Oklahoma State running back Kendall Hunter rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns to help the Cowboys avoid a strong upset bid by Troy with a 41-38 win Saturday.

Hunter had touchdown runs of 9 and 24 yards and quarterback Brandon Weeden added two touchdown tosses to Justin Blackmon in the second half to hold off a charge by the Trojans (1-1)

Troy led by a touchdown twice in the first half but never went on top again after Oklahoma State's Josh Cooper returned a punt 65 yards for a score in the third quarter.

The Cowboys (2-0) opened up a 13-3 lead in the second quarter but Troy responded with 17 unanswered points on a pair of touchdown tosses by Corey Robinson - a 9-yarder to Jason Bruce and a 48-yarder to Jerrel Jernigan.

After Oklahoma State tied it up on Kendall Hunter's second rushing touchdow of the game, Jernigan returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to make it 27-20 at halftime.

Weeden hit Blackmon on a 2-yard TD toss and Cooper's return helped the Cowboys regain the lead at 34-27. Troy's Michael Taylor kicked his third field goal of the game to cut the deficit to 34-30, but Jernigan fumbled near the goal line late in the third to prevent the Trojans from recapturing the advantage.

Weeden hooked up with Blackmon again, this time on a 45-yard touchdown strike, to widen the margin back to 11. Troy closed the gap again on Robinson's third touchdown toss of the game - a 14-yarder to Brett Moncrief - and added the two-point conversion to make it 41-38 late in the fourth quarter but the Cowboys ran out the clock.

Robinson finished 27-for-37 for 271 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for Troy.