Oklahoma State’s football team got big games from three offensive players and dominated the middle part of the game to beat Houston 43-30 at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Saturday.
OSU receiver Brennan Presley caught 15 passes for 189 yards, one reception shy of the school single game record.
Quarterback Alan Bowman was 29-for43 passing for 348 yards and two touchdowns.
Running back Ollie Gordon rediscovered his form, rushing for 164 yards on 25 carries and scoring three touchdowns.
OSU fell behind 23-9, but scored 27 straight points to take a 36-23 lead and then hold off the Cougars in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys got the ball first and got a pair of first downs before having to punt.
Houston’s first possession ended when they turned the ball over on down after moving into OSU territory.
Oklahoma State’s second possession ended with Alan Bowman getting intercepted by Isaiah Hamilton, who jumped a screen pass to Ollie Gordon and returned the pick 57 yards for a touchdown to put the Cougars up 7-0 with 7:43 to play in the first quarter.
The Cowboys answered with a 46-yard field goal by Alex Hale to cut the Houston lead to 7-3 with 3:34 to play in the first quarter.
It took the Cougars just three plays to score, with Donovan Smith passing deep to Jonah Wilson for a 60-yard touchdown to put Houston up 14-3 with 2:15 left in the first quarter.
Oklahoma State’s ensuing possession appeared to be done after three downs, but after a failed third down attempt, Houston was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, OSU got a first down and the drive stayed alive.
The Cowboys took advantage, going 80 yards in 10 plays, with Bowman passing deep to Jaden Bray for a 23-yard touchdown.
Alex Hale’s extra point attempt was blocked and Houston led 14-9 with 12:59 left in the first half.
Houston responded, and after getting into Cowboy territory, the Cougars pulled out a trick play, as receiver Joseph Manjack took a lateral from Donovan Smith, rolled right, then passed back to Smith, who cruised into the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown to extend Houston’s lead to 21-9 with 10:14 to play in the second quarter.
After both teams punted, OSU took over on their own three-yard line.
On the next snap, Ollie Gordon was tackled in the end zone by Malik Robinson for a safety and the Cougars led 23-9 with 4:16 to play in the first half.
Oklahoma State’s defense made a big play in response, as Smith was intercepted by Trey Rucker, who returned it 29 yards to the Cougars’ 22-yard line.
It took OSU just two plays to score, as Bowman lobbed one up to Leon Johnson, who came down with the catch for a 21-yard touchdown to cut Houston’s lead to 23-16 with 1:29 to play in the second quarter.
After forcing Houston to punt after three downs, the Cowboys got a 27-yard completion from Bowman to Brennan Presley, and as time expired in the first half, Hale kicked a 21-yard field to cut the Cougar lead to 23-19 at halftime.
Houston got the ball to start the second half but had to punt, and Oklahoma State took their first possession of the second half and took the lead, going 74 yards in 11 plays.
Bowman completed passes of 18 yards to Presley and Gordon, then Gordon scored on a six-yard touchdown to put OSU on top for the first time, 26-23, with 7:58 left in the third quarter.
The Cowboys forced a Houston punt, then finally got a big play from Ollie Gordon, who gained 62 yards to the Cougars’ 1-yard line.
After a false start penalty moved OSU back to the six-yard line, Gordon scored on a run to give the Cowboys a 33-23 lead with 5:14 to play in the third quarter.
The score stayed that way until early in the fourth quarter when OSU tacked on three more on a 44-yard field goal by Alex Hale to make it 36-23 Cowboys with 9:45 to play.
Houston’s offense came to life after that, as the Cougars went 84 yards in just five plays, with Donovan Smith running for a 31-yard touchdown to cut OSU’s lead to 36-30 with 7:30 to play.
OSU then ate up more than five minutes off the clock, going 78 yards in 10 plays, with Gordon scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run.
Gordon scored on a two-point conversion run, but the play was called back for a holding penalty and OSU settled for an extra point to make it 43-30 with 2:19 left.
The Cowboy defense clinched the win when Cam Smith intercepted Donovan Smith on 4th down with 1:29 left.
This was OSU’s first game against Houston on the road since 2006.
The Cowboys improve to 8-3 overall, 6-2 in the Big 12.
OSU finishes the regular season by hosting BYU next Saturday.