Sanders Leads No. 11 Oklahoma St. Past Arizona St., 34-17

Spencer Sanders passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and No. 11 Oklahoma State defeated Arizona State 34-17 on a rainy Saturday night.

Sanders passed for 268 yards and ran for 54, and Dominic Richardson ran for 131 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 44 yards for the Cowboys (2-0).

Emory Jones passed for 223 yards and a touchdown and Xazavian Valladay rushed for 118 yards and a score for Arizona State (1-1).

In the second quarter, Oklahoma State’s Brock Martin’s hit Valladay hard and forced a fumble, Tyler Lacy recovered and the Cowboys took over at the Arizona State 37. Oklahoma State took advantage, and Richardson’s 3-yard touchdown run gave the Cowboys a 7-3 lead.

Later in the quarter, Sanders kept on the option for a 6-yard touchdown run to put Oklahoma State up 14-3 with just under three minutes left before halftime. His score capped an 11-play, 96-yard drive. The Cowboys tacked on a field goal to lead 17-3 at the break.

Valladay’s 1-yard touchdown run, which came shortly after a 73-yard reception by Giovanni Sanders, cut Oklahoma State’s lead to 17-10.

After an Oklahoma State field goal, Jones connected with Elijhah Badger for a 21-yard touchdown that pulled Arizona State to 20-17 with 14:25 to play. The Cowboys responded with trickery as Sanders found Bryson Green wide open on a flea-flicker, and the 31-yard score put Oklahoma State in control for good.

THE TAKEAWAY

Arizona State: The Sun Devils struggled with their passing game, completing just 12 of 24 passes. Defensively, Arizona State allowed just 120 yards the previous week against Northern Arizona, but surrendered 465 yards on Saturday.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys gave up 546 yards in the opener against Central Michigan, but they bounced back and held the Sun Devils to 354 total yards.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

There’s room for the Cowboys to move up into the Top 10 after Texas A&M and Notre Dame lost on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Arizona State hosts Eastern Michgan.

Oklahoma State hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff.