Ollie Gordon, Alex Hale lead Oklahoma State to 29-21 win over Kansas State

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Ollie Gordon ran for 136 yards and a touchdown, Alex Hale tied a school record with five made field goals and Oklahoma State defeated Kansas State 29-21 on Friday night.

Alan Bowman passed for 235 yards and Cameron Epps returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown for the Cowboys (3-2, 1-1 Big 12), who snapped a two-game losing skid.

Kansas State’s Will Howard completed just 15 of 34 passes for 152 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. He ran for 104 yards and a score. DJ Giddens, who ran for 207 yards and four touchdowns in his previous game against Central Florida, finished with 65 yards on 16 carries for the Wildcats (3-2, 1-1).

Oklahoma State took its opening drive 72 yards on 15 plays, and Gordon closed it with a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Cowboys up 7-0.

Oklahoma State led 10-0 early in the second quarter when Howard kept the ball and ran 70 yards to the 1-yard line. Two plays later, Howard found Ben Sinnott in the back of the end zone to trim the Cowboys’ lead to 10-7.

Epps’ 35-yard interception return for a score in the final minute of the first half gave Oklahoma State a 20-7 lead at the break. It was his second interception of the first half. Oklahoma State outgained Kansas State 287 yards to 133 before the break as Howard completed just 5 of 11 passes for 11 yards.

Hale’s 53-yard field goal early in the third quarter tied a career high for distance and put the Cowboys up 23-7.

Kansas State’s Treshaun Ward scored on an 11-yard touchdown run, and Howard ran in the 2-point conversion to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 26-15 late in the third.

Howard’s 6-yard touchdown run with 8:56 remaining made it 29-21, but his 2-point conversion pass was incomplete.

Oklahoma State failed on a fourth-and-1 with just over five minutes remaining, giving Kansas State a chance. But Howard threw his third interception of the game to Nickolas Martin at the Oklahoma State 29 to end the threat. Kansas State got the ball one last time but couldn’t get anything going.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas State: Howard, who had averaged 268 yards passing per game, was shut down. Phillip Brooks, who led the Wildcats with 24 receptions through four games, had just three for 50 yards

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys held on defensively when the offense sputtered in the second half. The Cowboys held the Wildcats to 21 points and 372 yards — well below their season averages of 39.5 points and 482.2 yards per game.

UP NEXT

Kansas State visits Texas Tech next Saturday.

Oklahoma State hosts Kansas next Saturday.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll