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No. 17 Oklahoma State Escapes on Texas Tech's Missed PAT

No. 17 Oklahoma State 45, Texas Tech 44

Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury never really considered going for a 2-point conversion and the victory, feeling confident his team could prevail in overtime.

The game never got that far.

Clayton Hatfield missed the extra point after Quinton White's 1-yard scoring run with 1:39 left, and No. 17 Oklahoma State escaped with a 45-44 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday.

"We had the momentum," Kingsbury said. "I liked what we were doing offensively, I liked what we were doing defensively, so I felt great about going to overtime. Our team handled it the last time very well, so that was the plan."

Texas Tech (4-6, 2-5 Big 12) appeared to have overcome a 10-point fourth quarter deficit when White spun into the end zone on third-and-goal from the 1, but Hatfield's kick sailed wide right, leaving the Red Raiders down by one.

"I thought they would go for two," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "If you look at it from his point of view, 2-point conversions are about 33 percent effective. But it would not have surprised me."

After Oklahoma State (8-2, 6-1, No. 13 CFP) recovered the onside kick attempt, the Cowboys marched quickly into the red zone, and resisted Tech's attempts to let them score before running out the clock.

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"It hurts, it definitely hurts," said Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the nation's leading passer, who completed 34 of 51 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns. "We had a lot of chances to win, but they found a way to win, we didn't. It's kind of like the whole season. It hurts, but we're going to go out there and fight. We've got two games to get bowl eligible."

Mahomes also rushed for two touchdowns, giving him 12 and setting a new Texas Tech single-season record for a quarterback, surpassing the previous mark of 10 set by Rodney Allison in 1976.

For Oklahoma State, Mason Rudolph threw for 395 yards and two touchdowns on 20-of-28 passing, and also rushed for a touchdown, and Justice Hill had 126 yards and a touchdown on 18 rushes. James Washington registered six receptions for 158 yards, including an 82-yard TD with 6 seconds left in the third quarter that put the Cowboys ahead 45-35.

TAKEAWAY

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders can run the ball pretty well when they have to or are invited to, and Demarcus Felton needs to get the ball more. Even though he has the leading rusher this season, Felton got a total of one carry over the previous three games, but he came up with 77 yards on 10 rushes before leaving in the third quarter with an ankle injury, the severity of which was unknown. If he's healthy, he's proven he deserves a bigger role in the offense. "He did a good job," Kingsbury said. "When you're playing those light boxes, he does a good job finding space."

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys kept their hopes of a Big 12 championship alive. They need to win next week against TCU to set up a showdown with No. 9 Oklahoma on Dec. 3 for the conference title. Oklahoma State won for the fourth time this season with a margin of seven points or less.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Texas Tech had just pulled to 38-35 on Mahomes' 7-yard touchdown run with 24 seconds left in the third quarter when Rudolph hurled up a deep pass to Washington on the first play of the next possession. Washington caught the ball at the 50 and raced the rest of the way into the end zone for an 82-yard touchdown, restoring a 10-point lead with 6 seconds left in the third.

LAST WORD

"No fear, no frustration and no fatigue is what we talk about," Gundy said of his team's ability to win close games. "I think there is some truth to them believing in themselves makes a big difference. When you start to win over a period of years, you feel like you're going to win. Your mind is much more powerful than the physical part of your body and we believe in that, so they just play hard and I'm proud of them."

UP NEXT

Texas Tech will next face Iowa State on the road.

Oklahoma State continues its quest for a Big 12 title by traveling to Fort Worth to take on TCU.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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