STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — TCU’s Gary Patterson has long been known as one of the best defensive coaches in college football — especially against the run.
Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard, the nation’s leading rusher, treated Patterson’s highly ranked unit just like the rest of them. The sophomore speedster piled up 223 yards rushing, including two long touchdowns, to help Oklahoma State defeat TCU 34-27 on Saturday.
Hubbard rambled for 192 yards in the second half. A TCU spokesman said Hubbard became the first player to rush for at least 200 yards against TCU in Patterson’s 19-year run as head coach.
“When Chuba gets through there, nobody can catch him,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. “That makes him different than other players.”
Spencer Sanders passed for 158 yards and ran for 88 and Dillon Stoner caught three passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys (6-3, 3-3 Big 12), who became become bowl eligible for 14th straight year.
Oklahoma State played without star receiver Tylan Wallace, who reportedly tore an ACL during the week. Gundy said Wallace, a Biletnikoff Award finalist last season, is out for the season.
“It’s just hard for a coach to swallow,” Gundy said. “It just almost ruined my week when I left the office, when I went home. When I go home, it just makes me sick to where I can hardly function. It’s hard to lose a guy like that, not only as a player, but also as a person, what he brings to the table.”
Kolby Harvell-Peel led Oklahoma State’s defense with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Max Duggan passed for 258 yards and rushed for 86 for TCU (4-4, 2-3), but he threw three interceptions.
“That quarterback is a good player,” Gundy said. “He’s going to be a good player in this league. This league’s going to be tired of him over the next two or three years.”
Stoner caught touchdown passes of 57 and 22 yards in the first half to help Oklahoma State take a 17-3 lead. Duggan ran for a touchdown and threw for another to help TCU make it a 17-all game at halftime.
Hubbard broke loose for a 92-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The fourth-longest run in Oklahoma State history gave the Cowboys take a 24-17 lead.
“I just saw the hole and hit it,” Hubbard said. “The offensive line did a great job, we had a great offensive scheme, everyone on offense and defense played their butts off and it all just came together.”
Hubbard took off for a 62-yard score in the fourth quarter to give the Cowboys a 31-17 edge.
TCU’s Sewo Olonilua’s 1-yard touchdown run cut Oklahoma State’s lead to 31-24 with 7:11 to play. Oklahoma State’s Matt Ammendola nailed a 43-yard field goal with 2:04 left to extend the Cowboys’ lead to 10.
TCU’s Jonathan Song made a field goal in the final minute, but Oklahoma State recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
“The times we do the things we need to do football-wise, we can win football games,” Patterson said. “Still, as bad as we played, it was a seven-point ballgame on the road. A seven-point ballgame on the road as bad as we played. So when we can play well and figure it out, we can beat anyone, and when we don’t, we aren’t going to.”
THE TAKEAWAY
TCU: The Horned Frogs entered the day having allowed just 103.7 yards rushing per game but surrendered 307 on Saturday.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys learned they could beat a solid team without Wallace and still run the ball well when everyone expected it to go to Hubbard. They also might have found a new go-to receiver in Stoner.
ELITE COMPANY
With three regular-season games a bowl game remaining, Hubbard already has 1,604 yards rushing, the eighth-best single season in Oklahoma State history. The only players in school history ever to rush for more yards in a season are Barry Sanders, Terry Miller, Ernest Anderson, Thurman Thomas and Gerald Hudson.
QUOTABLE
Patterson: “There is no value in this game. There is no value in losing. Once you put value in losing, then you need to quit. It’s simple. There’s no in between. That’s how we built this program. There are no moral victories.”
UP NEXT
TCU hosts Baylor on Saturday.
Oklahoma State hosts Kansas on Nov. 16.
