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Oklahoma State Runs Over Washington : Sophomore Thomas Rambles for 237 Yards in Cowboys’ 31-17 Victory

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From Times Wire Services

Oklahoma State tailback Thurman Thomas collected the MVP trophy in the Gator Bowl as a freshman. Some people thought he might be bothered by a sophomore jinx.

Forget it.

Saturday night, against the 12th-ranked Washington Huskies--one of the favorites in the Pacific 10 race--Thomas rushed for 237 yards in 40 carries, scored on a 35-yard run, and passed for another touchdown to lead the Cowboys to a 31-17 victory.

That piece of work had Coach Pat Jones thinking about another trophy.

“If you don’t put Thurman Thomas on your Heisman Trophy list, you’re missing the boat,” Jones said.

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Jones didn’t have to convince Washington Coach Don James about the abilities of the 5-11, 186-pound Thomas.

“He may not win the Heisman this year, but he sure could next year,” James said.

Washington defensive tackle Reggie Rogers agreed.

“He’s so quick that if you run at him too hard he’ll throw a move on you,” Rogers said. “All we could do was arm tackle him.”

Thomas, from Missouri City, Tex., snapped a 17-17 tie with 11:22 left when he threw a six-yard touchdown to Bobby Riley. The Cowboys clinched the victory with 5:14 remaining when free safety Mark Moore intercepted a Hugh Millen pass and ran it back 49 yards for a touchdown.

The Oklahoma State victory was costly, however. The Cowboys lost their starting quarterback, sophomore Ronnie Williams, in the third quarter with a broken jaw. Williams could be out for six weeks.

The Cowboys’ defense, which surrendered a pair of Millen-to-Lonzell Hill touchdown passes in the first half, stopped the Washington offense in the final 30 minutes. Oklahoma State intercepted three Millen passes, two by Moore.

Washington also missed two scoring opportunities when Jeff Jaeger couldn’t hit field goal attempts of 30 and 49 yards in the third quarter.

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Thomas, who rushed for 843 yards as a freshman, had 158 yards in 27 carries in the first half. His 240-yard total fell short of the Oklahoma State single-game record of 270 yards set by Ernest Anderson against Kansas in 1982.

Said Thomas: “I didn’t think we’d run that much. I’ve learned to duck and dodge because of my size.

“I don’t want to start thinking about the Heisman Trophy, yet. Right now, I’m just concerned about winning.”

Millen completed 21 of 38 for 232 yards. Washington was held to 96 yards.

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