Oklahoma State football vs. Texas A&M: Five takeaways from Cowboys' win in Texas Bowl

HOUSTON — It won’t score high points for beauty, but Oklahoma State’s 31-23 victory over Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium on Wednesday night had plenty of other fancy numbers.

It was the 20th-ranked Cowboys’ 10th win of the year, a mark they’ve reached just 10 times in school history.

Breakout star running back Ollie Gordon surpassed the 100-yard mark in the game and the 1,700-yard mark for the season, a milestone only reached by the best of the best at Running Back U.

Receiver Brennan Presley tied the record for receptions in a game with 16, going for 152 yards, and receiver Rashod Owens had a career night with 164 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches.

After starting 2-2 with an ugly 33-7 loss to South Alabama at home in mid-September, it seemed at the time the Cowboys might struggle to even reach a bowl game. Yet they rallied behind Gordon, who emerged as the nation’s leading rusher, to earn a spot in the Big 12 title game and ultimately pile up 10 wins for the eighth time under coach Mike Gundy.

Here are four more takeaways from the Cowboys’ victory over Texas A&M:

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Ollie Gordon II cracks 100-yard mark again

With a 25-yard run early in the fourth quarter, Gordon surpassed the 100-yard mark, ultimately finishing with 118 yards and a touchdown to cap his Doak Walker Award-winning season.

His ninth 100-yard game brought his season total to 1,732, the sixth best in OSU history.

The only Cowboys with more in a season are Barry Sanders, Chuba Hubbard, Terry Miller, Ernest Anderson and Thurman Thomas.

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Xavier Benson forces key fumble

The Texas A&M offense had been rolling to start the second half, scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions.

And it looked like it was going to be three straight until OSU linebacker Xavier Benson made the biggest play of the night.

With A&M running back Amari Daniels in open field inside the OSU 10-yard line, Benson charged in from behind and punched the ball out.

Fellow Cowboy linebacker Nick Martin scooped up the ball at the 1-yard line to turn away the scoring threat and keep OSU up 31-20 at the time.

The Cowboy offense couldn’t score again, but the defense only gave up a field goal the rest of the way. Safety Kendal Daniels ended the game with an interception on a desperation heave by the Aggies as the clock expired.

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Alan Bowman has most productive OSU performance

Oklahoma State had 436 passing yards on the day, but quarterback Alan Bowman didn’t get credit for all of it.

Presley threw a 34-yard pass to Owens that set up a Gunnar Gundy rushing touchdown in the first half.

But Bowman had his biggest yardage total of the season with 402 yards, completing 34 of 49 passes with two touchdowns and four interceptions.

It was Bowman’s most yards in a game since throwing for 430 against Houston Baptist in the 2020 season opener when he was at Texas Tech.

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Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed strong in relief

True freshman quarterback Marcel Reed likely didn’t expect to play much, if at all, Wednesday night, but he strapped up his helmet for action early.

Starting quarterback Jaylen Henderson suffered a serious arm injury on the Aggies’ first offensive snap of the night.

Henderson jumped to avoid a tackle from OSU’s Cameron Epps, but Henderson’s foot was clipped and he landed awkwardly on his arm. He was taken to the locker room and did not return.

Reed entered and was slow to get going, but managed to lead a pair of field goal drives in the first half. Then he took the Aggies on a pair of touchdown drives to start the third quarter — including a 20-yard rushing touchdown of his own — to keep them within striking distance.

Reed finished 20-of-33 for 361 yards, plus 29 rushing yards and the TD.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football beats Texas A&M in Texas Bowl for 10th win