Six touchdown passes pace Cowboys over Kansas.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- It's one of the oldest truths in sports: A good big man will usually beat a good little man.<br><br>Kansas discovered Saturday that Rashaun Woods, Oklahoma State's outstanding

Friday, November 15th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- It's one of the oldest truths in sports: A good big man will usually beat a good little man.

Kansas discovered Saturday that Rashaun Woods, Oklahoma State's outstanding 6-foot-2 wide receiver, is a very good big man. He caught three of Josh Fields' school-record six touchdown passes asthe Cowboys romped 55-20 past Kansas and its shorter defensive backs.

Rarely pressured while working against a defense ranked 111th in Division I-A, Fields erased the school record with five scoring passes in the first half alone.

"They have some big receivers and they saw the matchups that they could get on our corners," said coach Mark Mangino, whose first Kansas team finished 2-10 overall and 0-7 in the Big 12 -- the Jayhawks first winless conference season since 1987.
"It looked like some playground play."

Fields' first three touchdown passes went to Woods, the Big 12's leading receiver, who had 171 yards and three TDs on just seven receptions.

"I don't know if it was anything I did," said Fields. "I know Rashaun had a great game. I just kind of threw it up there and they went up to get it."
Fields went 17-of-26 for 354 yards, raising his season total to 2,235 yards and making him just the second Oklahoma State quarterback to pass for more than 2,000 in a season. He was one shy of the Big 12 single-game record for TD passes.

"It was a great day for Fields," said Oklahoma State coach Les Miles. "He did a lot of great things. He got the ball off when he was pressured. He threw the ball to the right side when people were covered."

The Cowboys (5-5, 3-3 Big 12) can become bowl eligible in Miles' second season by beating either Baylor or Oklahoma in two home games to finish their regular season.

Fields got his day started with a 27-yard TD pass to Woods on the Cowboys' first possession. Then he hooked up with Woods on a 69-yard catch-and-run late in the first quarter.

"The past few games we were able to run the ball and so they put eight men in the box," Woods said. "We saw that and just beat them deep."
Fields made it three in a row to Woods with a 7-yard scoring pass, then tied the school record, which had been shared by three people, with a 35-yard TD pass to John Lewis midway through the second period.

Fields put the Cowboys on top 34-14 with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Tatum Bell. Late in the third period, Bell gathered in another pass from Fields and sped 41 yards down the sideline for the sixth TD pass and a 48-17 lead.

The Cowboys made it 41-17 in the third quarter when Fath' Carter blocked a Kansas punt and Thomas Wright ran in 13 yards for the score.

"It was a very good effort by our team," said Miles. "We had some advantages when it came to our offense and special teams."

Even the few Kansas fans who were still in the stands had to laugh at a bizarre sequence in the fourth period. On fourth-and-5, Jayhawks punter Curtis Ansel heaved an awkward, underhanded pass as far as he could throw it, and Greg Heaggans made a leaping catch on the 10 for a first down.

But Clark Green fumbled on the next play and Oklahoma State's Terrence Robinson scooped up the ball and ran 93 yards for the touchdown.

Green rushed for 160 yards on 29 carries, including a 4-yard TD run in the first quarter.

Zach Dyer threw a 16-yard TD pass to Byron Gasaway in the third period. Johnny Beck kicked field goals of 42 and 36 yards for the Jayhawks, whose only victories were against Tulsa and Division I-AA Southwest Missouri State.

Dyer, who began the season as starting quarterback but got beat out and switched to safety, was back calling signals because of injuries. But a shoulder injury put him out of the game in the second half.

"It's been quite a year," he said. "I don't know what to make of it."