With 1:13 left to go in the game, it was all but over, but it wasn’t over. The Oklahoma State Cowboys had taken a 35-31 lead late in the fourth quarter but left just enough time on the clock for BYU to hustle down the field and score the game winning touchdown.
Cougars’ quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Darius Lassiter with 10 seconds remaining to give No. 13 BYU the 38-35 win, Friday night in Provo, Utah.
Prior to that play, the Cowboys took the lead when Alex Bowman connected with Brennan Presley on a six-yard touchdown pass. That capped a 17-play drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock.
“Our guys played really well tonight, I’m very proud of them,” OSU head coach Mike Gundy said. “We had a chance to win. I wish we would’ve got the stop there at the end.”
OSU is now 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the Big 12. The Cowboys have lost four straight games and are still looking for their first conference win of the season. BYU remains undefeated at 7-0, 4-0 Big 12.
The Cougars jumped out to an early lead on their first possession of the game, when Retzlaff ran the ball into the end zone from four yards out.
OSU quickly answered on a 50-yard run by Ollie Gordon II to tie the game, 7-7, with 9:42 left in the first quarter. BYU had not allowed a play of over 50 yards this season, but Gordon and Garrett Rangel both ran for plays of 50-plus yards in the first half.
Gordon scored two more times in the second quarter and OSU led 21-14 at halftime. OSU starting quarterback Garret Rangel left with an injury just before halftime. He had completed 6-of-9 passes for 51 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
It was just the second time this season that the Cougars trailed at halftime, but it didn’t last long. BYU scored on back-to-back third-quarter drives to take a 28-21 lead.
Bowman and Presley combined for a 16-yard trick play, as Presley took the snap and passed to Bowman in the flats. Bowman took it into the endzone with 14:50 left in the fourth quarter. That tied the score at 28-28.
The Cougars regained the lead on a 41-yard field goal, setting up the drama in the final two minutes of play.
Gundy said the Cowboys struggled a bit to stop the Cougars, especially on third down conversions.
“We were 50-percent on third downs, and they were about 75-percent on third downs, and that’s what I kind of thought got us a little bit,” Gundy said.
Retzlaff finished the game with 218 yards passing and two touchdowns for the Cougars. He also ran for 81 yards and a score. Lassiter had a season-high 129 yards on six catches, and LJ Martin ran for a career-high 120 yards and two touchdowns.
For the Cowboys, Bowman completed 11-of-19 passes for 85 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Gordon rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns, and he caught one touchdown pass.
OSU will travel to Waco, Texas, this Saturday to take on Baylor at 2:30 p.m. CDT.