Spencer Sanders passed for 181 yards and rushed for 75 to help No. 9 Oklahoma State record a 36-25 victory over No. 16 Baylor on Saturday in Big 12 play at Waco, Texas.
Sanders rushed for one touchdown and threw another to Bryson Green for the Cowboys (4-0, 1-0 Big 12). Jaden Nixon scored on a kickoff return and Dominic Richardson added a rushing touchdown for Oklahoma State.
Blake Shapen passed for 345 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Baylor (3-2, 1-1). Monaray Baldwin caught seven passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns and Richard Reese rushed for a score.
Thomas Harper and Jason Taylor II had interceptions as Oklahoma State avenged last season’s loss to Baylor in the Big 12 title game.
Nixon began the second half with a 98-yard kickoff return to give Oklahoma State a 23-3 lead.
Baylor responded with two touchdowns in less than 4 1/2 minutes.
Shapen teamed up with Baldwin for a 49-yard touchdown pass with 12:23 left in the quarter. Then Christian Morgan intercepted Sanders, which set up Reese’s 1-yard run to pull the Bears within 23-17 with 7:58 remaining.
It took Oklahoma State 44 seconds to answer. Braydon Johnson made an acrobatic 49-yard catch to the 1-yard-line and Richardson scored on the next play.
Tanner Brown booted a 19-yard field goal to make it 33-17 with 3:38 left in the quarter. But Shapen tossed a 70-yard touchdown pass to Baldwin and a two-point pass to Gavin Holmes to bring Baylor within eight with 2:14 to go in the period.
Brown booted a 26-yard field goal with 4:48 remaining and Oklahoma State closed it out.
Sanders passed for 101 yards and rushed for 72 in the first half as the Cowboys held a 16-3 advantage.
Baylor scored first on a 34-yard field goal by John Mayers.
Sanders tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Green to give the Cowboys a 7-3 lead with 5:24 remaining in the first quarter.
Oklahoma State tacked on a safety when Baylor went for a deep pitch play from its own 2-yard line early in the second quarter. Reese had no chance of making it out of the end zone as Kendal Daniels made the stop.
Sanders scored on a 1-yard plunge with 27 seconds left in the half to account for the 13-point first-half lead.
–Field Level Media
