By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
No. 3 Oklahoma State survives nailbiter
Enduring Cats come up shy in fourth quarter
spt ap Blackmon
Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon, front, fumbles the ball as he is tackled by Kansas State defensive back Emmanuel Lamur in the third quarter of a Big 12 Conference football game on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla. - photo by The Associated Press

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Brandon Weeden threw for a school-record 502 yards and four touchdowns, and Joseph Randle scored the final, tiebreaking 23-yard touchdown with 2:16 remaining to lift No. 3 Oklahoma State to a 52-45 victory against No. 17 Kansas State on Saturday night.
The Cowboys (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) matched the best start in school history and survived quite a scare from K-State (7-2, 4-2), which had three shots at the end zone in the final 12 seconds.
Collin Klein missed on 5-yard passes intended for Tyler Lockett and Chris Harper and then overshot Tramaine Thompson in the end zone as time expired. Oklahoma State’s players rushed on to the field to celebrate, their national championship hopes still intact.
All-America receiver Justin Blackmon caught 13 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns, atoning for his two-fumble game with a 54-yard touchdown catch with 4:47 remaining that pulled the Cowboys out of a 38-37 deficit.
He also caught the 2-point conversion for a 45-38 lead.
Kansas State responded right back with Lockett’s 80-yard kickoff return and three straight runs by Klein, who barged in from 12 yards out to tie it up with 3:18 remaining.
It took Oklahoma State’s quick-strike offense just four plays and 62 seconds to respond again. Weeden found Isaiah Anderson for a 33-yard gain, and Randle ran through a big hole on third-and-1 before dodging safety Jordan Zimmerman to waltz in for the game-winner.
Klein drove the Wildcats down for a chance to tie — or perhaps go for the win with a 2-point conversion — by converting a fourth-and-4 with a quarterback keeper and then connecting with Harper for 22 yards to set up first-and-goal at the 5-yard line.
With no time to rely on his potent running game, coach Bill Snyder called three straight passing plays but none got the job done.
Klein finished with 231 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 144 yards and three scores.
Minutes after the game ended, the stadium shook from an apparent aftershock from a 4.7-magnitude earthquake earlier in the day.
The thrilling finish came after a wild back-and-forth game filled with turnovers and plenty of offense — nothing like what was on display in LSU-Alabama clash in the SEC that ended 9-6 in overtime.
While LSU will likely remain first when the BCS standings come out on Sunday, Oklahoma State will probably be the new No. 2.
With starting receivers Josh Cooper and Hubert Anyiam out, Tracy Moore set career-highs with nine catches for 146 yards for Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State capitalized on Klein’s fumble on the Wildcats’ second play from scrimmage to strike first with Randle’s 4-yard touchdown run, and it was soon 14-0 after Weeden hit Moore for a 44-yard gain to set up the Cowboys’ second score.
Blackmon stutter-stepped at the line to get Nigel Malone on his heels, then caught Weeden’s pass and stutter-stepped again to get past him for an 11-yard score.
Then the Cowboys’ stars made a series of mistakes to let K-State get back in the game.
Blackmon fumbled on a punt return to set up Anthony Cantele’s 37-yard field goal, then Weeden gave the ball right back by throwing a pick to Tysyn Hartman on a deep ball. Angelo Pease and Klein had short TD runs on Kansas State’s next two possessions before another Weeden interception was returned 60 yards for a score by Allen Chapman.
Kansas State led 24-14 — the biggest home deficit this season for the Cowboys — then started piling up errors of its own.
James Thomas intercepted a pass that Klein threw into coverage and Brodrick Brown tipped. His 47-yard return set up Weeden’s 5-yard TD pass to Moore on the next play. Then, instead of pinning Oklahoma State deep, Ryan Doerr’s punt went out of bounds after only 19 yards and gave OSU good field position to drive for Quinn Sharp’s 29-yard field goal and a 27-24 halftime lead.
The Cowboys were 1 yard away from claiming a 41-31 lead late in the third quarter when Blackmon fumbled for the second time in the game and Lyndell Johnson recovered in the end zone for Kansas State.

No. 3 OKLAHOMA ST. 52, No. 17 KANSAS ST. 45
Kansas St.       10  14  7  14  —  45
Oklahoma St.  14  13  7  18  —  52
First Quarter

OkSt—Randle 4 run (Sharp kick), 12:50.
OkSt—Blackmon 11 pass from Weeden (Sharp kick), 7:58.
KSt—FG A.Cantele 37, 3:39.
KSt—Pease 5 run (A.Cantele kick), 1:25.
Second Quarter
KSt—C.Klein 4 run (A.Cantele kick), 11:36.
KSt—Chapman 60 interception return (A.Cantele kick), 10:46.
OkSt—FG Sharp 19, 7:50.
OkSt—T.Moore 5 pass from Weeden (Sharp kick), 6:38.
OkSt—FG Sharp 29, :38.
Third Quarter
OkSt—Randle 15 pass from Weeden (Sharp kick), 10:24.
KSt—Lockett 14 pass from C.Klein (A.Cantele kick), 5:48.
Fourth Quarter
OkSt—FG Sharp 40, 13:44.
KSt—C.Klein 4 run (A.Cantele kick), 5:16.
OkSt—Blackmon 54 pass from Weeden (Blackmon pass from Weeden), 4:47.
KSt—C.Klein 12 run (A.Cantele kick), 3:18.
OkSt—Randle 23 run (Sharp kick), 2:16.
A—58,895.

TEAM STATISTICS
                                  KSt    OkSt

First downs                   27    26
Rushes-yards         51-276    17-73
Passing                        231    502
Comp-Att-Int       22-39-1    36-46-2
Return Yards                 66    49
Punts-Avg.              5-33.4    2-51.0
Fumbles-Lost               1-1    2-2
Penalties-Yards         5-40    3-35
Time of Possession   40:49    19:11

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—
Kansas St., C.Klein 29-144, Lockett 3-84, Hubert 14-40, Pease 4-12, Harper 1-(minus 4). Oklahoma St., Randle 16-73, Blackmon 1-0.
PASSING—Kansas St., C.Klein 22-38-1-231, Team 0-1-0-0. Oklahoma St., Weeden 36-46-2-502.
RECEIVING—Kansas St., Thompson 6-71, Harper 5-55, Lockett 3-32, Hubert 3-29, S.Smith 2-15, McDonald 1-15, Tannahill 1-8, Sexton 1-6. Oklahoma St., Blackmon 13-205, T.Moore 9-146, Randle 5-31, Anderson 3-46, Stewart 3-41, Harrison 2-21, Co.Chelf 1-12.