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Thompson, Pringle lead Kansas St. past Oklahoma St. 45-40

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Byron Pringle caught three touchdown passes and returned a kickoff for another score to help Kansas State stun No. 10 Oklahoma State 45-40 on Saturday.

Oklahoma State nearly erased a 29-point deficit in the second half, but Kansas State (6-5, 4-4 Big 12) held on to become bowl eligible for the eighth consecutive season.

Pringle caught four passes for a career-high 166 yards. His kickoff return for a score covered 89 yards. The junior entered the game with eight career touchdowns, and he had never scored more than two in a game. Freshman Skylar Thompson threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 93 yards and a score in his second start for the injured Jesse Ertz.

Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph passed for 425 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score. James Washington caught eight passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys (8-3, 5-3, No. 13 CFP).

Kansas State led 28-13 at halftime. The Wildcats ran for 132 yards in the first half and intercepted two of Rudolph's passes. Pringle got loose for a 46-yard touchdown grab to put the Wildcats up 35-13 in the third quarter, then caught a 60-yarder a few minutes later to make it 42-13 before Rudolph got it going. He threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Stoner to cut Kansas State's lead to 45-40 with 4:02 to go. The Wildcats went three-and-out to give Oklahoma State a chance to take the lead, but Rudolph missed four straight passes, then Kansas State ran out the clock.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas State: The Wildcats finally caught a break in a close game. They had lost by 7 points to Vanderbilt, 6 points to Texas, 7 points to Oklahoma and 5 points to West Virginia this season. They liked the fact that as of Friday, they were 19½-point underdogs.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys couldn't get their offense going until late. Rudolph was off, and his receivers had some costly drops early.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: Hosts Iowa State on Saturday.

Oklahoma State: Hosts Kansas on Saturday.

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP .

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More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 .

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