Sanders Gains 320 Yards, Leads Oklahoma State to 45-27 Victory

Oklahoma State didn’t expect much of a challenge, but Barry Sanders responded when he was needed.

Sanders rushed for a school-record 320 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Mike Gundy added 3 touchdown passes, as the 12th-ranked Cowboys wore down Kansas State, 45-27, Saturday in a Big Eight Conference game.

Sanders had scoring runs of 26, 38 and 17 yards. The 3rd touchdown broke his school record of 304 yards set against Tulsa earlier this season.

“When you’re a Top 20 team, teams come out of the blue and play you hard,” Sanders said. “You’ve got to be ready.

“I try not to think of the numbers--those are for the fans anyway. I’ve got too many other things to concentrate on.”

Gundy completed 15 of 19 passes for 228 yards, including scoring plays of 63 yards to Brent Parker, 28 yards to Hart Lee Dykes and 1 yard to Vance Vice.

“Instead of us coming in and having a cakewalk, it was a tough game for us,” Dykes said. “We never felt like it was our game the way they kept coming back until Barry scored at the end.”

Kansas State (0-7, 0-4) scored two 1st-period touchdowns for a 14-7 lead before Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1) worked Sanders into its offense. The Wildcats were within 38-27 after a 1-yard Lee Pickett touchdown run early in the 4th period.