Kansas gave Oklahoma State football a good fight in Lawrence in Week 5, but the Cowboys head home with another Big 12 win after defeating the Jayhawks.
A loss to Texas Tech in Week 4 knocked Oklahoma State out of the AP Top 25 and out of the ranks of the undefeated. Showing plenty of anger and desire to atone for that defeat, Mike Gundy’s crew came out swinging on Saturday in Lawrence. After taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and going into the locker room up 24-7 at the half, Oklahoma State finished off the surprisingly .500 Kansas Jayhawks 48-28 on their home turf in Big 12 action.
Justice Hill was hot on the ground once again, as the junior tailback racked up his fourth 100-yard game in five tries so far this season. Hill finished the day with 189 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries, as he picked apart holes in the Jayhawks defense all day long. Chuba Hubbard contributed 57 yards and a score on five carries as Hill’s backup. As a team, the Cowboys finished with a total of 256 rushing yards on an average of 5.6 yards per carry.
Taylor Cornelius played a key role in the victory as well, with the quarterback rebounding from his disappointing day against Texas Tech with 312 yards and four touchdowns on 15-of-20 passing. Though he did throw one interception, Cornelius also chipped in 18 rushing yards on five carries.
The defense continued to have its struggles, as they gave up 247 yards and three touchdowns to Kansas quarterback Carter Stanley on 24-of-32 passing. They gave up 97 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries to Pooka Williams Jr. , who also hauled in six receptions for another 60 yards.
Oklahoma State ultimately walked away from Lawrence with a comfortable 20-point victory, helping bring the Jayhawks back to earth after a charmed start to the season. But the victory probably won’t do much to boost the Cowboys’ stature much further in the national polls.
The biggest tests for Oklahoma State probably won’t come until November, when they close out the Big 12 season with a three-game stretch against Oklahoma, West Virginia, and TCU.