Ranking the Five Best Games of Dez Bryant’s Oklahoma State Career

News broke this week that Dez Bryant is on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame.

That led us to diving back into Bryant’s glorious stretch in orange and black. Although his college career was relatively short (thanks NCAA), the highlights were aplenty. Bryant caught passes in 25 games for Oklahoma State between 2007 and 2009. Here are the best of those games.

5. Georgia 2009

The secret was out on Bryant going into 2009, but the vaunted Georgia Bulldogs still couldn’t stop him.

Zac Robinson, Bryant’s quarterback, graced the cover of Sports Illustrated’s college football preview in August, and after this game, Bryant would make it two Cowboys on the magazine cover (back when magazines were topical) in less than two months.

The Pokes didn’t have the best start to this game. Georgia took the opening kickoff and proceeded to march down the field for a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on its opening possession. The Cowboys, meanwhile, punted on their opening four drives. But then Bryant made perhaps the most recognizable play of his OSU career.

Standing on his 48-yard line, Robinson heaved a ball into the Stillwater sky. Bryant split the Bulldogs’ safeties and tracked the ball down, diving into the end zone as he caught it. It ended up being a 46-yard touchdown catch to tie the game.

The Cowboys were nursing a 7-point lead in the fourth quarter when Dez burned the Bulldog again. Bryant caught a slant among three Georgia defenders before coolly diving into the end zone to put the game out of reach.

This is probably the game most OSU fans think of when they think about Bryant because of how big a deal beating Georgia in a top 15 matchup was. He finished with three catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns. This is the only game on this list that Bryant didn’t hit the century mark in, but because it was so impactful in OSU’s history, this game needed to be on the list.

4. Baylor 2008

This was back before the Bears were all that good at football, and Bryant proved he was a class above the team from Waco.

He caught 11 passes for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns on this day in Stillwater. By halftime, OSU led 28-6, and Bryant had six catches for 94 yards and both his touchdowns.

His first TD was a 37 yard completion on the Baylor sideline. His second was a nine-yard score where Robinson simply put the ball up in the air and let Bryant go get it.

Although he didn’t score in the second half, Bryant had catches of 52 and 37 yards, and the Cowboys beat freshman Robert Griffin and Baylor 34-6.

3. Iowa State 2008

In OSU’s very next home game, Bryant went off for nine catches for 171 yards and four scores in a 59-17 win against Iowa State.

The four touchdown catches were a career-high for Bryant, and he had three of those by halftime.

His first TD was an 11-yard reception from Robinson where Bryant caught the ball about the 4-yard line before sticking his head down and powering through a Cyclone defensive back into the end zone.

Touchdown No. 2 was on a 26-yard pass from Robinson, and it was the patented jump ball where Bryant just out-athleted (if that is such a word) the defender.

On OSU’s next play from scrimmage, Bryant might’ve scored the simplest TD of his career. He ran a post route, and for some reason, the Cyclone defenders thought it best to just let him go. It looked more like a classic James Washington TD, as Bryant ran under the ball, and trotted home for an 80-yard score.

That was all in a first half where Bryant caught seven passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns — the type of stat line some sophomores wouldn’t mind in a whole season, much less a half.

He had a one-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter — another jump ball.

2. Texas A&M 2008

The home game before that aforementioned contest against Baylor saw OSU host Texas A&M, and the Aggies had few answers for No. 1.

Three of Dez’s five catches were for touchdowns, and he also had a 78-yard punt return touchdown. He is 6-foot-2 and was returning punts. That’s how much of a freak Bryant was.

The Cowboys jumped on the Aggies early. Already up 7-0, Bryant caught a pass on a slant from Robinson and cruised into the end zone for a 29-yard score.

A&M went three-and-out on its next possession, just to punt to Bryant. He broke a tackle, made a few cuts and flew down the A&M sideline to balloon the Cowboys’ lead to three scores in the first quarter.

But Bryant wasn’t done. He had touchdown catches of 23 and 21 yards in the second half to finish the game with five catches for 106 yards and three scores while also having 110 yards and a touchdown on three returns (two punts and one kick).

1. Houston 2008

Houston finished 8-5 under Kevin Sumlin in 2008, but luckily for the Cougars, they had to play Dez only once.

How’s this for a stat line? Nine catches for 236 yards and three touchdowns and a 71-yard punt return for another score.

Bryant’s shortest touchdown that day was 29 yards, with his other two TD receptions coming from 39 yards and 74 yards.

Houston actually did an alright job of staying in the track meet, as the Cougars were down 12 early in the fourth quarter. That was before a Keith Toston touchdown and Bryant’s big punt return buried them.