TOP 25 ROUNDUP: Oklahoma State wins shootout with Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas — The Oklahoma State Cowboys stayed unbeaten by surviving a shootout with Texas Tech.

Quarterback J.W. Walsh made the key plays in the fourth quarter, helping No. 12 Oklahoma State to a 70-53 victory on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium.

In the fourth quarter, Walsh broke free for a 64-yard run to the Texas Tech 2, then ran it in on the next play to put the Cowboys ahead for good early in the fourth quarter.

With Texas Tech needing a stop late in the fourth quarter, Walsh hit James Washington for a 73-yard touchdown to re-establish a 10-point lead.

“J.W. obviously hit the big plays and had the long run,” Gundy said. “We weren’t using him enough.”

Oklahoma State shut out Texas Tech in the third quarter and punt returner Jalen McCleskey scored on a 67-yard return to cut Texas Tech’s lead to 38-35 and help turn the momentum. The Cowboys then went ahead on Raymond Taylor’s 28-yard touchdown run with 1:49 left in the third.

Washington scored midway through the fourth quarter on a 75-yard reverse play to give the Cowboys an 11-point cushion.

The Cowboys (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) wore out Texas Tech’s defense as they posted 662 yards of total offense.

But Oklahoma State kept from being buried in the first half.

The Red Raiders took a 10-point lead to the break after Patrick Mahomes surged over the goal line for a one-yard touchdown run.

No. 10 Iowa 31, Maryland 15

Tenth-ranked Iowa continued its march toward a Big Ten West crown by running all over Maryland 31-15 on Saturday.

Iowa moved to 8-0 (4-0 in the Big Ten) with the victory for the second time in seven seasons, while Maryland dropped to 2-6 and 0-4.

All three of Iowa’s scores during the game’s first 30 minutes came courtesy of three different running backs.

The first touchdown of the afternoon came from junior running back LeShun Daniels, who followed up a fumble recovery by sophomore defensive back Miles Taylor by scoring from a yard out to put Iowa ahead 7-0. Taylor also intercepted a pass from Maryland junior quarterback Perry Hills.

Then in the second quarter, sophomore running back Akrum Wadley got in on the fun as he ran in a touchdown from 12 yards out to extend the lead to 14-0.

The second half did not start kindly for the Terrapins, as junior quarterback Perry Hills threw his second of three interceptions on the day to Iowa senior defensive back — and Maryland native — Jordan Lomax. But while the Hawkeyes were not able to respond, Maryland inched closer at the fourth quarter when Hills found sophomore wide receiver Taivon Jacobs for a 7-yard touchdown completion with 14:37 remaining.

Hills then threw his third interception of the game to Iowa junior cornerback Desmond King, who returned the pick back 88 yards for a Hawkeyes touchdown. The interception was King’s seventh of the season, which currently leads the Big Ten.

Iowa will seek its ninth consecutive victory next week at Indiana, while Maryland returns home to face Wisconsin.

No. 24 UCLA 35, Colorado 31

UCLA kept alive its slim PAC-12 South hopes Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl but just barely. Upstart Colorado played keep away from the Bruins’ offense for much of the game, but No. 24 UCLA was able to escape with a 35-31 victory before 51,508 at the Rose Bowl.

A fourth-down defensive stand by the Bruins with 3:34 to go and the Buffaloes driving was the critical play for UCLA. Colorado got the ball back with 1:51 remaining before Bruins cornerback Nate Meadors’ interception clinched the victory with 51 seconds left.

UCLA (6-2, 3-2 Pac-12) had substantially fewer offensive plays than Colorado (4-5, 1-4), but the Bruins enjoyed a 118-yard rushing performance from junior Paul Perkins.

Perkins unleashed several nifty moves, turning a screen pass into a 31-yard touchdown with 8:01 remaining in the first quarter to give UCLA a 7-0 lead.

Colorado put themselves in position to tie the score, driving inside the Bruins’ 5-yard line. But quarterback Sefo Liufau had his pass intercepted at the four by UCLA cornerback Ishmael Adams, who returned it 96 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 with 7:01 left in the second quarter.

The Buffaloes showed their first-half success was no fluke as it took the opening second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards in eight plays to score on Donovan Lee’s 1-yard touchdown run with 12:06 left in the third quarter. That cut the Bruins’ lead to 21-13.

UCLA stretched the advantage to 28-13 with a six-play, 81-yard drive. Backup running back Nate Starks scored the touchdown on an 11-yard run with 7:35 left in the third quarter.

A 62-yard pass completion from Liufau to running back Devin Ross set up a 6-yard touchdown by freshman running back Patrick Carr. Liufau then hit wide receiver Nelson Spruce for a two-point conversion to give Colorado its first lead 31-28.

The Bruins went back on top 35-31 with 8:28 left to play when freshman running back Soso Jamabo scored on a 2-yard run.