Spencer Sanders accounted for six total touchdowns (four passing, two rushing) to help lead No. 12 Oklahoma State to a 58-44 season-opening home win over Central Michigan on Thursday.
Sanders finished 28 of 41 for 406 yards.
Central Michigan quarterback Daniel Richardson went 36 of 49 for 424 yards and four touchdowns.
Oklahoma State held a 16-7 lead after the first quarter before breaking the game open with a 28-point second quarter to take a 44-15 lead at halftime.
Sanders first hit John Paul Richardson for a 45-yard touchdown pass to give the Cowboys a 7-0 lead with 10:09 remaining in the first quarter, but Central Michigan tied the game at 7-7 with 7:05 left in the first on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Richardson to Carlos Carriere.
After Oklahoma State tackled Central Michigan running back Lew Nichols in the end zone for a safety to make it 9-7, the Cowboys took a 16-7 lead on the last play of the first quarter on a 17-yard touchdown run by Sanders.
Sanders then threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Braydon Johnson and a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Nixon, then scored on a 23-yard touchdown run to give Oklahoma State a 37-7 lead with 4:32 left in the second quarter.
Following a 4-yard touchdown run by Nichols with 43 seconds remaining in the half, Oklahoma State drove 75 yards in three plays — the biggest being a 42-yard pass from Sanders to Brennan Presley — and took a 44-15 lead with 11 seconds remaining on a 1-yard touchdown run by Dominic Richardson.
On the first drive of the second half, Sanders hit Johnson for a 45-yard pass and then Bryson Green for a 7-yard touchdown pass that gave Oklahoma State a 51-15 lead with 14:23 left in the third quarter.
Central Michigan did rally, cutting Oklahoma State’s lead to 58-44 with 3:15 remaining on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Richardson to Jalen McGaughy and a 2-point conversion pass, but the Chippewas couldn’t get any closer.
–Field Level Media
