Oklahoma State 40 BYU 34: Postgame Notes

20/21/21 Oklahoma State vs. BYU 

November 25, 2023 | Stillwater, Okla. (Boone Pickens Stadium) | Attendance: 53,855 

Final Score: No. 23 Oklahoma State 40, BYU 34 

Updated Records: Oklahoma State 9-3 overall (7-2 Big 12); BYU 5-7 overall (2-7 Big 12) 

Postgame Notes 

• Trailing 24-6 at halftime, Oklahoma State overcame an 18-point deficit to claim a double-overtime win over BYU, 40-34, and punch its ticket to the Big 12 Championship Game, where it will face Texas next week. 
• With 166 rushing yards and five touchdowns, Ollie Gordon II joined Barry Sanders as the only players in Oklahoma State history to rush for five touchdowns in a single game. Sanders accomplished the feat three times in his career. 
• With the win, Oklahoma State became the lone Big 12 team and the ninth Power Five Conference program to make more than one league championship game over the last four seasons. The list includes Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Utah, USC and Iowa. 

After overcoming a 14-point deficit at Houston last week, the Cowboys produced another historic comeback on Saturday: 

• OSU overcame deficits of 14 points or more in consecutive games for the first time in school history. 
• The win over BYU marked OSU’s largest home comeback victory and its third-largest comeback win in program history. The Cowboys erased a 21-point deficit to beat Notre Dame in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl and a 20-0 deficit to win at Colorado on Nov. 10, 1979. 
• OSU’s 24-13 fourth-quarter comeback also ranks third in fourth-quarter comebacks, sitting behind a 28-14 rally against Oklahoma on Dec. 6, 2014, and a 20-0 comeback versus Colorado on Nov. 10, 1979. 
• The win over BYU marked the 22nd time OSU has overcome a two-score deficit to win in the Mike Gundy era and the 16th time since 2014. 

Ollie Gordon II finished with 166 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Gordon II now has: 

• Rushed for at least 100 yards in eight of his last nine games. 
• Rushed for at least 150 yards in five games this season, including the last two. 
• Multiple touchdowns in a game for the sixth time this season. 
• 20 rushing touchdowns on the season. 
• Eight rushing touchdowns in his last two games. 
• 16 rushing touchdowns in his last six games. 

Oklahoma State has won more conference games than any other team in the Big 12 since 2020. Here are the cumulative Big 12 standings of the 2020s, not including games that finished after the conclusion of Oklahoma State vs. BYU: 

• OSU 25-11 
• OU 23-12 
• Texas 22-13 
• Kansas State 21-14 
• TCU 20-16 
• Iowa State 19-16 
• West Virginia 16-18 
• Texas Tech 16-20 
• Baylor 15-20 
• Kansas 8-26 

Trey Rucker ripped out and secured the game-winning fumble, etching the Cowboys its place in the Big 12 Championship. Here’s a look at his performance: 

• Rucker’s two fumble recoveries mark the most by an OSU player in a game this season. 
• Entering Saturday, Rucker had one fumble recovery in his career and it came while he played for Wake Forest. 

In the second half and overtime, the OSU defense held BYU to 10 points and 125 total yards, while coming up with a game-clenching fumble recovery in the second overtime. 

• Finishing with 90 yards on nine receptions, Brennan Presley now holds the 10th-most receiving yards (2,303) and sixth-most receptions (200) by a Cowboy in a single season. In the last two games, Presley has caught a total of 24 passes for 279 yards. 
• Alex Hale converted on both of his field goal attempts on Saturday, ranking him third in field goals (26) and second in field goal attempts (32) by a Cowboy in a single season. 
• With eight tackles on Saturday, Nicholas Martin moved to fourth for the most single-season tackles by a Cowboy since 1986. Martin has racked up 120 tackles on the season, the most since Malcolm Rodriguez had 130 in 2021. 
• The Cowboys finished the game with a 300-yard passer (Bowman), 100-yard rusher (Gordon II) and 100-yard receiver (Johnson III) for the third time in the last four games. 
• Quarterback Alan Bowman placed back-to-back 300+ yard passing games for his first time as a Cowboy, last doing so in the first two games of the 2020 season with Texas Tech. 
• In the third quarter, the Oklahoma State defense held BYU to just 23 total yards and one first down. In the quarter, the Cougars averaged just 1.8 yards per play. 
• Oklahoma State improved to 3-5 all-time in overtime games. This was the Cowboys’ first overtime game since Oct. 15, 2022, at TCU, and their first overtime win since Oct. 21, 2017, at Texas. 
• Leon Johnson III caught nine passes, a career-high, for 132 yards against BYU. Since debuting with the Cowboys five games ago, Johnson III is averaging 89.2 receiving yards per game. 
• Alex Hale nailed a 40-yard field goal to cap a six-play, 50-yard opening drive. For the Cowboys, it marked their first points on an opening drive since Bedlam. 
• Off a mishandled pitch, Trey Rucker scooped up his second-career fumble recovery at the BYU 19. Rucker’s first recovery came against Syracuse on Nov. 30, 2019, as a member of Wake Forest. 
• Forcing a three-and-out to open the second half, Ollie Gordon II punched in a two-yard rushing touchdown – his 16th rushing touchdown of the season. 
• Gordon II broke the end zone with another two-yard run in the third quarter. 
• Oklahoma State took its first lead of the game with 0:53 second remaining in play as Gordon II broke free to the left sideline for a 15-yard rushing. 
• Twenty-eight Cowboys had the chance to be honored for senior day festivities, although many can return for another season by using the NCAA’s extra year provided for COVID-19. 
• Oklahoma State’s game captains against the Cougars were Trey Rucker, Taylor Miterko, Collin Oliver and Brennan Presley.   

The Oklahoma State Win… 

• Secured a second-place finish in the final Big 12 standings, earning a Big 12 Championship game berth for the second time in the past three seasons. 
• Gave it at least nine wins for the 10th time in Mike Gundy's tenure as head coach. 
• Gave it wins in seven of its past eight games. 
• Improved Mike Gundy's record in November games to 41-31. 
• Improved Mike Gundy's record in home games to 95-29. 
• Improved Mike Gundy's record in Big 12 games to 102-63, moving him closer to matching Bill Snyder's 104 wins for the second most in the history of the conference. 
• Improved its record against BYU to 3-0 and its record against BYU at home to 1-0. 
• Improved Mike Gundy's record against BYU to 1-0. 
• Made it 30-11 in its past 41 games overall, dating back to the 2020 season. 
• Wrapped up its 2023 home season with a 6-1 record, giving it at least six home wins for a third consecutive season. 
• Gave it wins in 20 of its past 22 and 23 of its past 26 games played at Boone Pickens Stadium. 
• Made it 156-73 in its history when playing as an AP-ranked team. 
• Made it 143-44 in its history when playing as a higher AP-ranked team than its opponent. 
• Made it 93-24 in its past 117 games vs. opponents outside of the AP Top 25, dating to 2010. 

Notable Streaks and Trends 

• Ollie Gordon II has rushed for more than 100 yards in eight of the past nine games. 
• OSU has forced 18 turnovers and surrendered 12 turnovers in the past six games. 
• OSU's offensive line has allowed four total sacks in its past nine games, including no sacks allowed in five of its last eight. 
• OSU has held its opponent to less than a 50% third down conversion rate in 46 of its past 50 games. 
• OSU is 38-16 in its past 54 games decided by fewer than 10 points. 
• OSU has won three of its past six overtime games. 
• Over the past 48 games, OSU has held opponents to 226-for-742 (30.4%) on third down. 
• OSU has held its opponents to just 4-of-23 on fourth down attempts this season.