FanHouse Zac Robinson

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.

STILLWATER, Okla. --- Texas coach Mack Brown normally demands his teams stay in the moment.

But in the week leading up to Saturday night's game against 13th-ranked Oklahoma State, Brown wanted to make certain the third-ranked Longhorns remembered where they were at this point last season and what they lost against Texas Tech.

They were different opponents, but presented a strikingly similar scenario a year apart.

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.

In so many real ways Texas has been the hump the Oklahoma State Cowboys have needed to clear but for any number of reasons just haven't.

In recent years they've come oh-so-close only to fail to come away with the coveted win. A turnover here, a missed tackle there and a failed opportunity somewhere else have been all that's prevented the Cowboys from success.

"There is no question it's been frustrating to be in a situation we've been in with them and just not been able to finish the deal," OSU quarterback Zac Robinson said Monday. "We know we've been really close the past few years and just haven't been able to finish it off."

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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.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said during Monday's Big 12 conference call that All-American running back Kendall Hunter is doubtful for Saturday's non-conference home game against Rice.

Hunter injured either his right ankle or right foot during the second quarter of the Cowboys' stunning upset loss to Houston on Saturday. He did not return, but experienced backs Keith Toston and Beau Johnson filled in nicely in Hunter's absence.

Both are expected to carry the load against the Owls is Hunter is unable to go.

One day following Oklahoma State's back-to-reality loss to Houston, head coach Mike Gundy was a bit reflective Sunday on what his team has been through and what remains ahead.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys had been the media darlings of the offseason, making Sports Illustrated covers, starting the year in almost everyone's Top 10 preseason poll, and then last week they seemed to make good on all of the expectations with a convincing season-opening win over Georgia.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Veteran defensive coordinator Bill Young has preached remaining calm and cool in the face of adversity since arriving at his alma mater Oklahoma State this past winter to take over the Cowboys' much-maligned defense.

Maybe to Young's surprise, his troops didn't wait long to see if the coach lived by his own words during Saturday's season-opener against the Georgia Bulldogs. One of the most giving defenses in the country in recent years, the Pokes' D caved on the opening drive, allowing the Bulldogs to march 80 yards in 10 plays on the opening possession at Boone Pickens Stadium.

The appearance is that not much has changed in the Big 12.

When we left off last season, three teams -- Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech --were vying for supremacy in the Big 12 South and ultimately the Big 12. Again this season, three teams from the South will clash for the title and likely the right to represent the conference in the BCS national title game.

But this time instead of Tech, Oklahoma State will join the three-ring circus with the Sooners and Longhorns in college football toughest division. Last season, Oklahoma edged out Texas for the division title despite losing the head-to-head battle and eventually made it to the BCS national championship game where Florida and the SEC came out on top 24-14.

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.