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Kansas State's bid for a perfect season came crashing down with one awful half last week.
The Wildcats weren't done fighting after just one loss, though.
K-State responded with a valiant effort Saturday night, falling just short of shaking up the races for the Big 12 and national titles in a wild 52-45 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma State.
Collin Klein missed on three 5-yard passes with a chance for the tie - or maybe even the win with a 2-point conversion - in the final 12 seconds to seal the defeat.
''Both teams fought extremely hard and we didn't play well enough to get this victory today,'' said Tremaine Thompson, the intended target on Klein's last-second attempt.
''It hurts, but we will go back to work on Monday, focus on the mistakes we made and get back to work next week.''
Klein couldn't complete passes intended for Tyler Lockett in the right side of the end zone on first down or Chris Harper in the left corner of the end zone on second down, then Thompson on his last chance.
Oklahoma State's players rushed onto the field to celebrate, their national championship hopes still intact.
''By and large, we beat ourselves, and good football teams don't do that. I think we're a good football team, we just haven't proven that in circumstances such as what we had tonight and what we had last week as well,'' Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. ''The fact that they played hard throughout, I'm proud of them, but we just have a lot to learn.''
This one was nothing like Kansas State's 58-17 blowout loss last week at home against Oklahoma, when the Sooners scored 44 unanswered points after falling behind.
The Wildcats (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) fought right to the end, even taking a lead on Klein's 4-yard option keeper with 5:16 remaining, three plays after he converted a fourth-and-6 with a 13-yard scramble.
Klein finished with 231 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 144 yards and three scores.
''I did some good things and I made some mistakes we can't afford to have,'' Klein said. ''We hung tough and fought the entire game but unfortunately we came up short.''
Brandon Weeden threw for a school-record 502 yards and four touchdowns, and Joseph Randle scored the final, tiebreaking, 23-yard touchdown with 2:16 remaining for Oklahoma State (9-0, 6-0).
The Cowboys matched the best start in school history - accomplished only during the 1945 team's perfect Sugar Bowl season - but only after one last defensive stand.
''You know the season's on the line, so we're definitely not going to back down,'' defensive end Jamie Blatnick said. ''There's no way that we're going to just break and just let the game go out of our hands.
''We've got a great team and we fight hard and I'm proud of them.''
All-America receiver Justin Blackmon caught 13 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns, atoning for his two-fumble game with a 54-yard touchdown catch with 4:47 remaining that pulled the Cowboys out of a 38-37 deficit.
He also caught the 2-point conversion for a 45-38 lead.
Kansas State responded right away with Lockett's 80-yard kickoff return and three straight runs by Klein, who barged in from 12 yards out to tie it up with 3:18 remaining.
It took Oklahoma State's quick-strike offense just four plays and 62 seconds to respond again. Weeden found Isaiah Anderson for a 33-yard gain, and Randle ran through a big hole on third-and-1 before dodging safety Jordan Zimmerman to waltz in for the game-winner.
Klein drove the Wildcats down for a chance to tie - or perhaps go for the win with a 2-point conversion - by converting a fourth-and-4 with a quarterback keeper and then connecting with Harper for 22 yards to set up first-and-goal at the 5-yard line.
With no time to rely on his potent running game, Snyder called three straight pass plays but none got the job done.
''We play for games like this. This is an exciting game and when it comes down to it, you've got to dig down deep and you've got to make a play,'' Blatnick said. ''We did that today and I'm really proud of everybody, how hard they played.''
Minutes after the game ended, the stadium shook from a 5.6 magnitude earthquake.
The thrilling finish came after a back-and-forth game filled with turnovers and plenty of offense - nothing like what was on display in the LSU-Alabama clash.
While LSU will likely remain first when the BCS standings come out on Sunday, Oklahoma State will probably be the new No. 2. So, Weeden refused to call the victory a defining moment for the Cowboys.
''We've got to win the last one,'' he said. ''The last one will be the most defining.''
Oklahoma State opened a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter, but then got socked by 24 straight K-State points - aided by a series of turnovers by stars Weeden and Blackmon - to face its largest home deficit of the season.
Blackmon fumbled on a punt return to set up Anthony Cantele's 37-yard field goal, then Weeden gave the ball right back by throwing a pick to Tysyn Hartman on a deep ball. Angelo Pease and Klein had short TD runs on Kansas State's next two possessions before another Weeden interception was returned 60 yards for a score by Allen Chapman to make it 24-14.
Then Klein and the Wildcats took their turn piling up errors.
James Thomas intercepted a pass that Klein threw into coverage and Brodrick Brown tipped. His 47-yard return set up Weeden's 5-yard TD pass to Tracy Moore on the next play. Then, instead of pinning Oklahoma State deep, Ryan Doerr's punt went out of bounds after only 19 yards and gave OSU good field position to drive for Quinn Sharp's 29-yard field goal and a 27-24 halftime lead.
