pass all but Sanders on the school’s single-season chart.
“We’re proud of what he’s done,” Gundy said. “But at some point, you have to look and say, ‘OK, is this a quarterback award?’ Or do running backs or other positions potentially get involved.”
Dillon Stoner caught five passes for a career-high 150 yards and two touchdowns and Spencer Sanders passed for 168 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys (7-3, 4-3 Big 12, No. 22 CFP), who won their third straight.
TCU 33, TEXAS TECH 31
LUBBOCK, Texas — TCU’s seesaw win at Texas Tech proved there’s no place like the road in this Big 12 rivalry, thanks in great measure to a fittingly uncharacteristic first quarter for both teams.
Jonathan Song’s fourth field goal, a 20-yarder with 5:38 to play, gave the Horned Frogs a win in a battle of teams fighting to earn bowl eligibility. TCU needed the kick after squandering multiple 17-point leads in the first half.
Since this rivalry resumed in 2012 when the Frogs joined the Big 12, the road team is 6-2.