The Oklahoma State Cowboys rallied in the second half to defeat Colorado, 31-28, on Thursday night at Boone Pickens Stadium to remain in contention for their first BCS bowl.With Zac Robinson sitting out the game due to a shoulder injury, the 12th-ranked Cowboys (9-2, 6-1 Big 12) turned to junior Alex Cate but it was third-string sophomore Brandon Weeden who rallied them from a 21-10 deficit against the struggling Buffaloes.
Weeden completed 10 of 15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. His 28-yard touchdown pass to Justin Blackmon while rolling right gave the Oklahoma State Cowboys the lead for good with 8:11 remaining in the game. Weeden also had a 47-yard touchdown throw to running back Keith Toston earlier in the second half.
The win keeps Mike Gundy's Cowboys in position to earn the Big 12 conference's Fiesta Bowl bid and also keeps the pressure on No.3 Texas for the South division title. The undefeated Longhorns, who could have clinched with a loss by OSU Thursday night, must beat Kansas Saturday to wrap up the South title.
Texas would have to lose its final two games and the Cowboys would need to defeat rival Oklahoma next week in order to change the standing at the top of the division.
But even still, the Cowboys have been outstanding through a great deal of adversity in recent weeks. They have been without All-Americans Dez Bryant (receiver) and Kendall Hunter (running back) since the non-conference schedule and Robinson missed Thursday night's game with a shoulder injury suffered in Saturday's win over Texas Tech.
OSU, which is riding a three-game winning streak, has won six Big 12 games for the time in program history and are poised for its best finish yet in the division.
