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STILLWATER, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Seventh-ranked Kansas State started slowly but once it got going, there was no stopping quarterback Jonathan Beasley. Beasley was a virtual one-man attack, throwing four touchdown passes and adding a pair of scores on the ground as the Wildcats rallied from a 21-point first-half deficit for a 44-21 Big 12 Conference victory over Oklahoma State. The come-from-behind win kept Kansas State (7-0, 4-0 Big 12 North) on course for a showdown with No. 3 Nebraska on November 13 that could decide the Big 12 North title. Beasley rebounded from a subpar performance against Utah State last week when he completed only 9-of-29 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. "Jonathan played very poorly last week and he was openly criticized for not playing well and came back and did a very nice job," Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. "I thought he made great strides and had a good performance." It marked the second time this season Kansas State erased a 21-point deficit. On September 25, the Wildcats rallied from a 28-7 halftime hole to record a 35-28 victory at Iowa State. "We've been a pretty good second-half team," Snyder said. "I thought we played well. We did shut them out in the second half, so we had to play pretty well." The Cowboys (3-3, 1-2 South) stunned the Wildcats early, registering three touchdowns in the first 16 minutes. Quarterback Tony Lindsay scored on touchdowns runs of one and five yards, then hit Ethan Howell with a 24-yard TD pass to give Oaklahoma State a 21-0 lead. Kansas State responded with 44 unanswered points. "What it boils down to is that they adjusted and we didn't make the plays that were necessary to get the ball," Oklahoma State coach Bob Simmons said. "When they adjusted, we went three-and-out several times. We were very sporadic after we jumped out with 21 points." Beasley scored on a one-yard TD run and tossed a 17-yard scoring pass to Quincy Morgan in a 88-second span, pulling the Wildcats within 21-14 with 9:25 remaining in the first half. Beasley fired a 35-yard TD strike to Aaron Lockett with 32 seconds left in the half to tie it, 21-21. After Jamie Rheem's 30-yard field put Kansas State ahead with 5:12 left in the third period, Beasley scampered 19 yards with 32 seconds to play in the period to make it 30-21. "He had a great day," Simmons said. "No. 1, I thought he had too much time. No. 2, he made some great throws. My only question is, Where was the pressure?" The Wildcats broke it open early in the final period as Beasley threw TD passes of 14 yards to Lockett and 32 yards to George Williams in a 26-second span. Williams finished with three receptions for 146 yards. Beasley completed 13-of-25 for 311 yards with an interception while Joe Hall, a 280-pound running back, rushed for 112 yards on 27 carries. It was the second straight start for Hall, who gained 195 yards last week against Utah while filling in for injured Frank Murphy. "One thing about this team is that everybody plays hard for four quarters," Kansas State defensive back Dyshod Carter said. "If we play all four quarters, we'd be all right. They came out with some funny formations and you had to adjust to what they were doing." Lindsay, playing for the first time since injuring his knee in the season opener, was just 9-of-19 for 130 yards with three interceptions for Oklahoma State. Jamaal Fobbs rushed for 89 yards on 10 carries. "We knew they were a good team and we weren't going to overlook that," Lindsay said. "We knew it was going to be a fight. When we were up 21-0, we still knew they were going to come at us." Kansas State held a slim edge in time of possession, 31:18 to 28:43, but outgained the Cowboys, 520-277. Kansas State posted its eighth straight win over Oklahoma State but still trails in the all-time series, 32-20.
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