STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy decided to let Ollie Gordon II cook.
Gordon gained 284 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns to help Oklahoma State defeat No. 23 Kansas 39-32 on Saturday.
Gordon ran for a career-high 168 yards and caught six passes for a career-best 116. He became the first Oklahoma State player since Gerald Hudson in 1989 to have at least 100 yards rushing and receiving in a game and the first Oklahoma State running back since Rafael Denson in 1992 to gain at least 100 yards receiving.
“When he’s hot, we’ve got to pound him and let him go," Gundy said. "And he’s getting emotionally driven but he’s not out of control. Last year, he used to get emotionally driven. He was out of control. You have to play with energy and enthusiasm, but if you play out of control, you’re not helping anybody because you can’t think. And he’s not doing that this year. And the line is feeding off of him.”
Gordon had a career-high 29 carries on the day former Oklahoma State running back Terry Miller was added to the Ring of Honor at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Gordon said Miller inspired him.
“He was just talking to me and he told us to go out there and handle business,” Gordon said. “So I had to do it for him.”
Alan Bowman passed for 336 yards and two touchdowns, Rashod Owens had career highs of nine catches and 112 yards and Brennan Presley caught a touchdown pass and ran for the go-ahead score with 2:32 remaining for Oklahoma State (4-2, 2-1 Big 12). The Cowboys gained 554 yards to win their second straight after upsetting Kansas State last Friday.
Kansas (5-2, 2-2) was without quarterback Jalon Daniels for the third straight game because of a back injury. Jason Bean stepped in and passed for career highs of 410 yards and five touchdowns, but he threw two interceptions.
“He struggled a little bit there late in the fourth, obviously," Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. "But before that, I thought he played outstanding. I thought he made some really nice throws and created some things with his feet. But there’s some plays I wish we all had back.”
The Jayhawks had an extra point blocked, failed on another extra-point try because of a bad snap and threw incomplete on a two-point conversion attempt.
On the game's opening drive, Gordon caught a 50-yard pass from Bowman, then hauled in a short pass and took it 17 yards to the end zone. On the next drive, Bowman found Presley for a 20-yard score to make it 14-0.
Bean rallied the Jayhawks by throwing four touchdown passes in the first half. The fourth, a 49-yarder to Quentin Skinner, put Kansas up 25-24 — a score that held up until the break. Bean completed 13 of 17 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. Bowman passed for 261 yards and two scores for the Cowboys while Gordon had 177 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in the first two quarters.
Alex Hale missed a 43-yard field goal with 9:38 remaining that would have put Oklahoma State up 33-32.
Minutes later, Kansas went for it on fourth-and-5 from the Oklahoma State 40. Oklahoma State's Collin Oliver rushed in and forced a fumble. Kansas recovered, but it was a turnover on downs.
Leipold thought Oliver was offsides. He was frustrated with the officiating during and after the game.
“Oh, we thought the guy was offsides,” Leipold said. "I guess it’s what you’re asking, if the guy was offsides, right? Because everybody’s nodding their head in the room almost, right? It’s baffling. Baffling sometimes.”
Oklahoma State took advantage. Presley went in motion, took the handoff and scored from 6 yards out to put the Cowboys ahead for good. Kansas got the ball down seven with 15 seconds remaining and no timeouts and could not mount a threat.
THE TAKEAWAY
Kansas: The Jayhawks moved the ball, but their defense struggled. The Cowboys entered the game averaging 4.3 yards a carry, but they averaged 5.7 on Saturday.
Oklahoma State: Bowman continues to string together solid performances. The Cowboys were platooning quarterbacks before settling on the Michigan transfer. Oklahoma State is 2-1 since giving Bowman the full-time job.
COLLIN OLIVER
Oliver looked like his old self on Saturday.
The junior moved from defensive end to linebacker this season, but Gundy said Oliver spent more time rushing the passer in the second half after some in-game adjustments. He finished with 2.5 sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble.
RUN STUFFERS
Kansas entered the game ranked sixth nationally with 232.3 yards per game, but finished with 90 yards on 29 carries. Gundy said limiting the Kansas ground attack was Oklahoma State’s primary focus on defense.
DANIELS UPDATE
Leipold said he believes Daniels could return this season.
“It’s kind of like last year’s deal," he said. "He wasn’t out for the season and no one’s told me that he’s out for the season this year. It still stays that. And you can see him moving a lot better than he has been. And so hope? Yeah. I have no reason not to.”
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Kansas will likely drop out. Oklahoma State may get some votes.
UP NEXT
Kansas: Hosts No. 5 Oklahoma on Oct. 28.
Oklahoma State: Visits West Virginia on Saturday.
