AP photo Kansas State wide receiver Joshua Youngblood (23) is upended by Oklahoma defensive back Delarrin Turner-Yell (32) in the first half of Saturday's upset over OU.

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — A Kansas State squad that lost its opener to Arkansas State two weeks ago, had its roster depleted by COVID-19, and entered Saturday’s game against No. 3 Oklahoma as a four-touchdown underdog overcame it all to pull off one of the biggest stunners of the season.

Skylar Thompson passed for 334 yards and ran for three touchdowns, and the Wildcats rallied from 21 points down to beat the third-ranked Sooners 38-35, a 50-yard field goal by Blake Lynch with 4:32 remaining providing the margin of victory.

Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said he didn’t know until Friday if he’d have enough players available at all position groups to play the game. Turns out, the Wildcats had exactly what they needed.

“You find out a lot about a person and about a team from a challenge and adversity, and this team responded,” Thompson said. “I had no doubt going into this game that we were going to have a chance to win just by the way that we handled the last two weeks, the way we practiced, the way we came together and corrected our mistakes.”

Freshman Deuce Vaughn caught four passes for 129 yards and ran for a touchdown for the Wildcats. It was Kansas State’s first-ever road win against a top-three team in the AP poll.

Kansas State upset Oklahoma 48-41 in Manhattan, Kansas, last year, making the loss especially disappointing for the Sooners. Oklahoma outgained the Wildcats 517 yards to 400 but had four turnovers to none for Kansas State.

“We just made critical errors that gave them a chance,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. “Give Chris (Klieman) and Kansas State a lot of credit. When we made errors, he made us pay.”

Oklahoma freshman Spencer Rattler passed for 387 yards and four touchdowns, but he threw three interceptions.

In other key games on a busy Saturday where other ranked teams fell:

MISS. STATE 44, NO. 6 LSU 34

K.J. Costello passed for an SEC record 623 yards and five touchdowns and the Bulldogs knocked off sixth-ranked LSU. With the score tied at 34, Costello led two straight late scoring drives.

LSU quarterback Myles Brennan intermittently showed promise in his debut as starter in place of 2019 Heisman Trophy winner and top NFL draft choice Joe Burrow. But Brennan’s 345 yards and three touchdowns passing could not make up for the trouble the Tigers’ inexperienced defense had in new coordinator Bo Pelini’s scheme.

NO. 5 FLORIDA 51, OLE MISS 35

Kyle Pitts gives Florida an almost unfair advantage as the star tight end caught four of Kyle Trask’s six touchdown passes and No. 5 Florida spoiled the head coaching debut of Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin.

Trask completed 30 of 42 passes for 416 yards including touchdown passes of 1, 16, 71 and 17 yards to Pitts. The star tight end had 170 yards receiving on eight catches.

Trask directed four consecutive touchdown drives that spanned the second and third quarters to build a 41-14 lead for the Gators (1-0 Southeastern Conference).

NO. 8 AUBURN 29, NO. 23 KENTUCKY 13

Bo Nix threw for 233 yards and three second-half touchdowns, including a pair to Seth Williams, and No. 8 Auburn scored twice in the fourth quarter to pull away in the season opener in front of 17,000 fans, mostly Auburn students.

The Tigers turned a three-quarter scare into a comfortable win by capitalizing on a late turnover and Kentucky’s failed fake punt in the lone Top 25 matchup of the Southeastern Conference’s opening weekend.

NO. 8 TEXAS 63, TEXAS TECH 56 (OT)

Senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger delivered on promise to lead a late comeback, rallying Texas from a 56-41 deficit in the final 3:13 with touchdown passes to Brennan Eagles and Joshua Moore to force overtime, then finding Moore for another touchdown in a wild victory.

NO. 2 Alabama 38, Missouri 19

Mac Jones threw for 249 yards and two scores in less than three quarters of work, and Jaylen Waddle and Najee Harris had dynamic performances on offense, helping Alabama roll. Tide coach Nick Saban has not lost a season opener while coaching Alabama.

NO. 12 MIAMI 52, FLORIDA STATE 10

D’Eriq King threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters and No. 12 Miami beat Florida State 52-10 on Saturday night.

Cam’Ron Harris and Don Chaney scored twice and Brevin Jordan and Dee Wiggins each caught touchdown passes for Miami (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Miami scored touchdowns on its five possessions and built a 35-point lead at halftime. The margin of victory was the largest for Miami in the series since a 47-0 rout in 1976, the first season of Bobby Bowden’s 34-year coaching career at Florida State.

NO. 16 TENNESSEE 31, SOUTH CAROLINA 27

Jarrett Guarantano threw a tie-breaking touchdown to Josh Palmer with 9:35 left and No. 16 Tennessee won its seventh straight game with a 31-27 victory at South Carolina on Saturday night.

The Vols appeared to have things in hand when they went ahead 21-7 on Eric Gray’s 12-yard scoring run on their opening drive of the third quarter.

But South Carolina rallied behind first-time starter quarterback Collin Hill with two touchdowns and a field goal the next four series to tie the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams at 24-all in the fourth quarter.

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