Oklahoma State overcomes West Virginia, 50-39
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—Mason Rudolph threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead No. 11 Oklahoma State to a 50-39 victory over No. 22 West Virginia on Saturday.
Freshman J.D. King ran for a season142 yards on 36 carries and scored twice in place of Big 12 leading rusher Justice Hill for the Cowboys (7-1, 4-1 Big 12).
In winning its fourth straight, Oklahoma State scored four touchdowns following West Virginia turnovers, and the Mountaineers couldn’t come back from their biggest deficit of the season.
Rudolph, the national passing yards leader, stood out in a steady light rain in a matchup against West Virginia’s Will Grier, who entered the game first in the FBS with 26 touchdown passes.
Rudolph finished 20 of 34 for 216 yards. He earned his 29th win as a starter, breaking the school record set by current coach Mike Gundy from 1986 to 1989.
Grier threw four interceptions and his streak of seven straight 300-yard passing games ended. He finished 20 of 42 for 285 yards and two TDs.
“I can’t say enough about the defense and their ability to make plays,” Gundy said. “We got some pressure on the quarterback and forced some overthrows.”
West Virginia (5-3, 3-2) entered the game fifth in total offense in the nation and was limited to 347 yards, 192 under its average.
“It was pretty clear and evident to me that they were more physical than us,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said. “Offensively and defensively both I thought they dominated up front and when that happens, it’s going to be tough.”
Rudolph found King with a 6-yard-scoring pass early in the third quarter to put Oklahoma State ahead 30-10. Rudolph also had TD tosses of 13 and 19 yards to James Washington.
After West Virginia scored a pair of quick touchdowns, Oklahoma State pulled away again when Hill, who left the game after losing a fumble on the game’s first series, returned in the fourth quarter, when he had scoring runs of 5 and 18 yards.
Iowa State 14, TCU 7
AMES, Iowa—Kyle Kempt threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and 25th-ranked Iowa State upset fourthranked TCU 14-7 on Saturday, handing the Horned Frogs their first defeat and leaving the Big 12 without an unbeaten team.
Marcel Spears intercepted a Kenny Hill pass with 1:16 left to seal it for the Cyclones (6-2, 4-1 Big 12), who forced a pair of turnovers in the red zone in the second half in winning their fourth straight game.
Kempt put Iowa State ahead 14-0 at the break with touchdown passes to Matt Eaton (17 yards) and Hakeem Butler (4 yards).
TCU (7-1, 4-1) answered to open the second half on a 94-yard kickoff return by KaVontae Turpin. But Brian Peavy intercepted Hill in the end zone in the third quarter and brought it back 70 yards, and Willie Harvey caused Hill to fumble a ball recovered by Iowa State at its own 15-yard line with 7:11 to go.
Hill had his worst game of the season, finishing 12 of 25 passing for 135 yards and those two very costly interceptions. The Horned Frogs also committed 11 penalties.
Kansas State 30, Kansas 20
LAWRENCE, Kan.—Bill Snyder learned to appreciate special teams about six decades ago, when the 78-yearold Kansas State coach was a small-college wingback who wasn’t good enough to play anywhere else.
The emphasis that he places on them showed Saturday.
The Wildcats got a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from D.J. Reed, and made several other crucial plays in the punt and kick return game, setting them up for a 30-20 victory over upset-minded Kansas that great improves their chances of playing in a bowl game.
“It was the difference in the ballgame,” Snyder said.
Alex Barnes added 128 yards and two touchdowns rushing for the Wildcats (4-4, 2-3 Big 12), who snapped a twogame skid with their ninth consecutive win over their biggest rival.
The Jayhawks (1-7, 0-5) got within a touchdown when Carter Stanley hit Steven Sims with a 60-yard touchdown pass with 6:51 to go. But after the teams swapped possessions, the Wildcats’ Matt McCrane hit his third field goal from 41 yards out with 1:21 remaining to put the game away.
Alex Delton, starting for the injured Jesse Ertz, threw for 98 yards and ran for 36 yards before leaving late in the first half with an injury of his own. Thirdstring quarterback Skylar Thompson played the rest of the way, going 4 of 6 for 40 yards and running 10 times for 39 yards.
“It’s the next-man-up mentality. I’ve approached every game this year like I was the starter,” the redshirt freshman said. “I was comfortable. I was confident. But we didn’t play our best game.” Especially on defense. Stanley finished with 418 yards passing, the third time in four games an opposing quarterback has thrown for at least 380. Sims hauled in nine catches for 233 yards.
The Jayhawks only managed 21 yards total offense their last time out against TCU, and hadn’t scored in nine quarters heading into the game. But they had 137 yards the first 15 minutes—more than in their last two games combined—and led 3-0 after Gabriel Rui’s early field goal.
But the Jayhawks’ momentum only lasted as long as it took Reed to run the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. The return highlighted the potent ability of the Wildcats’ special teams and a glaring weakness of the Jayhawks, who have surrendered three return TDs this season.
“If you saw that football game, I think you would have a hard time not realizing where our breakdown was,” Kansas coach David Beaty said. “We had several of them on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball too. It never lands in one area.”
McCrane added the first of his field goals to make it 10-6 at halftime, and the Wildcats needed just over a minute to turn a fumble by Stanley on the first play of the second half into another TD.
The Jayhawks tried to make it a game by marching 97 yards early in the fourth quarter. And when Taylor Martin scored from five yards out, they not only had their first touchdown in 12-plus quarters but also cut the Wildcats’ lead to 20-13 with 13:26 left in the game.
Kansas State’s defense forced a punt in the shadows of the Jayhawks’ own goal post, though, giving the Wildcats excellent field position. Barnes carried three straight times, and his nine-yard scamper on first-and-goal with 7:36 remaining gave them a cushion that would come in handy.
“Obviously wish we would’ve came out on top,” Stanley said, “but it was nice to see some offensive production. I’m proud of these guys for how hard they worked all week.”