Jason Taylor II returned a fumble 85 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter as visiting Oklahoma State defeated Kansas State 20-18 on Saturday afternoon at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The Cowboys trailed 12-0 at the half.

The 14th-ranked Cowboys had been averaging 18.7 points in the first half this season and had not been shutout in the first half since Nov. 15, 2014, against Texas. The Cowboys came in averaging 442 yards of total offense, but Kansas State (4-3, 4-2 Big 12) held them to just 256.

Oklahoma State (5-1, 4-1) played without leading receiver Tylan Wallace, who was scratched prior to kickoff with an undisclosed injury. Chuba Hubbard had only five carries for 23 yards before injuring his leg in the third quarter. He returned later, but only had one more carry, finishing with 31 yards.

LD Brown rushed for 110 yards on 15 carries for the Cowboys, and Spencer Sanders completed 14 of 23 passes for just 108 yards.

The Cowboys cut the lead to 12-3 early in the third quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Alex Hale.

After a Wildcat three-and-out, wide receiver Brennan Presley then cut the lead to 12-10 on a nine-yard run midway through the third quarter. Hale's 33-yard field goal gave the Cowboys their first lead of the game with 58 seconds left in the third.

K-State was in position to retake the lead, but quarterback Will Howard lost control of the ball inside the Cowboys' 20-yard line. Taylor grabbed it out of mid-air and ran 85 yards for the score.

Howard then led the Wildcats on an eight-play, 60-yard TD drive to draw within two points, but the two-point conversion failed.

Howard was the offense for Kansas State. He rushed for a game-high 125 yards on 14 carries, and threw for 143 more, with one interception.

The teams combined for six punts and 111 total yards in the first quarter, with the only scoring coming on a 30-yard Blake Lynch field goal.

A 29-yard Lynch field goal put the Wildcats up 6-0 early in the second quarter. After a nine-play, 89-yard drive, Howard hit Phillip Brooks with a four-yard touchdown pass to put the Wildcats up 12-0 at halftime. The two-point conversion failed.

Kansas State's defense controlled the first half. OSU was just 1-of-7 on third down. The Cowboys managed just 83 total yards in the half, including just nine yards on the ground.

--Field Level Media