COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECAP

Oklahoma State holds off Texas Tech in shootout

The Sports Xchange

September 25, 2014 at 11:36 pm.

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are known for their shootouts.

Wideout James Washington (28) made a number of big plays in OSU's win over Texas Tech. (Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports)

And they didn’t disappoint with their latest edition on Thursday night at Boone Pickens Stadium.

In the end, the No. 24-ranked Cowboys had the bigger gun.

Quarterback Daxx Garman threw for a career-high 370 yards and four touchdowns in just his second start, leading Oklahoma State to a 45-35 win before a crowd of 55,958.

The previous five games in the series — all Cowboys wins — featured a combined 4,958 yards of total offense and 330 points.

This time, the teams combined for 1,034 yards on 164 plays.

Oklahoma State won its third straight, improving to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12. The Red Raiders dropped to 2-2 and 0-1.

Tech’s Davis Webb passed for 374 yards and four touchdowns before leaving the game with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter. But he needed 54 throws and 35 completions to get to his total.

Garman’s yardage and touchdowns came on a 17-for-31 passing night, meaning he averaged 21.8 yards per completion. His scoring passes covered 33, 39, 50 and 47 yards.

And Garman added a fourth-quarter touchdown run to go with two second-half touchdown passes that pushed OSU’s lead to 45-28 at one point.

Tech rallied, getting a 4-yard scoring pass from backup quarterback Patrick Mahomes to make it a two-score game late.

Just another shootout.

Garman, who replaced injured J.W. Walsh in the season’s second game, hadn’t played in a live game in five years, since his junior year of high school in 2009.

Garman’s path to Stillwater was circuitous, as he ran into eligibility issues while changing high schools in Oklahoma and later Texas.

Now a junior, he originally signed to play at Arizona but left there when Mike Stoops was fired and he didn’t fit into the run-pass system of Rich Rodriguez.

Garman clearly is pass-pass.

Against Tech, he fired deep often, connecting twice with true freshman James Washington for touchdowns, with scoring passes also going to Tyreek Hill and Blake Jarwin. He had another touchdown pass of 70 yards to Washington called back by penalty.

In the first half, Texas Tech outgained Oklahoma State 340-279, owned an almost nine-minute edge in time of possession and gained 21 first downs to the Cowboys’ 12.

Even so, Oklahoma State led 21-14 at the break.

The Cowboys used their quick-strike offense to make up for the stat deficiencies. Their scoring drives all lasted less than a minute.

The Red Raiders marched to a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, going 83 yards on 10 plays with Webb hitting wide receiver Reginald Davis for the final 21 yards.

Oklahoma State tied it late in the first quarter, needing only four plays and 59 seconds to cover 80 yards. Garman struck for two big plays: a 40-yard throw to wide receiver Marcell Ateman and a 33-yard pass to wide receiver James Washington for the score.

Webb connected with wide receiver Brad Marquez on an 18-yard scoring pass to send Tech back in front 14-7 before the Cowboys flipped the script late in the second quarter.

Roland finished a 48-second drive that covered 61 yards, running in from 1 yard after Garman hit running back Jeremy Seaton for 28 yards to the 1. After cornerback Kevin Peterson intercepted a Webb pass to set up the Cowboys at the Red Raiders’ 39, Garman went right to Washington on the first play for another deep score.

Webb completed 27 of 44 passes for 274 yards in the first half.

Garman went 9 of 16 before the break but averaged 23 yards per completion for 207 yards.

NOTES: The Cowboys lost starting CB Ashton Lampkin to a lower leg injury in the first quarter. Lampkin broke up a pass intended for Texas Tech WR Reginald Davis but landed awkwardly. Lampkin was replaced by true freshman Ramon Richards, who was frequently targeted from then on. … Both teams broke out creative new helmets for the game. The Red Raiders wore white helmets that featured a stallion and a bull. Oklahoma State’s helmets were a metallic orange, with chrome face masks and an enlarged picture of mascot Pistol Pete on the sides… Former Texas Tech star Wes Welker, an Oklahoma City native, spent the game on the Red Raiders’ sideline. Welker’s Denver Broncos are off this weekend.

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