Columbia, Mo. ? Allen Webb’s only play of the first half was an errant pitch that was supposed to go to Darren Sproles but instead bounced off the shoulder pad of a blocker.

Kansas State gave the ball right back, one play after a Missouri turnover, and Webb sat down.

The backup quarterback didn’t squander his next opportunity. Webb ignited a stagnant offense in the second half with two touchdown passes and along with Sproles gave Missouri’s defense two quick backs to worry about, helping his team rally from an early 21-point deficit for a 35-24 victory on Saturday.

“I really didn’t know what the coach’s decision would be,” Webb said. “But if he told me to go back out there, I was going to play to the best of my abilities.”

Coach Bill Snyder wouldn’t say if Webb’s performance merited a start next week at Colorado over Dylan Meier, who was benched after an ineffective first half. Webb has started three games.

“It kind of depends on how we practice during the course of the week and what we plan on doing next week,” Snyder said.

Kansas State (4-5, 2-4 Big 12) scored 21 points in the fourth quarter against the Big 12’s best defense to win its 12th straight against the Tigers (4-5, 2-4).

Antoine Polite’s 20-yard touchdown catch from Webb with 9:39 to go put Kansas State ahead for good at 28-24. Three plays later, Brandon Archer intercepted Brad Smith’s tipped pass and returned it 25 yards for an 11-point cushion.

Sproles got the first two scores of the comeback on runs of 18 and 74 yards for K-State.

After being held to 30 yards in the first half, he finished with 160 yards on 20 carries.

Smith threw two touchdown passes to Sean Coffey for Missouri, which has lost four in a row and blew its third double-digit lead of the season.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “My disappointment is beyond description.”

KSU and MU both need victories in their final two games to become bowl eligible.

Texas Tech 42, Baylor 17

Lubbock, Texas — Sonny Cumbie threw for 397 yards and five touchdowns for Tech. Cumbie, who led the nation in passing entering the game, was 37-of-48 with an interception. He threw two TD passes in the third quarter as Tech (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) broke open a close game.

Iowa State 34, Nebraska 27

Ames, Iowa — Iowa State (5-4, 3-3) pulled into a tie for the lead in the Big 12 North with Nebraska (5-4, 3-3) behind a huge game from Bret Meyer, who passed for a career-best 345 yards and three TDs.

The Cyclones’ second win over Nebraska in three years sent fans surging onto the field to join the players, who in mid-October were in the throes of a 13-game Big 12 losing streak.

Iowa State has won three straight and has the inside track to the North title and a berth in the conference championship game. Victories in the final two games — at Kansas State on Nov. 20 and home against Missouri on Nov. 27 — would give the Cyclones the North crown.

Nebraska fell to 0-3 in Big 12 road games.

No. 2 Oklahoma 42, No. 22 Texas A&M 35

College Station, Texas — Jason White threw five touchdown passes, including the decisive one with 6:43 left, for the Sooners.

Oklahoma handed Texas A&M a loss for the ages last season — 77-0, the worst in the 108-year history of Aggies football. But the rematch was a battle from start to finish for the Sooners (9-0, 6-0). White, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, was 19-of-35 for 292 yards, taking control of the offense as the Aggies swarmed to running back Adrian Peterson.

Peterson still managed to run for 101 yards and a TD, his ninth straight 100-yard game.

The Aggies (6-3, 4-2) finished the game without Reggie McNeal, who left with an apparent injury in the third quarter.

No. 6 Texas 56, No. 19 OSU 35

Austin, Texas — Cedric Benson scored five touchdowns, and Vince Young passed for 278 yards and a touchdown to help Texas overcame a 35-7 first-half deficit.

In 111 years of football, the biggest deficit the Longhorns (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) ever had overcome to win was 19 points.

The Cowboys (6-3, 3-3), who rolled up 297 yards on offense in the first half, managed just 105 in the second.

Benson finished with 141 yards on 23 carries. One of only 10 players in Division I-A history with more than 5,000 career yards, he also tied an NCAA record by scoring a touchdown in 35 career games. He shares the mark with Miami of Ohio’s Travis Prentice (1996-99) and Boise State’s Brock Forsey (1999-02).