COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECAP

Mixon, Mayfield lead Sooners past Cowboys

The Sports Xchange

December 03, 2016 at 1:34 pm.

Dec 3, 2016; Norman, OK, USA;  Oklahoma Sooners running back Joe Mixon (25) runs for a touchdown during the second half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Dec 3, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Joe Mixon (25) runs for a touchdown during the second half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma State found some life in the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon quickly snuffed it out.

Mixon’s 79-yard touchdown run with just less than 10 minutes remaining put the game away just after the Cowboys missed a field goal as the No. 9 Sooners beat No. 10 Oklahoma State 38-20 in front of 87,527 at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Barring something unexpected in the College Football Playoff rankings, the Sooners appear to be headed to the Sugar Bowl for the second time in four seasons. Oklahoma State is likely headed to the Alamo Bowl to play a Pac-12 opponent.

The win was Oklahoma’s second consecutive in the Bedlam series and gave the Sooners the first perfect record in Big 12 play since Texas in 2009.

Baker Mayfield threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns, out-dueling Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph.

Rudolph threw for 186 yards and no touchdowns.
The Sooners lost two of their top playmakers — wide receiver Dede Westbrook and running back Samaje Perine — to injuries during the game though both still managed to have huge impacts.

Westbrook had four catches for 111 yards, including a 69-yard score early in the second quarter, before his injury.

Going over the middle attempting to make a catch, Westbrook took a hard hit from Oklahoma State free safety Jordan Sterns and remained motionless on the ground for several moments.

Eventually, he was able to walk off the field under his own power.

He remained dressed out on the sidelines for the remainder of the game but did not return.

Perine rushed for 239 yards and a touchdown, largely taking over in helping the Sooners’ offense move down the field after Westbrook’s injury before he was knocked out of the game himself.

Perine had carried the ball on all five plays of Oklahoma’s drive before he took a hard hit on the sixth, coughed the ball up and stayed down on the turf.

The junior eventually got up and walked immediately to the locker room but returned a few minutes later and entered the game with about eight minutes remaining and added more than 50 yards of rushing, carrying the ball 12 times on 13 plays before Oklahoma was able to take a knee to finish the game.

NOTES: Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon became the fourth Sooners player to gain more than 2,000 all-purpose yards in a season. DeMarco Murray (twice), Quentin Griffin and Greg Pruitt were the others. … A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 did the pregame flyover, honoring Southwest employee and former Sooners punter Mike Winchester, who was shot and killed Nov. 15 at Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport. … With his 32-yard run late in the first quarter, Oklahoma State RB Justice Hill broke the 1,000-yard barrier, becoming the first Cowboys freshman to top that mark. … Oklahoma CB Parrish Cobb, who hadn’t played since the loss to Ohio State in September and who OU hoped to redshirt, came into the game late in the third quarter after Jordan Parker was injured.

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