JOHN TRANCHINA, Associated Press
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Tyrone Swoopes completed 24 of 33 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns to lead Texas to a 28-7 victory over Oklahoma State in a Big 12 matchup Saturday night.
With its third straight win, Texas (6-5, 5-3) became eligible to participate in a bowl game for fourth consecutive year and the 16th time in the last 17 seasons.
Johnathan Gray rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown for the Longhorns. Nick Rose connected on field goals of 34-, 44- and (a career-long) 51-yards.
The Texas defense limited the Cowboys to a season-low 192 total yards and forced them into three-and-outs on six of their first eight offensive possessions.
Oklahoma State (5-5, 3-4) lost its fourth in a row, all of them by at least 21 points.
With road games at No. 6 Baylor next week and rival Oklahoma Dec. 6, the Cowboys’ chances of extending their school-record bowl streak to nine look slim.
James Washington scored on an 8-yard shovel pass with 9:08 remaining, allowing Oklahoma State to avoid the shutout.
The Longhorns dominated in just about every aspect of the game, carrying a 22-0 lead into the fourth quarter and more than doubling the Cowboys in total offense and nearly doubling them in time of possession. Texas converted seven of its first eight third-down situations and 11 of 19 overall, while holding Oklahoma State to just 2 of 13 on third down.
Texas has now won 24 of 29 games in the all-time series between the schools, although Oklahoma State had won three of the previous four.
The Longhorns scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions, while forcing OSU into two three-and-outs, to take a 13-0 lead late in the first quarter.
On 3rd-and-10 from the OSU 19-yard-line, Swoopes lofted a pass to the back right corner of the end zone that John Harris came down with for the first touchdown. A botched snap on the PAT left the Longhorns with an early 6-0 lead.
Texas began its next drive on its own 19 and Gray’s 6-yard TD run gave the Longhorns a 13-0 lead – and 138 yards of total offense to OSU’s total of -6 – with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
