Backup running back Dezmon Jackson rushed for career highs of 235 yards and three touchdowns as No. 21 Oklahoma State raced past Texas Tech 50-44 on Saturday in Stillwater

OSU is tied with Oklahoma in the Big 12 Conference standing behind Iowa State. The Cowboys can be one of the two teams that make the league championship game but they need help. OSU must win its final two games and hope that the Sooners lose one of their two games because OU has the tiebreaker over the Cowboys. A loss by Iowa State could also benefit OSU’s hopes.

OSU (6-2, 5-2 Big 12) is scheduled to play TCU in Fort Worth Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN2 and then end the regular season with a road trip to Baylor on December 12.

After a season of defensive games, OSU looked like their former teams against Texas Tech.

“That looked like a lot of the games we’ve played here over the last 10 years,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy. “We got into the third and fourth quarter where neither team could slow the other team down other than a turnover. We were able to rally and make some plays and found a way to win. We had a few guys go out of the game who we had to replace with young players who came in and competed. It’s a good win for our team.

“That was definitely like it used to be. We hadn’t been in that situation this year, and you just have to rally back. It’s like being in a title fight, you’re going to take a blow and you have to give one back. You just try to hang on long enough so you can get the last one. Our guys found a way to come out in the end, which I was proud of them for playing well down the stretch.”

Running backs Chuba Hubbard and L.C. Brown were injured and didn’t play.

Jackson scored the first three touchdowns of his career and had career highs with 36 carries, 235 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns, two receptions and 10 receiving yards. Jackson’s 235 rushing yards was the fourth-highest total by an OSU running back since Gundy has been head coach. Hubbard had games of 296 and 256 in 2019, and Kendall Hunter rushed for 257 in 2010.

Gundy was mostly pleased with Jackson’s performance. On a fourth down play with little time left in the fourth quarter, Jackson broke loose and was headed for the endzone when he stepped out of bounds so OSU could run out the clock.

“Dez competed and ran well,” Gundy said. “He looked good out there once he settled in; it looked like he saw some of the cuts really well. I would’ve preferred he hang on to the ball late in the fourth quarter, but overall I was proud of the way he competed.”

OSU’s 317 rushing yards were a season high, topping their previous best of 295 against Kansas.

OSU defensive back Tre Sterling intercepted a Red Raider pass and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown.

“He played really well,” Gundy said. “He’s been beat up a little bit and hasn’t practiced much. He got two days this week and had been practicing one day a week.

“He’s a veteran guy who has seen a lot. On his interception for a touchdown, on the sideline he told the coaches if they run that same route concept again that he was going to intercept it and run it in for a touchdown. He went back out and did exactly what he said he was going to do. He’s a pretty savvy guy, and he is intelligent and has had a lot of reps so he is generally in the right place at the right time.”

After a score, Texas tried a surprise onside kick but the ball went directly to OSU’s Jason Taylor who ran it in for a touchdown.

“It was a look that we had seen on tape that we thought we could take advantage of,” said Texas Tech coach Matt Wells. “We practiced it all week. We got it confirmed on several kicks in the first half and made the decision at halftime that when we come out and score and take the lead, that’s the best time to try to do it. We just didn’t execute it well.

“It was something by scheme and by where their guards were playing, we felt like we had it. We just didn’t execute well. That’s a point where we bring in those things, and you have times to call them in a game. From a football standpoint and a space standpoint, we just didn’t execute well enough.”

Texas Tech made mistakes but the Red Raiders almost staged a comeback late in the game.

“The biggest thing is that we are playing through that,” Wells said. “Bad things happen. A sign of a team not playing through it is a team that doesn’t play hard. I don’t think anybody saw that. When things happened, either good or bad, I think you saw us rally together. Whether it was offense in the late-third quarter or defense with the turnovers after that, that’s how I would evaluate it. I would look at our guys, their reaction and the play that happened afterward.”

OSU receiver Tylan Wallace had 129 receiving yards with seven catches. Wallace now has 14 100-yard receiving games in his career, ranking as the fifth-most in OSU history.

Saturday was senior day at OSU. Due to the pandemic, all football players can opt for an extra year of eligibility.

“It’s another special group,” Gundy said of the seniors.

“We’ve had class after class come through here that have all been to bowl games, been ranked high in the country and played in big-time television games. All of these guys are graduated and most of them have minors or double majors, and I think nine of the 22 today were already in grad school. It makes us proud because that is part of our job.

“Our guys are getting quality degrees and then they’re competing in football. Hopefully we are putting a product out there that can be productive in society and help give back to make the world a better place.”