STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Vernand Morency rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns and Jason Ricks kicked three field goals to lead No. 25 Oklahoma State past Iowa State 36-7 Saturday.

The Cowboys, plus-13 in turnover margin this season, forced four Cyclones fumbles and used stingy defense to set up short scoring drives as they improved to 4-0 for the first time since 1997.

Jamie Thompson caused two fumbles and recovered another for Oklahoma State (1-0 Big 12). The Cowboys, who led 23-0 at halftime, held the Cyclones (2-2, 0-1) to just 59 yards rushing on 37 carries.

Morency, held to 35 yards in the first half, rushed for 65 in the third quarter and scored from the 5 to make it 29-7. Morency added a 3-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

Morency, the nation’s leading rusher coming in with 187 yards per game, fell behind Texas’ Cedric Benson by 45 yards. Benson had 188 yards in the No. 5 Longhorns’ 44-14 win over Baylor.

Oklahoma State, with the nation’s fourth-best rushing attack entering the contest, struggled to run the ball in the first half, gaining just 64 yards as the Cyclones put eight and nine men near the line of scrimmage.

But the Cowboys’ ground game, which averaged 334 yards per game coming in, got it going in the second half and finished with 273 yards rushing on 55 carries.

Todd Blythe caught Bret Meyer’s 9-yard lob between two Cowboys for a third quarter TD for Iowa State. Meyer was 10 of 16 for 129 yards, but he fumbled three times.