OSU tops Texas Tech

STILLWATER Since their teams combined for 1,328 yards and 94 points when Oklahoma State won here two years ago, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach and Cowboy coach Mike Gundy have been determined to play better defense. Leach did it by promoting Ruffin McNeill to Tech's defensive coordinator position. Gundy hired Bill Young to coordinate the Cowboy defense. What transpired on Saturday, in a Big 12 contest witnessed by 52,811 at Boone Pickens Stadium, looked nothing like the video-game, high-scoring football that was typical during recent Tech-OSU meetings. This game reflected each program's commitment to defense and Gundy's commitment to rushing the football . After averaging less than 2 yards per rush attempt during the first half, the 17th-ranked Cowboys dominated with second-half ball control and recorded a 24-17 triumph. "It was a tale of two halves," Gundy said. "It's probably as proud as I've ever been of a group of guys rallying together." OSU running backs Keith Toston and Kendall Hunter combined to rush for 144 yards, while quarterback Zac Robinson ran the ball more aggressively and successfully than at any point this season. Robinson, frequently after being flushed from the pass pocket, carried 19 times for 99 yards. On his final carry a 9-yard scramble to the Red Raider 5-yard line with 1:38 left to play Robinson and Red Raider cornerback Jamar Wall collided in a vicious helmet-to-helmet crash. Robinson's fumble was recovered by Texas Tech's Brandon Sharpe. Both Robinson and Wall received medical attention for several minutes before they were able to leave the field. It was not immediately determined whether Robinson had sustained a concussion, and his status is uncertain for Thursday's conference contest with Colorado. Gundy said OSU's medical personnel did not seem alarmed after examining Robinson on the sideline. "Let's just hope that both players ... will be OK," Gundy said. "I had a lot of respect for the Texas Tech coaches and players that came over when Zac went down. That shows a lot of class. Their defensive coordinator (McNeill) walked all the way out on the field to check on him. It's not surprising that they have guys on their staff that have a lot of class." With 8:06 left, Cowboy senior linebacker Patrick Lavine intercepted a Steven Sheffield pass and scored on a 21-yard return that gave OSU a 14-point cushion. Lavine has five interceptions this season more than any other linebacker in major- college football . Cornerback Perrish Cox had two interceptions for the Cowboys, who, with Cotton Bowl and Alamo Bowl scouts watching from the press box, improved to 8-2 overall, 5-1 in the Big 12. After Robinson's lost fumble, the Red Raiders drove to midfield. On a fourth-down play, Tramain Swindall dropped a Taylor Potts pass and Texas Tech's record dropped to 6-4, 3-3. During the first half, the Cowboys netted 36 rushing yards on 21 attempts. OSU's offensive line consistently was whipped by the Texas Tech front seven. During the second half, OSU ran 39 times for 207 yards. The Cowboys had 50 second-half offensive plays. The Red Raiders had 27. The most important statistic of the night was time of possession. Oklahoma State had an advantage of more than 14 minutes. OSU had 333 total yards. Texas Tech entered with an average of 474 total yards per game but was limited to 357 yards. "It was one of the better days for a defense that we've had around here," Gundy said. When the Red Raiders played here two years ago, they had 718 total yards. "You've got to give Oklahoma State credit," Leach said. "They're a good team and played real well. Here at their place, they're a handful." Getting a 12-yard Alex Torres touchdown catch and Matt Williams' 34-yard field goal during the second period, the Red Raiders took a 10-7 lead to the halftime locker room. In spite of having possessed the football five times in OSU territory, Texas Tech scored only one first-half touchdown. Slide Show object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="440" height="360" id="soundslider"param name="movie" value="http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2009/slideshows/OSU_Tech_2009/soundslider.swf?size=2&format=xml&embed_width=440&embed_height=360" /param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /param name="quality" value="high" /param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /param name="menu" value="false" /param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /embed src="http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/2009/slideshows/OSU_Tech_2009/soundslider.swf?size=2&format=xml&embed_width=440&embed_height=360" quality="high" bgcolor="#000000" width="440" height="360" menu="false" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" allowFullScreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"/embed/object To see all of the Tulsa World slide shows, go to tulsaworld.com/photos. UP NEXT Vs. Colorado 6:30 p.m. Thursday TV: ESPN-25 Radio: KFAQ am1170, KRVT am1270 Bill Haisten 581-8397 bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com SUBHEAD: Second-half surge sends Cowboys to win over Red Raiders.