No. 10 Texas Tech routs Oklahoma State 52-27

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Thomas Castellanos threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns, Malcolm Simmons returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a score and No. 10 Texas Tech routed Oklahoma State 52-27 early Sunday to stay on track for a return to the Big 12 championship game and College Football Playoff.The reigning conference champions, who lost to Oregon in last season's CFP quarterfinal, jumped out to a 21-0 lead and then withstood a 17-0 run by the Cowboys and their highly touted quarterback Drew Mestemaker to make it a game before halftime.But any hopes of a late-night shootout between the Red Raiders (9-1, 6-1) and Cowboys (6-4, 4-3), coached by former Texas Tech player and coach Eric Morris, faded after that. Simmons, who silenced the Boone Pickens Stadium crowd with his early kickoff return, caught a 45-yard scoring pass from Castellanos early in the third quarter to extend the Red Raiders lead to 35-20.Castellanos sat most of the fourth quarter after throwing a 30-yard scoring pass to Kenny Johnson to make it 42-20. He also found Micah Hudson for 80 yards and a score after scrambling to avoid pressure.The Red Raiders and Cowboys have combined for at least 70 points in 11 of their last 14 meetings.Oklahoma State entered the game with the Big 12’s top offense at 44 points and 534 total yards a game. The Cowboys were coming off a 66-28 win at Kansas State that followed a 51-49 loss at Iowa State.Texas Tech won 53-48 at home over West Virginia in a game that finished after midnight in the same late-night TV slot as this week’s game. “We just keep finding ways to win,” coach Joey McGuire said. “Tonight, I think, was probably our most complete game against a great team, a ranked CFP team. I have a lot of respect for Eric, he's one of my favorite people in the world. But man, our guys responded."Texas Tech led 28-20 at the break and shut down Oklahoma State in the second half behind a defense that entered the weekend ranked 136th out of 138 FBS teams in passing yards allowed. The Red Raiders sacked Mestemaker three times.Mestemaker, who had passed for 300 yards in eight-straight games, threw for 277 yards — 186 in the first half — and two interceptions before giving way to freshman Broderick Vehrs with about eight minutes left in the game, which was played in cold and rainy conditions.Popular ReadsVehrs led the Cowboys on a scoring drive in the final minute. With the loss, Oklahoma State saw its Big 12 hopes all but disappear.Morris, the first-year coach, described the game as “an old-fashioned butt-whipping.”“I think it started from the very first play for them, so hat's off to Texas Tech,” he said. “Obviously, they're who everybody's chasing right now ... the reigning champions. It started off on the wrong foot.”Texas Tech: The Red Raiders do some of their best work after hours, winning for the second week in a row in that late Saturday night slot.Oklahoma State: The Cowboys outgained Texas Tech 465 yards to 442, but settled for field goals on drives of 62 and 70 yards.Texas Tech: At Baylor on Saturday.Oklahoma State: At Arizona State on Saturday.___Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here