Oklahoma State 58, Central Michigan 44
By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer
STILLWATER, Okla. - Spencer Sanders passed for a career-high 406 yards and accounted for six touchdowns and No. 12 Oklahoma State beat Central Michigan 58-44 to give Mike Gundy his 150th coaching victory.
Gundy improved to 150-69 in his 18th season coaching his alma mater.
Sanders matched a career high with four touchdown passes and set a career mark with two rushing scores in the opener for both teams. Braydon Johnson had career highs of six catches for 133 yards and Brennan Presley added five catches for 83 yards.
Daniel Richardson passed for a career-high 424 yards and threw four touchdown passes for Central Michigan. Lew Nichols III, the nation's leading rusher last year, ran for 72 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.
Sanders passed for 313 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and ran for two more scores to help the Cowboys take a 44-15 lead.
The Cowboys led 51-15 less than a minute into the third quarter before Central Michigan climbed back into the game. Jalen McGaughy's 54-yard touchdown pass from Richardson cut it to 58-44 with 3:15 remaining. McGaughy had six catches for 126 yards and two scores.
Central Michigan gained 546 total yards and outscored Oklahoma State 29-14 in the second half.
THE TAKEAWAY
Central Michigan: The Chippewas came in with high hopes after going 9-4 last season and beating Washington State in the Sun Bowl. But Sanders was too much for them early, and they couldn't get their running game going well enough to control the clock and slow his rhythm.
Oklahoma State: The defense carried much of the load last season, but the offense put up 531 total yards on Thursday, mostly in the first half. The running game still could use some work, though. Oklahoma State finished with 125 yards rushing on 32 carries, and the Cowboys struggled to put the game away.
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
CentMi | OkSt |
| OkSt |
TD |
10:09 |
John Paul Richardson 45 yard TD pass from Spencer Sanders (Tanner Brown Extra Point) |
0 |
7 |
| CentMi |
TD |
7:05 |
Carlos Carriere 15 yard TD pass from Daniel Richardson (Marshall Meeder Extra Point) |
7 |
7 |
| OkSt |
SF |
0:55 |
Team safety |
7 |
9 |
| OkSt |
TD |
0:00 |
Spencer Sanders 17 yard TD run (Tanner Brown Extra Point) |
7 |
16 |
| Second Quarter |
CentMi | OkSt |
| OkSt |
TD |
11:32 |
Braydon Johnson 13 yard TD pass from Spencer Sanders (Tanner Brown Extra Point) |
7 |
23 |
| OkSt |
TD |
7:14 |
Jaden Nixon 17 yard TD pass from Spencer Sanders (Tanner Brown Extra Point) |
7 |
30 |
| OkSt |
TD |
4:32 |
Spencer Sanders 23 yard TD run (Tanner Brown Extra Point) |
7 |
37 |
| CentMi |
TD |
0:43 |
Lew Nichols III 4 yard TD run (Jalen McGaughy 2pt conversion attempt is GOOD) |
15 |
37 |
| OkSt |
TD |
0:11 |
Dominic Richardson 1 yard TD run (Tanner Brown Extra Point) |
15 |
44 |
| Third Quarter |
CentMi | OkSt |
| OkSt |
TD |
14:23 |
Bryson Green 7 yard TD pass from Spencer Sanders (Tanner Brown Extra Point) |
15 |
51 |
| CentMi |
TD |
11:14 |
Jalen McGaughy 1 yard TD pass from Daniel Richardson (Marshall Meeder Extra Point) |
22 |
51 |
| Fourth Quarter |
CentMi | OkSt |
| CentMi |
TD |
12:31 |
Myles Bailey 18 yard TD pass from Daniel Richardson (Carlos Carriere 2pt conversion attempt is NO GOOD) |
28 |
51 |
| OkSt |
TD |
9:17 |
Zach Middleton 1 yard TD run (Tanner Brown Extra Point) |
28 |
58 |
| CentMi |
TD |
6:50 |
Lew Nichols III 15 yard TD run (Carlos Carriere 2pt conversion attempt is GOOD) |
36 |
58 |
| CentMi |
TD |
3:15 |
Jalen McGaughy 54 yard TD pass from Daniel Richardson (Joel Wilson 2pt conversion attempt is GOOD) |
44 |
58 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Central Michigan |
Oklahoma State |
| First downs |
30 |
28 |
| Rushing |
7 |
9 |
| Passing |
21 |
17 |
| Penalty |
2 |
2 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
4-16, 25% |
3-11, 27% |
| 4th down efficiency |
3-5, 60% |
0-1, 0% |
| Rushes-Yards |
39-122 |
32-125 |
| Passing Yards |
424 |
406 |
| Return Yards |
53 |
95 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
36-49-1 |
28-41-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
2-15 |
1-7 |
| Punts |
5 |
8 |
| Fumbles Lost |
1-0 |
1-0 |
| Penalties - Yards |
7-68 |
5-45 |
| Central Michigan Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| D. Richardson |
36 |
49 |
424 |
4 |
1 |
| Oklahoma State Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| S. Sanders |
28 |
41 |
406 |
4 |
0 |
| Central Michigan Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Oklahoma State Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| K. Daniels |
1 |
0 |
| Central Michigan Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| L. Elzinga |
5 |
197 |
39.4 |
| Oklahoma State Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| T. Hutton |
7 |
288 |
41.1 |
| Oklahoma State Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| B. Presley |
2 |
11 |
5.5 |
| Central Michigan Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| I. Jackson |
2 |
37 |
18.5 |
| M. Bailey |
1 |
21 |
21.0 |
| Central Michigan Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| M. Meeder |
50 |
| Oklahoma State Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
