SPENCER SANDERS

A promising young coach, a souped-up passing game and a couple turnover gifts from Oklahoma State’s offense weren’t enough to end Notre Dame’s January postseason misery.

Spencer Sanders accounted for 496 yards and threw three of his four touchdown passes to Tay Martin, and No. 9 Oklahoma State overcame a 21-point deficit to beat No. 5 Notre Dame 37-35 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Dezmon Jackson came up inches short on a desperate, fourth-down dive with 24 seconds remaining and fifth-ranked Oklahoma State fell to ninth-ranked Baylor 21-16 in the Big 12 championship game, knocking the Cowboys out of contention for a playoff spot.

Spencer Sanders threw for a touchdown and ran for another and No. 7 Oklahoma State beat No. 10 Oklahoma 37-33 on Saturday night to keep alive its College Football Playoff chances and stop the Sooners’ streak of Big 12 titles at six.

Brock Purdy threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns and the Iowa State defense made a late stand in the closing minutes as the Cyclones knocked off No. 8 Oklahoma State 24-21.

Tanner Brown’s fourth field goal of the game gave No. 12 Oklahoma State its first lead and quarterback Spencer Sanders’ scrambling 10-yard touchdown run sealed a 32-24 victory over No. 25 Texas on Saturday to keep the Cowboys undefeated.

A recap and roundup of the college football games involving teams from Texas and the Big 12 on Saturday, Oct. 2.

Spencer Sanders threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns, and the Cowboys held off No. Oklahoma State (8-3) called 15 consecutive pass plays to open the game and stormed out to a 21-0 lead. Sanders threw TD passes of 30 and 32 yards to Brennan Presley, and LD Brown had a 2-yard touchdown run. I told them that this MVP is for everyone.”Presley caught a third touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to put Oklahoma State up 37-26. UP NEXTOklahoma State should have a dynamic offense with Spencer returning at quarterback when it opens next season against Missouri State.

Kansas State quarterback Will Howard (15) passes to a teammate during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State in Manhattan, Kan., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. After six first-half punts, Oklahoma State finally got on the board with a field goal early in the second half. The safety took off up the Kansas State sideline and was never touched on his TD return, which wound up being the decisive score in the game. Kansas State could have used the steady hand of senior quarterback Skylar Thompson, who is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Kansas State gets the week off before trying to snap its two-game skid at No.

Oklahoma State drove into Texas territory late in the first half with a 24-17 lead, but Ossai stripped him and Texas defensive tackle Ta’Quon Graham recovered and returned the ball to the Oklahoma State 20. Sanders threw his fourth touchdown pass -- a 9-yard toss to a well-covered Wallace -- to give Oklahoma State a 31-20 lead. Oklahoma State got a final shot in regulation, getting the ball back with 1:13 remaining and no timeouts. Oklahoma State: The Cowboys dominated nearly every facet of the game and beat themselves with mistakes. Oklahoma State visits Kansas State on Saturday.

Chuba Hubbard (30) scores a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa State Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, in Stillwater, Okla. (AP Photo/Brody Schmidt)

He had 15 carries, taking away some of Iowa State's focus away from star running back Chuba Hubbard. It was real frustrating.”With Oklahoma State leading 14-7 late in the second quarter, Iowa State drove deep into Oklahoma State territory but had to settle for a field goal attempt. It was his second missed field goal of the first half, and Oklahoma State took its seven-point lead into the break. Brock Purdy threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Hutchinson with 49 seconds remaining to trim Oklahoma State's lead to 24-21. “We’ll tip our hat to Oklahoma State,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said.

Most notable on the Big Ten's schedule was how Nebraska will start the season: at Ohio State and home for Wisconsin. Nebraska had both Ohio State and Penn State on its original nine-game, pre-pandemic conference schedule, along with Rutgers. Ohio State definitely caught a break with the new schedule. It might not have been the plan to cut Ohio State, the league's clear favorite and defending champ, some slack. When the SEC redid its schedule to make it 10 conference games, the league ended up feeding its weaker teams to its powerhouses.

FILE - In this Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019 file photo, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley talks with players during an NCAA college football game between Iowa State and Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. As usual, Riley is taking his time naming a starting quarterback. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

The Sooners are still considered the overwhelming favorite to win their sixth consecutive Big 12 crown overall because nobody has dethroned them with Riley there. Purdy last year set school records with 3,982 yards and 27 TDs passing, leading the Big 12 with 306.3 yards per game. Conference play begins Sept. 26, the start of an 11-week stretch for nine league games before the Big 12 title game Dec. 12 or Dec. 19, if an extra week is needed. Since this is only TCU's ninth season in the league, Patterson technically isn't the longest-tenured Big 12 coach. Former Oklahoma State quarterback Mike Gundy is in his 16th season as head coach for his alma mater.

21 Oklahoma State included a different element of the junior quarterback's game. After the game, Sanders sat in a stadium tunnel, left hand to his forehead, as he answered questions from the media. "We had to show the world, like, we can play defense at Texas Tech," Coleman said. Oklahoma State is 0 for 2 in the Lone Star State this season, having lost 36-30 at Texas on Sept. 21. Texas Tech visits Baylor next Saturday, its first trip to Waco since 2007.