Instant Recap: Oklahoma State Opens Season By Topping Oregon State 52-36

Spencer Sanders burst through an offseason cloud of quarterback conjecture and emerged as Oklahoma State’s starter — 23 yards downfield. He juked, hurdled and bombed his way to one of the more exhilarating debuts of a Cowboy passer in quite a while and, most importantly, it ended in a win.

OSU went on the road and beat the other OSU 52-36, and did so looking like a well-oiled offensive machine.

The biggest storyline heading into Friday’s late night game was the question mark surrounding just who would take snaps for the Cowboys. Would it be Spencer Sanders or Dru Brown? Either way, most expected both to play and that it would be a competition that spilled over into the nonconference schedule with each getting his turn.

The race, it appears, was not that close.

Not long before kickoff, Gundy finally showed his hand as news of Sanders earning the job leaked, and his highly-touted freshman paid it off with an impressive debut.

Sanders finished the night 19-of-24 for 203 yards passing and three touchdowns and rushed for another 109 yards, averaging 8.4 yards per carry. He was 5-of-6 on third downs passing, completed over 79 percent of his throws and held a passer rating of 191.5. Most importantly, he led OSU to six touchdown drives and a made field goal on its first seven possessions (minus the end of half).

Sanders looked the part in Game 1, but he wasn’t the only Cowboy to leave his mark on the field inside Reser Stadium.

Chuba Hubbard turned in a career-high 221 yards rushing and tied a career high with three rushing touchdowns. And Tylan Wallace was a couple inches away from logging what would have been a career-best three receiving scores. He finished with five catches for 92 yards and two scores.

But the OSU defense had its moments after a slow start.

After giving up scores on the Beavers’ first two possessions, Jim Knowles’ crew forced three consecutive three-and-outs, and it was the young guns who were showing out.

First-year starting Mike linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga led the way with 10 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Redshirt sophomore Tre Sterling finished second on the team with nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, but that doesn’t even accurately portray his impact. Redshirt freshman Tyler Lacy made some plays and true freshman Trace Ford had two pass breakups and a QB hurry.

Oklahoma State led by 15 at the half after a 24-6 second quarter and built a 46-23 lead heading into the fourth quarter. It didn’t look like we’d actually get a look at the Cowboys’ new punter, Tom Hutton, until he finally made his debut with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.

The Beavers outscored the Cowboys in the first and final periods, finishing on a 13-7 run in the fourth but it was too little, too late.

Oklahoma State moves to 1-0 on the season and will open its home slate against FCS opponent McNeese State next Saturday, September 7.