Nov 22, 2003
Final Stats
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
WACO, Texas - Vernand Morency had his second straight 200-yard game and Rashaun Woods had six catches for 125 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 24 Oklahoma State to a 38-21 over Baylor on Saturday.
Morency, filling in for injured Big 12 rushing leader Tatum Bell, ran for 227 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries. Shawn Willis added a pair of 2-yard TD runs for the Cowboys (9-3, 5-3 Big 12).
Oklahoma State matched a school record with its ninth win in the regular season. The Cowboys have done that four other times, the last in 1988.
If No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 7 Texas both get into the Bowl Championship Series, Oklahoma State is a top contender to play in its second Cotton Bowl (the other was in 1944).
Baylor (3-9, 1-7) ended its first season under coach Guy Morriss with its seventh straight loss.
The game was tied at 7-all until Josh Fields threw touchdown passes on consecutive drives in the second quarter. The second was a timing pass to Woods for a 16-yard TD to cap a 92-yard drive with 1:48 left in the half.
On a day when the wind was steady at 25 mph with higher gusts, Fields was just 11 of 22 for 180 yards. But both of his TD passes were into the wind. Woods had at least two catches for the 43rd straight game.
Morency set up Fields' first TD with a 72-yard run, breaking a tackle at the line and eluding defenders with nifty moves before being run out of bounds at the 11. After Fields tried twice to throw to Woods, he found Billy Bajema for the go-ahead touchdown.
The Cowboys got the ball back after Daniel Sepulveda's wind-aided 62-yard punt, which landed out of bounds at the 8. Four plays later, Woods made an incredible one-handed catch near midfield, turning around and grabbing the ball with his outstretched right hand along the sideline.
With Bell and Seymore Shaw both injured, Morency became the first OSU runner since David Thompson in 1996 with consecutive 200-yard games. He had 269 yards and three TDs against Kansas a week earlier.
Morency's 35-yard TD run in the fourth quarter capped the scoring Saturday.
Oklahoma State had a quick 7-0 lead, having to go just 24 yards on its first drive after Gabe Lindsay's 45-yard punt return. After Morency slipped for a loss on his first carry, Woods had a 23-yard catch to set up Willis' 2-yard TD.
Willis' second TD, early in the fourth quarter after Woods' 30-yard catch, gave the Cowboys a 31-21 lead.
Baylor tied the game at 7-all in the first quarter after John Garrett sacked Fields and forced a fumble. The ball rolled 10 yards downfield to Willie Andrews, who scooped it up and ran 30 yards for the TD.
After Woods' TD, the Bears did manage to score before halftime. Freshman Shawn Bell threw a 12-yard TD to Robert Quiroga, who also had catches of 10 and 14 yards on the drive.
Bell, in his second game replacing Aaron Karas as Baylor's starter, completed 21 of 33 passes for 219 yards.
Luke Phillips' 26-yard field goal to cap the opening second-half drive for Oklahoma State, which has beaten Baylor eight straight times.
