Cowboys end on a high note big win

Oklahoma State served notice that it will compete for the conference crown and perhaps national honors by ending the year with a solid thrashing of Purdue in the Heart of Dallas Bowl New Year’s Day.
Junior quarterback Clint Chelf was nearly flawless, tossing three touchdown passes as the Cowboys won easily 58-14. And the Cowboy defense forced five turnovers.
This was the biggest bowl win for OSU since Mike Gundy was quarterback and the Cowboys beat Wyoming 62-14 in the 1988 Holiday Bowl.
Boilermaker quarterback Robert Marve had less than 100 yards passing for Purdue, who ended the season 6-7.
Quarterback J.W. Walsh backed up Chelf, who was 17 of 22 passing for 197 yards. Walsh added two touchdown passes and Wes Lunt ended the game at quarterback for OSU.
Chelf, Walsh and Lunt all return for 2013.
That could set up a quarterback controversy. Chelf was backup to Brandon Weeden last year but started the year as No. 3. Lunt started the first games but got hurt and was replaced by Walsh who got hurt and was replaced by Chelf.
Gundy has indicated that Chelf would start spring drills as the No. 1 quarterback.
Oklahoma State has some juniors who might turn pro and forego their senior seasons. Running back Joseph Randle, the leading rusher in the Big 12, has not announced his intentions.
With its 58-14 win, OSU improves to 15-8 all time in bowl games. The Cowboys are 5-2 in bowl games under Gundy. With their 58-point effort, the Cowboys have now eclipsed the 50-point mark 23 times during Gundy’s tenure as head coach.
OSU’s 44-point win is the second-largest margin of victory by a Big 12 Conference team in a bowl game. The record is 49, that coming when Nebraska defeated Northwestern, 66-17, in the 2000 Alamo Bowl. The 58 points is OSU’s most ever against a Big 10 Conference opponent, besting the 49 the Cowboys had vs. Indiana in the 2007 Insight Bowl. OSU’s 58 points is the most ever by a team in a bowl game played at Cotton Bowl Stadium, surpassing USC’s 55-point effort against Texas Tech in 1995.
The 58 points is the second most by OSU in a bowl game, trailing only the 62 the Cowboys racked up against Wyoming in the 1988 Holiday Bowl.
OSU finishes the season 8-5, marking the fifth-straight season the Cowboys have reached eight wins. That streak is the longest in program history.
OSU had five scoring drives of two minutes or less, giving it 48 such drives on the season and marking the 40th-straight game the Cowboys have recorded a scoring drive in under two minutes.
OSU finished with 524 yards of total offense, marking the eighth game this season the Cowboys have surpassed 500 yards.
The 2012 Cowboys finish the season as the most prolific offense in school history, averaging 547 yards per game.
Josh Stewart’s 64-yard punt return in the first quarter was OSU’s longest punt return since Josh Cooper’s 66-yard return against Troy on Sept. 11, 2010.
Redshirt freshman fullback Jeremy Seaton recorded his first-career touchdown catch with a 16-yard grab in the second quarter.
Daytawion Lowe’s 37-yard fumble return for a touchdown marked OSU’s first defensive touchdown since Richetti Jones scored against Oklahoma in 2011.
Quinn Sharp finishes his OSU career ranked fourth on the Cowboys’ all-time scoring list with 301 points.
With 56 receiving yards against Purdue, sophomore Josh Stewart moved into the 10th spot on OSU’s career list. He now has 1,501 yards in two seasons.