The only thing longer than the 12 minutes Kansas State offense had the ball in the fourth quarter was the feeling Oklahoma State players had in the final seconds of the game.

Quarterback Collin Klein gashed Oklahoma State for 389 yards of total offense and four touchdowns, three on the ground, but the home team made three goal-line stands in the last 12 seconds to win 52-45.

Twice the Cowboys had a double-digit lead, and both times the Wildcats responded and took it back. Twenty-nine points were scored in the final five minutes, and it appeared the pesky visitors were going to put another touchdown on the scoreboard in the final seconds with first and goal and the ball at the Oklahoma State five.

First pass to the right corner, incomplete. Markelle Martin gets in the way of the receiver. Then, if the ending wasn’t agonizing enough, Kansas State calls a timeout to prolong the suspense.

Second down, and Klein throws to the corner end zone. For a split second, Chris Harper gets his hands on the ball and it appears the game will go to overtime.

But Brodrick Brown gets his hand in as he tackles Harper. Pass incomplete, and most assume with only five seconds left before the play that the game was over.

Not so fast; one second remained on the clock.

“I went and grabbed my helmet because I thought it was over,” quarterback Brandon Weeden said.

The defense had held for two plays, but Kansas State had converted on critical situations all night (9-18 on third down, 2-2 on fourth down).

Klein drops back to pass, rolls right, and throws over the head of receiver Tyler Lockett.

The Cowboys rush onto the field. They could finally celebrate.

“We just had to dig down and play,” safety Daytawion Lowe said. “That’s why you play the game, for situations like that.”

Oklahoma State matched its best start in program history winning its first nine games. The perfect season appeared to be in jeopardy as Kansas State used a 14 play, 70 yard touchdown drive that used more than eight minutes of the clock and gave the Wildcats a 38-37 lead.

The Oklahoma State offense was undaunted, and two plays later Weeden hit Justin Blackmon for a 54-yard touchdown. Next play, Blackmon caught the two-point conversion, and the Cowboys had a seven-point lead with four minutes to go.

But before the orange-clad fans could release their sigh of relief, Kansas State’s Tyler Lockett returned the kickoff to the Oklahoma State 20. Klein ran it in from 12 yards three plays later.

“There was still a lot of time after Blackmon’s touchdown,” Weeden said.

Weeden kept his cool and completed two passes for 42 yards. Then Joseph Randle ran 23 yards for the score, his third touchdown of the night. The suspense wasn’t over yet, but the scoring was.

“That’s enough excitement for one night,” coach Mike Gundy said.

For the first game this season, Oklahoma State turning the ball over and not forcing them made the game difficult for the Cowboys. Kansas State scored 17 points off of turnovers in the first half, including Allen Chapman’s 60 yard interception return to give the Wildcats a 24-14 lead.

Oklahoma State regained the lead four minutes later off of a Klein interception. On the play, the ball bounced off of Lockett’s head into the arms of linebacker James Thomas. The senior returned it to the Kansas State five, and Weeden threw a touchdown on the next play to Tracy Moore.

Starting receiver Josh Cooper missed his second consecutive game, but Blackmon and Moore stepped up in his absence. Blackmon caught 13 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns, while Moore had a career high nine catches for 146 yards and a touchdown.