Oklahoma State Rallies and Wins

Rashaun Woods put on another memorable show for Oklahoma State. The only question left is was it his last.

Woods, a junior who is considering declaring himself eligible for the NFL draft, caught nine passes for 164 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ 33-23 victory over Southern Mississippi in the Houston Bowl on Friday.

“I’ll answer that question in the proper time,” Woods said when asked about his future.

Woods helped the Cowboys complete a memorable season that included victories over Nebraska, Texas A&M; and Oklahoma.

“In the second half, they made up their minds they weren’t going to let me do what I did in the first half and that really opened our running game,” Woods said.

“They wanted to stop the run and they did a good job of it early. In the fourth quarter we started to wear them down.”

Tatum Bell ran for 160 yards in 13 carries, including a 22-yard run with 8:07 left that gave Oklahoma State the lead for good.

“Running the ball was important for us today,” Cowboy Coach Les Miles said.

Luke Phillips kicked two of his four field goals in the decisive fourth quarter for the Cowboys (8-5).

Trailing, 20-13, at the half, Southern Mississippi (7-6) took its only lead on a two-yard touchdown run by James Walley and a 30-yard field goal by Curt Jones in the third quarter.

The Cowboys pulled even on the first play of the fourth quarter on Phillips’ 28-yard field goal.

Josh Fields threw for 310 yards, and his 33-yard pass to Billy Bajema set up Bell’s go-ahead touchdown, which put Oklahoma State back in front, 30-23.

After a punt by Southern Mississippi to the Oklahoma State two, Bell broke off a career-long 88-yard run to the Golden Eagle 10.

“Before the play started, I was just trying to move us out of the two-yard line,” Bell said. “But when it started, I saw a little crease and my whole thought process changed.”

Oklahoma State played in a bowl game for the first time since the 1997 Alamo Bowl, and won in the postseason for the first time since Barry Sanders ran for 222 yards and five touchdowns in a 62-14 victory over Wyoming in the 1988 Holiday Bowl.