Oklahoma State 58 Central Michigan 44: Postgame Notes

Postgame Notes

• Spencer Sanders threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two in the first half and added another passing touchdown in the third quarter to become the first Cowboy to be responsible for six touchdowns in a game since Taylor Cornelius on Nov. 17, 2018, against West Virginia.
• Spencer Sanders’ career high passing yards entering the game was 400 yards. He surpassed that mark with 11:30 left in the fourth quarter and finished 28-for-41 with 406 yards and four touchdowns. Add in his two rushing touchdowns and Sanders set a career high of six touchdowns responsible for against Central Michigan.
• From halftime of the Fiesta Bowl through halftime of the Central Michigan game, Spencer Sanders has completed 43 of 59 attempts for 549 yards and five touchdowns through the air and had 16 carries for 139 yards and two scores rushing.
• Spencer Sanders’ touchdown rush with 4:32 left in the second quarter set a career high for rushing touchdowns in a single game.
• With 313 passing yards in the first half, Spencer Sanders became the first Cowboy to pass for 300 yards in a half since Taylor Cornelius on Nov. 10, 2018.
• At the half, Spencer Sanders accounted for 370 of OSU’s 393 total yards.
• Spencer Sanders surpassed 7,000 passing yards in his career during the Central Michigan game, becoming the fifth quarterback in program history to reach the 7,000-yard mark.
• With 57 rushing yards against Central Michigan, Spencer Sanders came closer to the quarterback rushing record at OSU. His career total now stands at 1,622 yards and needs just 249 yards to surpass Brent Blackman’s total of 1,870.
• Braydon Johnson’s reception of 45 yards in the third quarter was his longest since Oct. 3, 2020, when he recorded a 66-yard catch against Kansas and marked his 10th career reception of 40 yards or more.
• In his first game since the 2021 season opener, Braydon Johnson set a career high in catches and receiving yards on the first drive of the second half. He finished the game with six catches for 133 yards.
• John Paul Richardson’s 45-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter was the longest reception of his career. He finished the game with a career high of 73 yards on four catches.
• The Oklahoma State defense recorded its first safety since Nov. 28, 2020, against Texas Tech when Lamont Bishop tackled CMU’s Lew Nichols in the end zone in the first quarter.
• Mason Cobb led both teams in tackles and set his career highs with 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles-for-loss in his second start as a Cowboy.
• Oklahoma State’s game captains were Spencer Sanders, Jason Taylor II, Sean Michael Flanagan and Brock Martin.
• Several Cowboys returned to the field in the season opener against Central Michigan after missing time with injury. It was Collin Clay’s first time on the field since, Langston Anderson’s first time since Nov. 7, 2020, Trace Ford’s first time since Dec. 12, 2020, and Braydon Johnson first time since Sept. 4, 2021.
• Jake Schultz recorded his first career reception in the second quarter after transitioning to Cowboy back from defensive end in the offseason.
• Jaden Nixon scored the second touchdown of his career on a 17-yard reception at the 7:14 mark in the second quarter.
• The Cowboys scored touchdowns on six of their eight drives in the first half, with each drive taking 1:55 or less. OSU scored a touchdown on six consecutive drives starting from 0:50 in the first quarter to 14:23 in the third quarter.
• Oklahoma State held Lew Nichols, the FBS-leading rusher from a season ago, to 34 yards on 17 carries in the first half. Nichols finished with 72 yards on 26 carries, which snapped a streak of eight straight games with over 100 rushing yards.
• Oklahoma State posted 44 points in the first half, marking their highest total at halftime since scoring 49 against Pittsburgh on Sept. 16, 2017.
• Kendal Daniels had his first career interception at the 9:29 mark of the third quarter. He also recorded 11 tackles and one tackle for loss.
• Jason Taylor II set a career high with nine tackles after recording eight twice before in his OSU career.
• Last year, Collin Oliver ranked seventh in the FBS with 11.5 sacks. He picked up his first of this year in the third quarter against Central Michigan.
• Five Cowboys made their first starts for Oklahoma State against Central Michigan – Xavier Benson, Korie Black, Caleb Etienne, Sean Michael Flanagan and Dominic Richardson
• Several Cowboys also played in their first games for Oklahoma State, including true freshman Ollie Gordon, Braylin Presley, Stephon Johnson Jr., D.J. McKinney and Cameron Epps. Kale Smith, Donovan Stephens, Parker Robertson, Luke McEndoo, Logan Ward, Jason Brooks Jr., Tyrone Webber and Collin Clay each made their OSU debuts, as well.
• Zach Middleton scored the first touchdown of his career on his first rush of the game in the fourth quarter.
• Oklahoma State passed for four touchdowns and rushed for four touchdowns in the same game for the first time since Sept. 14, 2012, against Louisiana Lafayette.

 
The Oklahoma State win…

• Mark Mike Gundy’s 150th career win as a head coach.
• Improve its home winning streak to nine games, matching the third-longest streak in school history and the longest since the nine-game streak from Oct. 20, 2012 – Dec. 7, 2013.
• Moves Spencer Sanders to 25 wins as the starting quarterback at Oklahoma State. He trails only Mike Gundy (28) and Mason Rudolph (32) for most career wins in program history.
• Improve its non-conference home winning streak to 10 games, matching the fourth-longest streak in school history and the longest since the 15-game streak from Sept. 19, 2009 – Sept. 3, 2016.
• Snapped the five-game win streak Central Michigan brought into the game.
• Made its record 2-1 all-time vs. Central Michigan and its all-time record against the current members of the Mid-American Conference 6-1.
• Improved Mike Gundy’s record to 41-4 against non-Power Five teams.
• Made it 20-2 in its past 22 non-conference games and 42-7 in its past 49 non-conference games.
• Improved Mike Gundy 's record in non-conference games to 59-13.
• Made it 15-2 in its past 17 games overall, dating back to the 2020 season.
• Made it 149-68 in its history when playing as an AP-ranked team.
• Made it 136-39 in its history when playing as a higher AP-ranked team than its opponent.
• Made it 82-17 in its past 99 games vs. opponents outside of the AP Top 25, dating back to 2010.
• Improve Mike Gundy’s record in Thursday games to 12-0, with a 9-0 record in the regular season.
• Improve its record in season openers to 77-40-6 and its record in home season openers to 54-5-5.
• Made it 88-29-5 in home openers.
• Gives OSU wins in 14 of its past 15, 17 of its past 19 and 34 of its past 42 season openers.
• Improve Mike Gundy’s record in season openers to 16-2 and his record in home openers to 18-0.
• Gives OSU 27 consecutive wins in home openers, increasing the longest streak in school history.
• Gives OSU wins in 47 of its past 53 home openers.

Notable Streaks and Trends

• OSU has won nine consecutive home games.
• OSU has held its opponent scoreless on its game-opening drive in 25 of its past 32 games.
• OSU has held its opponent to less than a 50 percent third down conversion rate in 25 of its past 26 games.
• OSU is 40-6 in its past 46 games when leading at halftime, dating back to Sept. 17, 2016.
• Dating back to 2005, OSU is 44-4 when not committing a turnover.
• Dating back to 2008, OSU is 70-8 when winning the turnover battle.
• Over the past 26 games, OSU has held opponents to 108-for-389 (27.7%) on third down.
• Oklahoma State is 115-27 under Mike Gundy when outrushing the opponent.