AMES, Iowa — Oklahoma State needed a bounce-back performance and Keith Toston helped the Cowboys deliver one.
Toston ran for a career-high 206 yards and three touchdowns, Zac Robinson threw a touchdown pass and No. 18 Oklahoma State came back strong from its drubbing by Texas with a 34-8 victory over Iowa State on Saturday.
Oklahoma State (7-2, 4-1 Big 12) controlled with game with solid play on both sides of the ball and reached seven victories for the fourth straight season, the first time in school history that has happened.
“We’ve always been able to bounce back, and that’s just how our team is,” Robinson said. “We’ve faced a lot of adversity this season, I mean, more than anybody ever expected. And to see us bounce back again from a tough loss last week to a great win today, it’s just a tribute to the leadership we have and guys just stepping up.”
Toston, who carried 25 times, scored on runs of 2 and 17 yards as Oklahoma State built a 27-0 lead, then topped off his big day with a 1-yard TD plunge in the fourth quarter. That came three plays after he broke loose on a 69-yard scamper to the ISU 2 for the longest run of his career.
A 6-foot, 214-pound senior, Toston became the Cowboys’ main back when Kendall Hunter was sidelined by a sprained right ankle in the second week of the season. He twice had topped 100 yards, but had never approached the number he put up against the Cyclones.
His previous career best was 148 yards against Missouri State last year.
Hunter, the Big 12’s leading rusher last season, saw his most extensive action since getting hurt and showed some of his old elusiveness while carrying nine times for 47 yards. The Cowboys rolled up a season-high 331 yards on the ground.
“It’s great to see all our backs and the offensive line play so well,” Robinson said. “We felt good about our running matchup today and did a good job using that to our advantage.”
After throwing four interceptions in the 41-14 loss to Texas, Robinson was on the mark in this one and replaced his coach, Mike Gundy, as Oklahoma State’s career passing leader.
Robinson finished 19 of 24 for 142 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown strike to Tracy Moore. He already had been the school’s career leader in touchdown passes and total offense and now has thrown for 8,065 yards.
“I’m really happy for Zac,” Gundy said. “Zac’s been really good for our football program. He’s been a strong leader and he’s led this football team in the right way, so anything that he earns I think is very well deserved.”
Iowa State (5-5, 2-4) was blanked until the fourth quarter and has only three touchdowns to show for its last 13 quarters. The Cyclones managed just 54 yards rushing. They had been averaging a league-best 200.3.
“I thought their front seven controlled the game,” Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said.
Oklahoma State stalled on its first two drives and settled for field goals of 42 and 48 yards by Dan Bailey. But Robinson took the Cowboys on an 14-play, 98-yard drive the next time they had the ball for a 13-0 lead and their defense, along with Toston, did the rest.
Robinson capped that drive by finding Moore all alone in the left corner of the end zone, getting rid of the ball just before Iowa State’s Christopher Lyle leveled him. That moved him past Gundy, who threw for 7,997 yards in his career.
“I joke with Zac — that’s back when we only threw about 21, 22 forward passes a game,” Gundy said.
Toston’s 2-yard TD run capped an 80-yard, 11-play drive that was helped when Iowa State’s Bailey Johnson was called for a horse-collar tackle on Robinson, who threw an incomplete pass on the play.
Oklahoma State made it 27-0 after getting the ball at the Iowa State 46 following a punt that went only 21 yards. The Cowboys needed just six plays for the touchdown, Toston speeding the final 17 yards untouched.
“This is a great team we played,” Cyclones safety James Smith said. “They found some holes and they slipped through them.”
Iowa State had hoped to get a spark with quarterback Austen Arnaud returning after he missed two games with a bruised throwing hand. But the Cyclones didn’t top 100 yards until the 7-minute mark in the third quarter and avoided being shut out for the first time in 64 games when running back Alexander Robinson turned a swing pass into a 45-yard touchdown play.
Arnaud finished 14 of 27 for 188 yards and three interceptions. He was sacked three times.
“We started slow and came out flat,” Arnaud said. “You can’t expect to beat a good team in the Big 12, or any team, when you start out flat and only score eight points.”
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