Oklahoma State Isn't Going Away in Playoff Race After Latest Comeback Win

The scene looked somewhat familiar Saturday afternoon in Ames, Iowa.

An undefeated Oklahoma State team with its eyes on a Big 12 championship and perhaps a national title run found itself in a highly competitive matchup with a heavy underdog in Iowa State. The last time this happened, back in 2011, OSU fell in double overtime on the road to the Cyclones.

But this is a different year, a different game and a different team of Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Instead of struggling to hold onto a halftime lead at Jack Trice Stadium, Oklahoma State was the one doing the late rallying Saturday afternoon in a 35-31 win over three-win Iowa State.

The Cyclones punched the Cowboys, riding high after a huge upset win over formerly undefeated TCU, right in the mouth from the opening kickoff. Iowa State scored 24 points on its first four possessions of the game, while Oklahoma State could only muster an opening touchdown, a three-and-out and a missed field goal.

But after the midway point in the second quarter, Oklahoma State outscored Iowa State, 28-7—with the hosts' only touchdown coming on a short field. The Cowboys outgained the Cyclones in total yards, 259-104, in the second half.

Oklahoma State's comeback wasn't perfect by any means. The offense lost the ball inside its own territory on a drive that could've led to a game-tying or go-ahead score. Instead, Iowa State quickly found the end zone to go up, 31-21, late in the third quarter.

That's when the Oklahoma State defense put Iowa State on lockdown.

The Cyclones only picked up one first down in the entire fourth quarter and turned the ball over on downs after an excellent short-yardage stop.

When Oklahoma State couldn't get enough offensive momentum in order to add to its four-point lead, the Cowboys picked up one more stop—an interception of ISU quarterback Joel Lanning, who had tormented them earlier in the game.

David Purdy/Getty Images

This time around, Oklahoma State got the late stops it needed to avoid the big upset.

Offensively, the Cowboys overcame a few hiccups in the game and put together several sustained drives that turned into points.

Their second-quarter touchdown drive went for 88 yards. The next one went for 92. The two in the fourth quarter went for 58 and 84 yards, respectively.

Oklahoma State did what it does best this season—cashing in near the red zone. Outside of Ben Grogan's missed 28-yard field goal in the second quarter, the Cowboys turned five other trips inside the 20 into five touchdowns. 

One of the reasons Oklahoma State's offense was so successful in spurts against Iowa State was the threat of a better rushing attack.

Instead of it being a flaw like it has been several times this season, running back Chris Carson and reserve quarterback J.W. Walsh combined for three touchdowns on the ground.

When Walsh checked into the game on Oklahoma State's final scoring drive, the Cowboys seemed destined to run the ball. Instead, OSU turned those expectations into an easy go-ahead touchdown pass.

Comebacks are nothing new for Oklahoma State, as Brett McMurphy of ESPN noted on Twitter:

Most of those "improbable" wins have come on the road, too. Oklahoma State overcame second-half deficits in four of its five away games, and the fifth one was an overtime win at West Virginia.

Opponent	Second-Half Deficit	Final Score
Central Michigan	13-10, early third quarter	24-13
Texas	27-24, late third quarter	30-27
West Virginia	N/A (blew 17-2 halftime lead)	33-26 (OT)
Texas Tech	38-28, start of third quarter	70-53
Iowa State	24-14, start of third quarter	35-31

The good news for Oklahoma State? The Cowboys have no more road games this season, and the road to the Big 12 championship will still run through Stillwater.

Oklahoma State will host Baylor and Oklahoma, who are squaring off in Saturday night's marquee matchup, to end the regular season.

As college football writer Matt Hinton pointed out, Oklahoma State is going to need better execution from what it showed against Iowa State in order to knock off the Bears and the Sooners—but the Cowboys are much better at home in 2015:

Oklahoma State's "survive and advance" style of football didn't win it many admirers earlier in the season.

But now that the Cowboys have a signature win on their resume, getting victories by any means necessary is perfectly fine down the stretch. Staying undefeated is the most important thing.

Although things looked bleak when it was down by 17 in the second quarter to Iowa State, head coach Mike Gundy's team proved it isn't going anywhere right now.

The playoff committee can save the Cowboys' seats at the table of contenders for at least another week.

Game statistics courtesy of StatBroadcast. Unless otherwise noted, other statistics courtesy of CFBstats.com. 

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.