No. 20 Oklahoma State rallies to beat Kansas State, 36-34

STILLWATER, Okla. _ Injuries finally caught up to Kansas State.tmpplchld A depleted Wildcats’ roster threatened to upset No. 20 Oklahoma State on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, but the Cowboys were too strong and escaped with a 36-34 victory.tmpplchld Oklahoma State kicked a 37-yard field goal with 32 seconds remaining to finally finish off K-State. It surprisingly took everything the Cowboys had. They took their first lead late in the fourth quarter on a three-yard touchdown pass from Mason Rudolph to Brandon Sheperd, but K-State answered back with an unlikely touchdown drive, capped by a five-yard keeper from quarterback Joe Hubener, to put the pressure on with 3:01 remaining.tmpplchld Before that, K-State controlled the game, taking a 28-13 lead in the second quarter, despite using Kody Cook, who usually plays receiver, at quarterback.tmpplchld Hubener left the game in the first quarter after absorbing a rough hit while trying to slide. With Jesse Ertz and Alex Delton out with injuries and Jonathan Banks home sick, the Wildcats turned to their fifth option at quarterback.tmpplchld Surprisingly, Cook played magnificently until he too injured his shoulder in the fourth quarter and had to exit. He led K-State on four touchdown drives in the first half by completing 9 of 11 passes for 127 yards. He threw touchdown passes to Deante Burton and Glenn Gronkowski. He also ran in a touchdown, giving K-State a 28-20 halftime lead.tmpplchld The Wildcats outplayed the Cowboys for an entire half with their fifth-string quarterback.tmpplchld It was almost enough.tmpplchld Oklahoma State figured out Cook’s style in the third quarter, limiting K-State to one yard of offense and one first down.tmpplchld Hubener returned in the fourth quarter and put K-State ahead, but Oklahoma State always seems to have an extra push at home. The Cowboys haven’t lost to the Wildcats in Stillwater since 1999.tmpplchld With the victory, Oklahoma State (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) remained undefeated.tmpplchld K-State (3-1, 0-1) suffered its first loss. It will next play No. 4 TCU next week at Snyder Family Stadium.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)tmpplchld Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld