Perfect season lost as Cowboys fall to Cyclones

[November 19, 2011]  AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Bedlam will still be a huge deal for Oklahoma State.

It just won't be nearly as big as it could have been after the Cowboys let their dream season slip away at Iowa State.

Backup running back Jeff Woody scored on a 4-yard run in the second overtime and Iowa State stunned No. 2 Oklahoma State 37-31 on Friday night, opening the door for a couple of one-loss teams to reach the BCS championship game.

The Cyclones (6-4, 3-4 Big 12) overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Cowboys (10-1, 7-1), opening a path for either Oregon or Alabama to face LSU in a rematch for the title.

Oklahoma State will host Oklahoma on Dec. 3 in a game that will now likely determine the Big 12 title. The Cowboys have never won the Big 12, but there was a lot more than the league crown at stake before they were shocked by the Cyclones.

"This one stings. This one's tough. But here's the deal: All the goals we set at the beginning of the year are still there," Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden said. "We still have a chance to win and be conference champions. We still have a chance to go play in a BCS bowl game. So it's there for the taking for us. We've just got to learn from it."

Weeden threw for 476 yards, but he threw three interceptions and saw his Heisman Trophy hopes fade considerably.

None of those picks stung more than his first pass in the second overtime, which was intercepted by Ter'Ran Benton. Woody ran for 6 and 15 yards, then bullied his way into the end zone to give the Cyclones their first ever victory over a top-5 opponent.

"I hate it for the guys. But it's real simple. If you lose the turnover battle in such a big fashion, it's extremely hard to win a game, especially on the road," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said.

Playing on a day the Oklahoma State community was told that women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and three others were killed in a plane crash, the Cowboys were 27-point favorites against the upstart Cyclones.

Iowa State lost its first four Big 12 games and entered play 0-56-2 against teams ranked sixth or higher in The Associated Press poll.

Cyclones coach Paul Rhoads has had some signature wins in his three seasons in Ames -- but none as big as this.

"We got a group of young men that put their hard hats on every day and just continue to go to work," Rhoads said. "I could not be prouder of the effort they put out tonight."

Iowa State freshman quarterback Jared Barnett found James White for a 25-yard touchdown on the first play of extra time, but Weeden answered with a 6-yard TD pass to Josh Cooper.

Benton's interception set up a thrilling finish for the Cyclones and Rhoads, the defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh when it upset No. 2 West Virginia in 2007.

Barnett finished with 376 yards passing and three TDs for Iowa State.

Oklahoma State stretched its lead to 24-7 less than 3 minutes into the second half and looked set to break it open. Tracy Moore caught Weeden's pass in traffic and stumbled 30 yards for the touchdown.

That could have been it for Iowa State -- but the Cyclones were far from finished.

Iowa State answered with a 32-yard TD run from White and Zach Guyer's 24-yard field goal to make it 24-17 with 4:04 left in the third quarter.

Oklahoma State came in averaging 51.7 points, but it couldn't string together the drives that made Weeden a serious Heisman Trophy contender.

Iowa State took advantage, tying the game at 24 with 5:30 left in regulation when Barnett found Albert Gary sliding in the end zone for a 7-yard TD catch. Oklahoma State's Alex Elkins intercepted Barnett's pass with 3:17 left, but Quinn Sharp pushed a 37-yard field goal right, just over the upright, with 1:17 to go to force overtime.

Iowa State knew it would need a lot of breaks to pull off the upset. The Cyclones caught a few early, recovering a fumble and intercepting Weeden's pass in the first quarter. But they didn't turn either into points, and the Cowboys' defense made them pay for it.

Linebacker Shaun Lewis jumped Barnett's pass and took it back 70 yards for a touchdown, giving Oklahoma State a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

The Cowboys led 17-7 at halftime, but the blowout that seemed certain to follow never materialized.

"We were up but we still didn't have a rhythm. It just wasn't working for us. We obviously wanted to put up more points but caused too many turnovers," Oklahoma State defensive end Jamie Blatnick said.

Iowa State held a moment of silence before the game to honor Budke, assistant Miranda Serna and two others who were killed Thursday when their single-engine plane crashed during a recruiting trip in Arkansas.

"The plane crash, for the families and people involved, is just tragic, and honestly, I would have said this no matter the outcome of the game. It's so much more important than this game," Gundy said. "These guys wanted to go out and play the best they could for themselves, for us, the fans, and for OSU, and it just didn't come out in their favor tonight."

[Associated Press; By LUKE MEREDITH]

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