Oklahoma State quarterback Clint Chelf completed his first 12 pass attempts for 238 yards and a touchdown and the Cowboys defense has been masterful against one of the top offenses in the country. As a result, Oklahoma State owns a 14-3 lead against the undefeated Baylor Bears and is one half away from seizing control of the Big 12 race.
Mike Gundy took an early gamble when he decided to try and pick up a first down from his own 47-yard line on fourth and one. Baylor sniffed it out and stuffed Desmond Roland for no gain and a turnover on downs around midfield. Baylor nearly took advantage.
Bryce Petty looked to have a clear path to the end zone in the first quarter when he took off to run, but the invisible opponent of gravity had other plans as the quarterback stumbled and tripped himself up just shy of the goal line. The less-than-graceful fall ended up costing the Bears when Shock Linwood tried to muscle forward and stretching for the goal line one yard out. The extra effort, though generally applauded, proved costly this time when Oklahoma State defensive tackle James Castelman knocked the ball loose and picked it up on his own one-yard line.
Oklahoma State than executed a 99-yard drive on just eight plays. It started off with a Chelf pass to Charlie Moore to quickly jump out to the 30-yard line and one play later a 51-yard pass to Marcell Ateman put the Cowboys in the red zone. Kyle Staley later ended the drive with a short touchdown run up the middle for the first score of the game.
Baylor avoided being shut out of the first half for the first time since their 2011 trip to Stillwater by scoring a late field goal before the half. Oklahoma State has held Baylor to just 174 yards of offense and three third-down conversions out of nine. Petty is just 11-of-21 for 120 yards.