SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 15, 2011
Helped by a big-play offense and Justin Gilbert’s 100-yard kickoff return, No. 7 Oklahoma State pulled away late to defeat 21st-ranked Texas 38-26 Saturday at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Jeremy Smith had a game-high 140 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns to pace the Cowboys (6-0, 3-0 Big 12), who defeated Texas (4-2, 1-2 Big 12) in consecutive games for the first time in school history. His 74-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter helped the Cowboys stretch their seven-point lead to 38-24.
With the win, Oklahoma State improved to 6-0 for the second straight season. The Cowboys also improved to 15-4 in Big 12 play since 2009, the best record of any conference team during that span.
Texas trailed 28-10 early in the third quarter but scored two straight touchdowns on Fozzy Whittaker’s 100-yard kickoff return and Malcolm Brown’s 24-yard rushing score to pull within 28-24.
Brown finished with 135 rushing yards and a pair of scores for the Longhorns, who have dropped two straight — both to Oklahoma schools — and are likely to fall out of the top 25 polls.
Texas had a chance to pull within a score on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line with 12:01 left in the fourth, but Whittaker came up a yard shy as the Longhorns turned it over. On the next series, Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden mistakenly stepped out of the back of the end zone for a safety, giving Texas its only points of the quarter.
Weeden went 22-of-40 for 222 passing yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys, who improved to 3-14 all-time in Austin.