Tulsa World: OSU runs over Iowa State 34-8

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OSU runs over Iowa State 34-8

Keith Toston rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns Saturday at Iowa State. STEPHEN HOLMAN/Tulsa World

By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Published: 11/7/2009 3:20 PM
Last Modified: 11/7/2009 8:22 PM

Sports Editor Mike Strain’s blog: Vote on our poll question. Was this OSU’s most impressive win of the season?

AMES, Iowa – Only days after a humbling home setback against Texas and the news that Dez Bryant would never again wear a Cowboy uniform, Oklahoma State methodically mauled an Iowa State team anxious to reach the six-win mark and achieve bowl eligibility.

On a 68-degree afternoon at Jack Trice Stadium, the 18th-ranked Cowboys nearly doubled Iowa State in total yardage and prevailed 34-8.

"You're always concerned when you're competing against a team that's hungry," Cowboy coach Mike Gundy said. "It was a beautiful day for football."

It was a Saturday of milestones for the Cowboys.

Quarterback Zac Robinson became OSU's career leader in passing yards.

Keith Toston rushed for a career-high total of 206 yards. The senior running back popped a 69-yard run – the longest of his career – and scored three second-half touchdowns.

For the first time since 1979, the Cowboys have recorded four consecutive road victories in conference play.

For the first time in school history, OSU has reached at least the seven-win mark in four consecutive seasons. Ahead of next week's clash with Texas Tech in Stillwater, the Cowboys are 7-2 overall, 4-1 in the Big 12.

On Saturday, with a 10-yard, second-quarter touchdown pass to freshman

wide receiver Tracy Moore, Robinson supplanted Gundy as OSU's passing-yards leader. In 1986-89, Gundy passed for 7,997 yards. Robinson's total is 8,065.

"You'd rather do it on a touchdown than on a 2-yard screen pass," said Robinson, who was 19-of-24 passing for 142 yards. "Tracy made a great play. I felt the pressure, and then I saw Tracy standing in the end zone. I knew I had to get it to him."

After a four-interception outing against Texas, Robinson was not intercepted on Saturday. The Cowboys did not commit a turnover.

Iowa State entered at plus-nine on turnovers for the season. Against OSU, the Cyclones were minus-three. Austen Arnaud was intercepted three times – once each by Cowboy cornerback Perrish Cox, cornerback Terrance Anderson and linebacker Patrick Lavine.

OSU's defense dominated an Iowa State squad that was Big 12 rushing leader at 200 yards per game. On Saturday, the Cyclones mustered only 54 rushing yards (2.1 per attempt). Alexander Robinson, the league's individual rushing leader at 101.6 yards per game, had only 51 against Oklahoma State.

"This was another opportunity to prove to the nation that we are for real on defense," OSU linebacker Andre Sexton said. "We're a good run-stop defense."

OSU entered the weekend with a No. 13 national ranking in rushing defense. Six of nine opponents have been held under the 100 mark in rushing yards. The Cowboy defense lost its shutout opportunity with 11:50 left to play, when Robinson collected a short Arnaud pass and raced 45 yards for a touchdown.

"The rush yardage was really critical because (the Cyclones) are a running football team," OSU defensive coordinator Bill Young said. "We were nervous coming in here. We knew that it we had any chance at all, we had to control the run."

OSU had 473 total yards. Iowa State (5-5, 2-4) had 242. While the Cyclone ground game was stifled, OSU's rolled for 331 yards. For the first time since his Sept. 12 ankle-foot injury, Kendall Hunter was a factor. He carried nine times for 47 yards.

The time-of-possession statistic reflected a mismatch. OSU's possession time: 39 minutes, 38 seconds. Iowa State's: 20 minutes, 22 seconds.

"We were outcoached (and) outplayed on offense and defense and everywhere else you look," Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. "I thought (OSU's defensive front seven) controlled the game. White jerseys were everywhere."

Two Dan Bailey field goals had given OSU a 6-0 lead in the first period. OSU's burial of Iowa State began in the second quarter, when the Cowboys pieced together a 98-yard, 14-play possession that consumed more than six minutes. The drive ended with the Robinson-to-Moore touchdown play, and OSU took a 13-0 lead to the halftime locker room.

During the second half, OSU's offensive line manhandled the Cyclones. The Cowboys rushed for 220 yards after halftime. Toston scored on third-period runs of 2 and 17 yards. After he bolted 69 yards on a third-and-2 play from the OSU 29-yard line, he got his third TD on a 1-yard surge.

By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer

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COMMENTS

Reader comments for this story have been moved to the most updated version of the story, now under the headline "Toston, Cowboys unravel Cyclones," which was published on 11/8/2009. So far, 21 comments have been made.

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