STILLWATER, Okla. — Spencer Sanders passed for a career-high 406 yards and accounted for six touchdowns as No. 12 Oklahoma State beat Central Michigan 58-44 on Thursday night to give Mike Gundy his 150th coaching victory.
Sanders matched a career high with four touchdown passes and set a career mark with two rushing scores in the opener for both teams.
“Knock on wood, he’s really good,” Gundy said. “He understands our concepts. He understands second nature where to go with the ball. And it’s a big advantage for us.”
Sanders passed for 313 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and ran for two more scores to help the Cowboys take a 44-15 lead. He joined Patrick Mahomes (in 2016 with Texas Tech) as the only players in Big 12 history with 300 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a half, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Gundy improved to 150-69 in his 18th season coaching his alma mater. He joined Alabama’s Nick Saban (178), Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (178) and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney (150) as the only active FBS coaches to reach 150 wins at their current schools, per ESPN Stats & Information research.
“Cool deal,” he said. “Like I told the team, it takes a lot of really, really quality people and good young men for a guy to stay in one place long enough to win 150 games. I’m just lucky enough to be along for the ride.”
Braydon Johnson had career highs of six catches for 133 yards, and Brennan Presley added five catches for 83 yards.
Daniel Richardson passed for a career-high 424 yards and threw four touchdown passes for Central Michigan. Lew Nichols III, the nation’s leading rusher last year, ran for 72 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.
The Cowboys led 51-15 less than a minute into the third quarter before Central Michigan climbed back into the game. Jalen McGaughy‘s 54-yard touchdown pass from Richardson cut it to 58-44 with 3:15 remaining. McGaughy had six catches for 126 yards and two scores.
“As I said from the beginning, I really like our football team,” Central Michigan coach Jim McElwain said. “We’re going to win a lot of games. And those kids are going to learn from this video and we’re going to get a little bit better.”
Central Michigan outscored Oklahoma State 29-14 in the second half and outgained the Cowboys 281 yards to 138 after the break.
“It’s credit to those kids,” McElwain said. “Since we’ve been here and started to establish the program, there’s a certain mentality it takes to be a Chippewa. And these guys have started to understand a little bit what that is.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.