Offensive plays by DT James Castleman propel Oklahoma State to Cactus Bowl win against Washington

The worst season in coach Mike Gundy’s tenure at Oklahoma State ended with a Gatorade bath and a lot of smiles.

Oklahoma State defeated Washington 30-22 in the Cactus Bowl in one of the most improbable bowl victories of the season. The Cowboys earned bowl eligibility with an overtime victory against its rival Oklahoma in the final game of the season and were a touchdown underdog heading into the bowl game.

However, the Oklahoma State offense, spearheaded by defensive tackle James Castleman, helped secure a winning season for the Cowboys.

Castleman scored the first touchdown of the game capping an 11-play, 84-yard opening drive and then salted it away with a 48-yard catch and run late.

He also had four tackles.

Castleman’s run came late in the fourth quarter when the Cowboys needed a first down on third-and-2 from their own 35-yard line with about 3 minutes remaining.

The gutsy playcall got the Cowboys in field goal range, but kicker Ben Grogan shanked the 27-yarder, setting up one final drive for Washington.

However, the Huskies weren’t even able to get into Oklahoma State territory before Kevin Peterson picked off a pass to end the game. Peterson’s interception was one of two for a Cowboys’ defense that has been abused most of this season.

The Cowboys came into the game ranked 95th in total defense and 98th in scoring defense with 32 points per game. But they got a lot of pressure on Miles and limited the Huskies running game to just 101 yards, its lowest output since rushing for 81 against Stanford — the nation’s No. 2 defense — on Sept. 27.

Oklahoma State freshman quarterback Mason Rudolph showed some moxie in just his third collegiate start. Even though he did throw an interception and had a couple other picks disallowed, he exploited the Huskies passing defense with 299 yards and two touchdowns and opened up the running game for Desmond Roland, who had the unenviable job of replacing the Cowboys star running back Tyreek Hill, who was dismissed from the team prior to the bowl game. Roland rushed for a season-high 123 yards.

The win gave the Big 12 Conference it’s second bowl victory this season compared to five losses. The only other bowl win for the conference was TCU’s 42-3 trouncing of Ole Miss in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.

For more Oklahoma State news, visit OStateIllustrated.com.

For more Washington news, visit TheDawgReport.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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