STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State scored 27 unanswered points after falling into an early 3-0 hole and the Cowboys cruised to a 43-13 victory against UTSA on Saturday night at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Daxx Garman completed 16 passes for the Cowboys (2-1) and they went for 315 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Desmond Roland rushed for a game-high 95 yards and two scores on 21 carries, while Rennie Childs added 44 yards on 13 totes.
Kenny Harrison's 31-yard punt return following an Oklahoma State three-and-out on its first possession helped set up the first points of the night, a 24-yard field goal by Sean Ianno. Tucker Carter's 14-yard pass to Aaron Grubb on 3rd-and-11 kept the seven-play, 20-yard drive alive.
The Cowboys quickly responded with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown march that was capped by Roland's plunge from 1-yard out. A pair of third-down penalties by the Roadrunners (1-2) enabled OSU to continue the possession.
The lead grew to 14-3 when Garman connected with James Washington on a 33-yard scoring pass with 90 seconds remaining in the opening stanza. That possession covered 83 yards in only five plays and took 1:46 off the clock.
Garman's second TD pass of the contest came at the 2:27 mark of the second stanza when he hooked up with Brandon Sheperd for 18 yards.
Ben Grogan added a 47-yard field goal with four seconds left in the first half and he opened the scoring after intermission with a 24-yarder that made it 27-3.
Carter was 7-for-15 for 51 yards in the first 60 minutes, but he was replaced by Blake Bogenschutz after halftime due to injury.
Bogenschutz connected on 8-of-14 passes for 82 yards and he added a 24-yard rushing TD in the third quarter. The Carthage native became the fifth true freshman to play for the Roadrunners this season.
David Morgan II led the UTSA receiving corps for the second consecutive outing with four receptions for 54 yards. The junior tight end has hauled in nine throws for 130 yards (14.4 avg.) in the past two contests.
The fourth quarter saw Ianno drill a 38-yard field goal, Roland again score from 1-yard out, Grogan boot his third field goal of the night, a 20-yarder, and Ashton Lampkin returned an interception 50 yards to paydirt on the game's final play to close out the scoring.
The Cowboys outgained UTSA, 477-206, and forced the Roadrunners to punt a program-record 11 times by limiting them to just three third-down conversions in 17 attempts.
The Birds will take next weekend off before opening their second season of Conference USA play on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Florida Atlantic (1-2). Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. (CT).