FanHouse DezBryant

The Oklahoma State Cowboys rallied in the second half to defeat Colorado, 31-28, on Thursday night at Boone Pickens Stadium to remain in contention for their first BCS bowl.

With Zac Robinson sitting out the game due to a shoulder injury, the 12th-ranked Cowboys (9-2, 6-1 Big 12) turned to junior Alex Cate but it was third-string sophomore Brandon Weeden who rallied them from a 21-10 deficit against the struggling Buffaloes.

Weeden completed 10 of 15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. His 28-yard touchdown pass to Justin Blackmon while rolling right gave the Oklahoma State Cowboys the lead for good with 8:11 remaining in the game. Weeden also had a 47-yard touchdown throw to running back Keith Toston earlier in the second half.

Let the Dez Bryant/NCAA debate begin.

Just or unjust? Excessive or just plain over the top?

Whatever side you fall on, the NCAA has made it's decision where Oklahoma State All-American receiver Dez Bryant is concerned. The governing body turned down the final appeal on the junior's one-year suspension for lying, likely ending his college career.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- It almost seems uncanny, the parallels between tonight's Texas-Oklahoma State Halloween showdown and last season's matchup between the Longhorns and Texas Tech.

A hostile road environment that will be filled with rowdy fans. Night game. National TV audience. The fourth game of an unforgiving four-game stretch that includes Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri before this one.

A bid for the Big 12 South title and a shot at the BCS national championship game also hang in the balance.

There is nothing new about Bob Stoops matching coaching wits with old mentor and boss Bill Snyder. They've done plenty of that over the years in Big 12 cross-divisional play.

But that doesn't mean Stoops isn't a little surprised to see Snyder, 70, back on the Wildcats sideline. The longtime Kansas State coach retired four years ago to pursue opportunities outside coaching, but was lured out of retirement last winter.

Stoops, whose 22nd-ranked Sooners host the Wildcats on Saturday, admits it's a little unexpected to be going up against his old boss again, but he was stunned when Snyder was no longer there, too.

It seemed a little harsh Monday when Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy told reporters "I think everybody has given up," when asked about the chances of All-American receiver Dez Bryant coming off indefinite suspension.

As it turned out, Gundy was more prophetic than pessimistic.

The NCAA officially ended the junior wide receiver's season Tuesday night, refusing to reinstate his eligibility until Sept. 2010 after Bryant misled investigators his interaction with former NFL star Deion Sanders.

Oklahoma State is appealing the decision.

It's just three weeks into the full-swing of Big 12 play but the North Division is looking like any of the six teams could win the race.

That doesn't necessarily bode well at all for the weaker half of the two-division league.

Nebraska and Kansas came into the season as the presumed favorites to represent the North, but after two weeks of inconsistent play neither seems as powerful. The same can be said for two-time North champion Missouri, which started the season a surprising 4-0, but has dropped its first two games of the Big 12 season.

Suspended Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant has the support of head coach Mike Gundy as he heads to Indianapolis on Tuesday to request reinstatement by the NCAA.

Bryant, the Cowboys All-American receiver/punt returner, was suspended by OSU last week after it came out that he lied to the NCAA about his involvement with former star NFL cornerback Deion Sanders. The NCAA said Bryant violated a rule governing ethical conduct by lying to investigators. Apparently, the NCAA asked Bryant about going to Sanders home in the Dallas-area last May and he denied going.

Dez Bryant, an All-American wide receiver at Oklahoma State, was ruled ineligible last week because he lied to the NCAA about whether he had ever visited Deion Sanders' home. Bryant had, he said he hadn't, and for now he's no longer playing football for the Cowboys.

Sunday, Sanders used his NFL Network gig to talk about his relationship with Bryant, as well as the tampering investigation surrounding Michael Crabtree, the 49ers' 2009 first-round pick.

I thought Primetime came out of the 11-minute interview better than he went into it, but the circumstances are curious nonetheless.

The news just keeps getting worse for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the team many figured could challenge Texas and Oklahoma for supremacy in the Big 12 this season.

The school confirmed Wednesday that All-American receiver Dez Bryant has been declared ineligible after lying to the NCAA about his interaction with former NFL star Deion Sanders this past May. Bryant visited Sanders' home in Texas, had lunch with him and worked out with the NFL star this past May.

But when asked by the NCAA first in the offseason, then again Sept. 11 about the interaction with Sanders, Bryant denied both accounts because he thought it was a rules violation. The meeting and workout with Sanders, who is unaffiliated with Oklahoma State, likely wasn't a violation. Misleading NCAA investigators, however, is.

DALLAS -- The pieces all seem to be in place for Oklahoma State to have a season that will be talked about for years.

An almost certain top-10 preseason ranking. A high-octane offense loaded with talent and experience. A serious contender for the program's first Big 12 South title, and just its second-ever conference title. Expectations that a promising season will end with a BCS game.

For Oklahoma or Texas, those expectations just come with the territory. But for Oklahoma State, the season might suddenly seem like one big pressure cooker.