No. 6 OSU's defense leads the way in a 24-21 win over No. 17 ISU

Oklahoma State and Kansas State are alone atop the Big 12.

The No. 6 Cowboys stifled No. 17 Iowa State and QB Brock Purdy in a convincing 24-14 win on Saturday. The win pushes Oklahoma State to 4-0 and the Cowboys are the only team in the Big 12 that hasn’t lost this season.

OSU held Purdy to just 162 yards passing as Iowa State couldn’t do anything through the air. And the offense stepped up as soon as Iowa State tied the game in the third quarter.

Breece Hall tied the game at 14-14 with a 66-yard run in the third quarter. OSU immediately responded with a four-play TD drive that ended with a 14-yard run by Spencer Sanders. Saturday was Sanders’ first game back since he suffered an ankle injury in OSU’s season-opening win over Tulsa.

Sanders’ return wasn’t flawless, however. While he was 20-of-29 for 235 yards passing and had two total touchdowns, he also threw two interceptions.

But given how good Oklahoma State’s defense was, Sanders didn’t have to be perfect. Purdy struggled all day to throw downfield as his receivers didn’t find much space way past the line of scrimmage.

While the winning margin was just three points, the game wasn’t nearly that close for much of the second half. Iowa State’s final score came with less than a minute left and the Cyclones failed to get the onside kick.

The loss drops Iowa State to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12.