STILLWATER — Wyatt Young’s high school stadium was about an hour drive from Houston’s TDECU Stadium, but Saturday will be the first time the Cowboy receiver has played in it.

Young was a quarterback at Katy Tompkins High School in the Houston area. He was supposed to have a high school playoff game at TDECU, but it was moved to Rice’s stadium.

“It’ll be awesome,” Young said. “I think I have around 40 people coming to this game, so it’s exciting.”

Young’s fiery on-field attitude was a topic among OSU’s media availability on Tuesday. There aren’t many times where Young gets up from a big catch and doesn’t let someone on the defense know about it. And he’s had a lot of big catches already this season. He leads the Cowboys with 462 receiving yards and 27 catches.

“Really just encouraging them after I make a good play on them,” Young said. “That’s the best I got.”

Young said this isn’t something he adopted when he made the switch from quarterback to receiver, that he’s always played the game with a lot of energy.

As a former Big 12 slot receiver himself, OSU coach Eric Morris said he gets it.

“I was the same way as a player,” Morris said. “I remember having to be reined in at times. We’ve definitely had some conversations. Obviously, you don’t want to take that passion that he plays with. I think our team feeds off of it. At the same time, he’s got to be smart and never hurt this team by getting a penalty at some point, right? And so yeah, I’ve always thought it’s better to have to pull them back a little bit as opposed to push him.

“If you have a little dog, you know, you want him to bite in this sport. But he just has to be smart and realize that you know he never needs to put us in a position where it hurts his team.”

Young said he hasn’t gotten a penalty for any of his fieriness.

It also sounds like some of his teammates can feed off it, with OSU starting right tackle saying it’s infectious.

“I see him out there, I’m talking to the guys, too,” Lepo said. “I think you kind of need that from everyone, especially on the O-line, just being a chippy player. It’s gritty. Seeing other guys do that, it’s great. I love seeing that stuff.”

Even when he’s off the field, you can tell that fire is in there.

Young was asked if he was excited for this game in Houston given it’s stakes. It’s a ranked matchup, and Young is looking for some respect.

“Finally allowing us to hopefully make a statement win,” Young said. “Go out there and compete with the best and hopefully whoop up on the best. Just being able to go out there and show that we are a legit team and finally people will start taking us seriously hopefully. …

“Our motto is misfits. We’ve all been kind of disrespected our whole career, under-recruited or just people don’t think we’re as good as we are. But I think getting a major win under our belt like this, finally people can start putting us higher in the rankings and whatever.”

STILLWATER — The Cowboys will face the nations most-efficient third-down offense this week, and it wasn’t all that long ago that the Pokes boasted the best third-down defense in the country.

Oklahoma State plays Houston at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at TDECU Stadium in Houston.

Those Cougars have converted 62.7% of their 75 third-down attempts this season. The Big 12 actually has five of the country’s seven best third-down offenses, with Kansas State (61.6%), Arizona (55.6%), Utah (55%) and BYU (54.4%) all joining Houston in that top seven.

Coming out of OSU’s game against Murray State, the Cowboy defense was allowing conversions on just 16.2% of the third downs it faced, securing the team’s brief place as the national leader for that stat.

That percentage is up to 33.9% after two Big 12 games where opponents have had success on the money down against the Pokes, but that percentage is still good for the fourth-best third-down defense in the conference.

“Ours (third-down defense) has been really good,” OSU coach Eric Morris said. “I think we took a step back last week in our third- and fourth-down defense. And then two, I think Houston’s third-down offense is so good because their first- and second-down offense is so good and so efficient.

“If you look at efficiency rates, and you start with first down and work your way down to it, that usually goes hand and hand when you look at analytics. And they do a nice job with their scheme on third-and-short and being able to get it to a multitude of different players. They have big backs that get downhill. They have big tight ends that we talked about, so yeah, it creates a problem.”

Speaking to Morris’ note about first downs, the Cougars have averaged 6.9 yards on their 203 first downs thus far this season.

That’s meant the Cougars have had just 10 instances this season where they’ve faced 3rd-and-9 or more, and they are 1-for-10 on those third-and-longs. Meanwhile, if its 3rd-and-4 or fewer, Houston is 26-for-37 (70%).

As a defense, the Cowboys have given up an average of 5.7 yards on first downs this season. They’ve held teams to 2-for-17 (11.8%) on 3rd-and-9 or more and 11-for-25 (44%) on 3rd-and-4 or less.

So, distance matters.

“I think for us right now, we have to do a great job on first down and maybe put them in some uncomfortable second-and-long situations that they could be not so predictable and continue just to ground and pound a little bit,” Morris said. “It’ll be a battle between a really good third-down defense and a really good third-down offense, for sure. But I think first down will have a big play on what happens in the end part.”

What West Virginia and UCF did well against the Cowboys’ previously nation-leading third-down D was stay ahead of the chains.

Both of those squads were more run-first with mobile quarterbacks. WVU and UCF went a combined 1-for-7 (14%) on third-and-long while going 7-for-16 (43.8%) on 3rd-and-4 or less.

Rather than hit a bunch of big plays, the Mountaineers and Knights moved steadily collecting yards and moving the chains.

“There were some key third down things where we had some busted assignments,” Morris said of the UCF game. “Obviously didn’t set the edge on some on some run game stuff early on the game. You really look back kind of at some of those key situations just we weren’t able to get off the field. If you look at their overall numbers of yards per rush and stuff like that, like it wasn’t astronomical.”

Conner Weigman might not be the runner that Michael Hawkins was in Morgantown, but the Cougars’ QB is more than capable on the ground. On top of that, he’s the best passer the Cowboys will have faced to this point in Big 12 competition.

He also might have some of the best pieces around him, namely tight end Patrick Overmyer, who caught four touchdowns last week, and wide receiver Amare Thomas.

So, the Cowboys’ defense will be tasked with knocking that offense off schedule to force some more advantageous third-down scenarios.

STILLWATER ​— Six weeks into the regular season only 40 programs in the country have one loss or fewer.

At least three teams will leave that club this weekend as the two SEC matchups and No. 18 Oklahoma State’s trip to No. 20 Houston pit one-loss teams against each other.

“I think obviously we both positioned ourselves right now to play in a really meaningful game early in the season,” OSU coach Eric Morris said. “I told the team today this is where we want to be. These are the games that you dream about playing in and playing on the road against another Top 25 team and to be able to go play in these atmospheres and on national TV and all the things that come along with it.”

The winner of Saturday’s game will join No. 8 BYU, No. 10 Texas Tech and No. 11 Utah as the midway favorites for the Big 12 Championship game. The winner could also be in line to finally move up the rankings a bit bolstered both by the win itself and the fact that several teams ranked between 11-17 find themselves as slight favorites or even underdogs this weekend.

Of those 40 one-loss or better teams, 30 are at the Power Four level. Five of those are coached by guys like Morris who are in their first year at a new school.

Morris was asked specifically about two of those other first-year coaches in charge of No. 12 UCLA (5-0, 3-0 Big Ten) and No. 15 Kentucky (5-1, 3-1 SEC).

“Yeah I mean culturally it just has to be done so fast,” said Morris explaining what it takes to have year one success other than rebuilding a roster. “All those processes, building relationships, are expedited. If you did a poll within those teams of Kentucky and UCLA, I would think that they’d have a ton of respect for those coaches and the energy and the passion they bring every single day.

“I think both of those squads have really good quarterbacks. I think Nico (Iamaleava)’s a great quarterback that you can do a ton with. Kentucky did a great job bringing in (Kenny) Minchey, I think is the kid’s name, who’s played phenomenal this year. A ton of respect for those guys.”

When Morris spoke to the press in the early days of the offseason he spent a ton of time talking about relationship building both with and within his team and culture. So it’s not surprising to hear Morris guess that those other programs have built their success around a belief in the coaching staff and good quarterback play.

Although where Kentucky coach Will Stein is concerned, Morris’ observations might not be a total shot in the dark.

“I’ve known Will for a long time,” Morris said. “I don’t know Bob (Chesney), but obviously a lot of admiration from afar of what he’s been able to do. Will’s been a friend. I met him when he was a coordinator here in Austin, Texas, high school level (at Lake Travis in 2018-19). Moved on to UTSA (as pass-game coordinator), did phenomenal things at UTSA, then (offensive coordinator at) Oregon. It’s been fun to watch those guys kind of progress and come from lower ranks. I think you learn so much, I know I did as a coach, without having resourcing and how to solve problems in different ways, right, when you don’t have resources. Those guys aren’t guys that are gonna make excuses. They just find ways to win games.”

No. 18 Oklahoma State heads to No. 20 Houston for a primetime matchup on Saturday night. This maybe the first time these teams have met in a ranked-on-ranked matchup, but there have been some significant games between the two.

Let’s take a look at series history between OSU and Houston.

Capsule

Overall record: UH leads 11-10-1
Neutral site meetings: N/A
Meetings in Stillwater: UH leads 6-5
Meetings in Houston: Tied 5-5-1
Past 10 meetings: OSU leads 6-4
First meeting (1951): UH defeated OSU 31-7
Most recent meeting (2025): UH defeated OSU 39-17

A Long History

The two teams were also conference mates in the Missouri Valley from 1951-56. Houston was 5-1 against the Cowboys during that span. The two teams continued to play on a semi-regular basis playing nine times from 1957-70. OSU was 6-2-1 during that time. The schools reunited splitting home-and-home matchups in 1986 and 1987, and then played in 2006, 2008 and 2009 in nonconference matchups before the Cougars joined the Big 12 in 2023.

Big 12 Welcome (2023)

Oklahoma State welcomed Houston to the league with a 43-30 win in 2023. The Cowboys fell behind 23-9 in the second quarter before Brennan Presley and Ollie Gordon went off.

Presley reeled in 15 catches and 189 yards, both career highs, while Gordon racked up 164 rushing yards and three scores. The Cowboys outscored the Cougars 24-7 in the second half en route to a road win that set them up to be able to make that Big 12 Championship appearance against Texas.

The Dez Breakout Game (2008)

Cowboy faithful had already seen what Dez Bryant could do as a freshman the year before, but this was the breakout game for the nation’s best receiver.

The Cowboys had taken care of Washington State in Week 1 and now opened their 2008 home slate with a visit from the Cougars.

Zac Robinson threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns. All of those scores (and most of those yards) went to Dez. His 236 receiving yards is still No. 4 on the list for most in a game by a Cowboy. Dez also had a 71-yard punt return for a TD. His 311 all-purpose yards in that game is ninth all-time at OSU. Running back Kendall Hunter chipped in 210 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.

The Cowboys hung 56 points and gained 699 yards on the Cougars, but they trailed 16-14 at the half thanks to some big plays by future All-American still current NFL player Case Keenum. Keenum threw for 387 yards and four touchdowns and picked up 81 rushing yards.

But after throwing an interception in the second quarter, Robinson led OSU to seven-straight touchdown drives to finish the game. How about that for some offensive efficiency.

OSU would go on to start 7-0 that season including a win at No. 3 Missouri. The Cowboys’ only losses were to No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Texas Tech and No. 3 Oklahoma. They fell to No. 15 Oregon in the Holiday Bowl, but.

And yet, here comes reinforcements at the team’s most-loaded position. After talking up freshman receiver Dayvon Standard throughout fall camp, Morris said he expects him to make his debut on the road at No. 20 Houston (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) this weekend.

“Standard is a guy that we were really high on early on in camp, had a little bit of an injury, so has worked his way back,” Morris said. “So, you’ll see him in the game this week. He has a bigger, longer, 6-2.5 frame that has really good ball skills. Add a little depth there behind (Justin) Bowick, somebody that can spell him from time to time because he’s playing almost every play for us.”

That part is true, Bowick is fourth among offensive players in snaps played with 326, putting him behind only center Tyler Mercer, quarterback Drew Mestemaker and left tackle Shaun Torgeson.

Standard is a true freshman who caught 23 passes for 463 yards and 10 touchdowns in only six games for Desert Edge (on the western edge of Phoenix) as a senior.

“He’s a raw guy right now, and he’s such a good player,” receiver Wyatt Young said. “He’s going to be a great player in the future. But he’s just raw, raw athlete. He can go up and make the plays like Justin. That’s who I’d compare him to on our offense right now. I mean, I think he can fill his role next year, like no other. I’m really excited to watch that kid ball.”

It wasn’t just Morris who was impressed early on when Standard arrived. He reminded Young a lot of Bowick, who is playing what should be his fifth and final collegiate season now.

“Especially like over the summer, right when he got here,” Young said. “When he was fresh and fresh legs and no injuries and everything. I mean, he was (making) the one-handed catches. The, I mean, he’s 6-3 and can run 4.4 at least. I mean, he’s such an athletic guy to go for the jump balls, and he’s so lengthy. His arms are long as ever. He’s just a hard guy to defend. Honestly, he’s really twitchy too.”

Of course before anyone goes out and buys a No. 19 jersey (Standard’s number), this season has shown that Morris sometimes over-hypes these guys ahead of their season debuts.

He talked up tackle Braydon Nelson, who followed him from North Texas, a lot ahead of his return from an offseason injury last week. Nelson did see the field, but only for one series, playing five total snaps.

It sounds like Morris wants that to change, but perhaps he’s not sure how.

“I think he’ll (Nelson) continue to build his role around here,” Morris said on Tuesday. “I think any time you’re coming off a knee, and I think him just gaining confidence – I would have liked to play him maybe just a little bit more. … It’s so hard, right? When we’re playing really good up front, those guys, you know, you’re not taking somebody out because they’re doing bad. Like it’s just a hard situation. Braydon is a great player. He’s a smart player, and so I think as he gets more comfortable, these practices are going to be key for him to get more comfortable pushing off on that knee.”

Morris also expressed some concern for starting safety Mose Phillips after initially saying he will be okay in his postgame presser after the UCF win. Phillips was limited to 20 snaps against UCF on Saturday due to a shoulder injury.

“Mose, we’ll see this week how he develops, you know with the shoulder,” Morris said on Tuesday. “And so I don’t know on Mose yet.”

Oklahoma State plays the Cougars at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at TDECU Stadium in Houston.

Here’s the Week 7 depth chart in full:

Quarterback

QB1: Drew Mestemaker (R-So., 6-3, 215, North Texas)
QB2: Grant Jordan (R-Sr., 6-2, 217, UMass) OR Brodie Vehrs (Fr., 5-11, 205)

Running Back

RB1: Caleb Hawkins (So., 6-0, 219, North Texas)
RB2: Tre Page (R-So., 5-8, 184, Tarleton State) OR Ayo Adeyi (R-Sr., 5-7, 194 , James Madison)

Wide Receiver

Z1: Chris Barnes (R-So., 5-7, 169, Wake Forest)
Z2: Terrence Lewis (So., 5-11, 170, North Texas)

X1: Justin Bowick (R-Sr., 6-5, 209, Illinois)
X2: Rodney Harris II (R-Sr., 6-1, 207, Ohio)

Y1: Miles Coleman (Jr., 5-6, 158, North Texas) OR Wyatt Young (Jr., 6-0, 199, North Texas)

Tight End

TE1: Carson Kolb (R-So., 6-4, 243, Oregon State) OR Morgan McPhaul (R-Sr., 6-2, 265, VMI)

TE2: Bodie Boydstun (R-Jr., 6-5, 239, SWOSU) OR Donovan Green (R-Sr., 6-3, 238, LSU) OR Oscar Hammond (R-Sr., 6-3, 243, returner)

Offensive Line

LT1: Ashton Lepo (R-Sr., 6-7, 320, Michigan State) OR Braydon Nelson (Jr., 6-4, 327, North Texas) OR Shaun Torgeson (R-So., 6-4, 302, Portland State)

LG1: Johnny Dickson III (R-Sr., 6-2, 317, North Texas) OR Desmond Magiya (R-Jr., 6-4, 333, North Texas)

C1: Tyler Mercer (R-So., 6-4, 300, Kansas)
C2: Louie Canepa (R-Sr., 6-3, 299, returner)

RG1: Joseph Hanson (Sr., 6-4, 302, Coastal Carolina)
RG2: Jakobe Sanders (R-Jr. 6-2, 327, returner)

RT1:Ashton Lepo (R-Sr., 6-7, 320, Michigan State) OR Braydon Nelson (Jr., 6-4, 327, North Texas) OR Shaun Torgeson (R-So., 6-4, 302, Portland State)

Defensive End

END1: Jaleel Johnson (R-Sr., 6-4, 270, returner)
END2: Malik Charles (R-Sr., 6-3, 284, returner) OR Keviyan Huddleston (R-Jr., 6-4, 269, North Texas)

RUSH1: James Williams (R-Sr., 6-5, 256, Florida State)
RUSH2: DeSean Brown (R-Sr., 6-2, 266, returner) OR DJ Jackson (Sr., 6-4, 243, Troy) OR Billy Walton III (R-So., 6-3, 253, SMU)

Defensive Tackle

NT1: Jerry Lawson (Sr., 6-1, 312, Louisville) 
NT2: Saadiq Clements (R-Jr., 6-4, 310, North Texas) OR Luke Webb (R-So., 6-3, 311, returner)

DT1: Iman Oates (R-Sr., 6-3, 317, returner) OR Braylon Rigsby (R-Jr., 6-3, 283, Texas Tech)
DT2: Landon Dean (R-Sr., 6-5, 290, returner) OR Enai White (R-Sr., 6-5, 300, Penn State)

Linebacker

SAM1: Ethan Wesloski (R-Sr., 6-1, 234, North Texas)
SAM2: Trip White (R-Sr., 6-3, 234, returner)

MIKE1: Tate Romney (R-Sr., 6-1, 223, Arizona State)
MIKE2: Taurean Davis (Jr., 6-1, 231, Miss. Gulf Coast)

WILL1: Isaiah Chisom (R-Jr., 6-0, 234, UCLA)
WILL2: Gunnar Wilson (R-So., 6-2, 217, returner)

Cornerback

CB: LaDainian Fields (R-So., 6-1, 176, returner) OR Kobi Foreman (So., 5-10, 175, returner)

CB: Trudell Berry (6-1, 196, Vanderbilt) OR R-Sr., Mo Horn (R-Sr., 5-11, 183, Texas Tech) OR Kollin Lewis (R-Jr., 5-10, 188, North Texas)

Safety

BS1: Mose Phillips III (Sr., 6-2, 196, Missouri)
BS2: Evan Jackson (Sr., 5-11, 188, North Texas)

FS1: Quinton Hammonds (Jr., 6-1, 206, North Texas)
FS2: Markeith Williams (R-Sr., 6-2, 175, Miami)

N1: Christian Bodnar (R-Jr., 6-0, 188, Liberty)
N2: Cameron Epps (R-Sr., 6-2, 207, returner) OR Vincent Holmes (R-Jr., 6-2, 175, Washington)

Kicker

K1: Sam Keltner (R-So., 5-10, 185, SMU)
K2: Joseph Kim (R-Jr., 5-9, 196, UCO)

Punter

P1: Lachie Pozzobon (So., 6-4, 182, Stephen F. Austin)
P2: Nate Ost (R-Sr., 6-2, 198, Robert Morris)

Kickoff

KO1: Joseph Kim (R-Jr., 5-9, 196, UCO)
KO2: Sam Keltner (R-So., 5-10, 185, SMU)

Long Snapper

LS1: Caden Yates (R-Jr., 6-1, 223, North Texas)
LS2: Nolan Akins (R-Fr., 6-1, 198, SMU)

Holder

H1: Nate Ost (R-Sr., 6-2, 198, Robert Morris)
H2: Lachie Pozzobon (So., 6-4, 182, Stephen F. Austin)

Kick Return

KR1: Chris Barnes (R-So., 5-7, 169, Wake Forest)
KR2: Miles Coleman (Jr., 5-6, 158, North Texas)

Punt Return

PR1: Miles Coleman (Jr., 5-6, 158, North Texas)
PR2: Bobby Deal Jr. (R-Jr., 6-1, 190, Coffeyville CC)

This Saturday night, we’ll be treated to a marquee Big 12 QB matchup.

On one side, you have the league’s leading passer in Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker. On the other, its leader in touchdowns responsible for in Houston’s Conner Weigman. It should be a fun one.

Let’s take a look at the two passers’ numbers back-to-back before we get into Saturday night’s matchup.

Oklahoma State fans might remember Weigman, though they might want to forget him. He tuned up the Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium last year, throwing for 306 yards and two touchdowns and then rushing for a third as the then No. 22 Cougars thumped OSU 39-17.

This year, it is Mestemaker and the retooled Cowboys that head to Houston with the higher ranking, sitting at No. 18 in the AP Poll while the Cougars are No. 20. Although we’ve already seen Mestemaker perform well on the big stage during the win over Oregon, this could be that marquee matchup Big 12 fans have been waiting for.

With 15 passing touchdowns (second in the Big 12) and six more scores on the ground (fourth), Weigman ranks second in the NCAA with 126 points that he’s responsible for, trailing only Oregon State quarterback Braden Atkinson. Only West Virginia’s Michael Hawkins Jr. has more rushing TDs among Big 12 QBs. It is important to point out that Weigman has played one more game than Mestemaker.

So which QB will come out and boost his team’s chances in the Big 12 title race? Which will continue to build his own standing among the best of the league’s passers?

So far, the Cowboys’ defense has seen what we thought would be a couple of high-end quarterback matchups this year. Oregon’s Dante Moore was considered the best NFL prospect among FBS passers, but Mestemaker outplayed him. Moore was held to a still of yet season-low in completion rate of 48.3% and just 191 yards and two touchdowns.

You couldn’t quite call Michael Hawkins Jr. an elite-level QB, but he’s been among the most dangerous on the ground. And you can’t say the Pokes shut him down there either as he ran for 103 yards and three scores. But their defense did keep him one-dimensional and limited him somewhat on the ground, holding him to a season-low in yards per rush attempt (3.7). He’s averaging 5.7 over six games.

If we’re looking at style and skillset, Mestemaker gets the nod on the deep ball. He’s one of the best in the nation, boasting a Pro Football Focus grade of 96.9 on deep passes (20 yards or more). Weigman is sitting at 73.6. They’re nearly identical on the medium passes (10-19 yards) with Mestemaker rated at 87.5 to Weigman’s 87.9. The Coogs’ QB gets the edge on the short passes. Strangely enough, Mestemaker is rated at just 58.8 to Weigman’s 75.4.

Weigman has been the more of the established run threat over his career. But he’s averaging 29.5 rushing yards per game (3.7 per attempt) to Mestemaker’s 21.6 (3.0 ypc). The biggest difference is the six rushing TDs. But as Houston head coach Willie Fritz pointed out, Mestemaker isn’t just a sneaky quick guy who might find the end zone on a trick play. It’s a legitimate part of his game.

“Oklahoma State’s quarterback runs it better than you think, and you gotta play that part of it, as well,” Fritz said. “I was watching their film and saw a particular down-and-distance and formation, and I was like, ‘quarterback draw.’ Boom, that’s what they ran. You don’t do that unless you have confidence in your quarterback being able to run the football.

“He’s a dual-threat guy just like Conner is. They don’t wanna run him crazy, and we don’t want to run Conner like crazy, but sometimes you gotta play 11-on-11 football.”

Both are pretty good at staying clean with Mestemaker being sacked just four times and Weigman being sacked five times. Again, in one more outing.

The one major statistical advantage Weigman holds over Mestemaker is his ability to avoid turnovers. In an almost equal number of attempts, Houston’s QB1 has just one interception to Mestemaker’s five. But that’s a bit of a misnomer.

Mestemaker got in an early hole, throwing two picks in Week 1 to Tulsa and then having two passes batted and intercepted against Oregon. Since then, he’s thrown one in three games. Likewise, he had two fumbles against Tulsa but only one since (a drop against Murray State). But Weigman has just one interception and one fumble on the season.

There is also an experience gap with Mestemaker famously not starting at quarterback in high school and looking forward to just his 25th career appearance while Weigman has started 19 games at Houston after he played 15 games over three years at Texas A&M.

Both quarterbacks have been a huge part of their teams’ early success. This will be the next big test for Mestemaker as he looks to win his second Big 12 road game and put his Cowboys in the driver’s seat in the Big 12 race.

The Cowboys and Cougars kick off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Houston.

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• Cowboy Golf is tied for first through one day of Big 12 match play (Clippd)

• CBS Sports has the Pokes in the Pop Tarts Bowl against SMU – this would be super fun (CBS Sports)

• ESPN had some good insight on the Big 12 title race – and the Pokes place in it. It’s a four-team race by the odds – BYU, Utah, Texas Tech, and whoever emerges from OSU, Baylor, Houston, and Arizona.

Houston hosts Oklahoma State and visits Utah in the next two weeks; the Cougars’ odds were hit hard by their narrow loss at Texas Tech, but they could play themselves right back into the race, especially if they keep looking as good as they did in Manhattan. OSU, meanwhile, has a mulligan to give and hosts Texas Tech in November. [ESPN]

• Pokes are at No. 3 in these Big 12 power rankings (HCS)

• Statistical deep dive on the Pokes from the guys at TDL:

I charted all 61 offensive snaps from Oklahoma State’s 42-28 win over UCF and compared them to Tulsa, Oregon, WVU and the North Texas tape I charted in January.

As a reminder, I did not chart the Murray State game. — Feels Like 45 Podcast (@FeelsLike45Pod) October 11, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• James Madison is joining the American • Never quit because it’s hard

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news. 

OSU Bullets

• UCF’s coach Scott Frost would be “surprised” if Drew Mestemaker is in college next year, (another) NFL analyst is calling him the first QB off the board (PFB)

• Cowboy Golf is tied for first through one day of Big 12 match play (Clippd)

• CBS Sports has the Pokes in the Pop Tarts Bowl against SMU – this would be super fun (CBS Sports)

• ESPN had some good insight on the Big 12 title race – and the Pokes place in it. It’s a four-team race by the odds – BYU, Utah, Texas Tech, and whoever emerges from OSU, Baylor, Houston, and Arizona.

Houston hosts Oklahoma State and visits Utah in the next two weeks; the Cougars’ odds were hit hard by their narrow loss at Texas Tech, but they could play themselves right back into the race, especially if they keep looking as good as they did in Manhattan. OSU, meanwhile, has a mulligan to give and hosts Texas Tech in November. [ESPN]

• Pokes are at No. 3 in these Big 12 power rankings (HCS)

• Statistical deep dive on the Pokes from the guys at TDL:

I charted all 61 offensive snaps from Oklahoma State’s 42-28 win over UCF and compared them to Tulsa, Oregon, WVU and the North Texas tape I charted in January.

As a reminder, I did not chart the Murray State game. — Feels Like 45 Podcast (@FeelsLike45Pod) October 11, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• James Madison is joining the American • Never quit because it’s hard

At West Virginia, given the Mountaineers’ success running the ball and the circumstances of the game itself, it felt okay to not dwell as much on defensive miscues in that one.

But to do so against a depleted UCF offense is another thing, especially with a trip to No. 20 Houston up next.

Today’s Final Draw will cover:
– Did UCF’s quick-game passing attack reveal something about the Cowboys’ defense?
– How does the defense hold up against TEs? (Hint: That matters a lot next week)

But first, let’s take a much closer look at Oklahoma State’s defense in high-leverage moments.

​OSU entered Saturday’s competition ranked second in red zone defense (60%), 12th on fourth down (22%) and 16th on third down (28%).

On Saturday, UCF went 4-for-4 in the red zone (100%), 4-for-5 on fourth down (80%) and 7-for-16 on third down (44%). None of those numbers are great, and the third down number is the only one you can even remotely excuse.

Red Zone, Woah

The Knights ran 11 plays in the red zone. Of those, four were successful plays by OSU, where the Cowboys held UCF to one yard or less without giving up a touchdown, with the most impressive play coming on 1st-and-2 when OSU’s defense won the point of attack on a hurry-up play with cornerback Mo Horn coming in high for the most important part of the tackle.

The other seven plays resulted in gains of 18, 1 (TD), 12 (TD), 3 (TD), 7, 3 and 4 (TD).

2nd-and-11 at the OSU 20: 18-yard RB run when linebacker Ethan Wesloski and others were blocked out of play on the edge.

3rd-and-1 at the OSU 1: 1-yard reception when UCF quarterback Keyone Jenkins lines up under center, then quickly rolls out to his left and hits tight end Grayson Brousseau, who is wide open in the end zone. Cornerback LaDainian Fields rushes on this play when he sees Jenkins roll out. It seems likely that either someone else was supposed to cover Brousseau/that portion of the field or Fields wasn’t supposed to go after the quarterback there.

1st-and-10 at the OSU 12: Pop pass for 12 yards when Tate Romney’s arm tackle isn’t enough to bring him down. Safety Quinton Hammonds is in the area but expertly blocked out of the play.

1st-and-3 at the OSU 3: 3-yard reception when the UCF receiver makes a good cutback that provides plenty of separation against Horn.

2nd-and-10 at the OSU 14: 7-yard RB run. Hard to tell for sure based on broadcast angle, but it looked like corner Kobi Foreman probably could have made a play closer to the line of scrimmage with better execution.

3rd-and-3 at the OSU 7: 3-yard RB run when OSU’s defense just beat at the point of attack.

1st-and-4 at OSU 4: 4-yard reception with tight end Caden Piening left wide open in the end zone. Hard to tell what happened here. Safety Evan Jackson blitzed and created a little pressure here on the throw. It both seems like he left the area Piening found and followed instructions to go for the quarterback, so it is hard to say for sure what went wrong on this one. Sometimes you do see defenses just leave gaps in the end zone due to the amount of bodies you need to win against the run.

Overall conclusion: This all feels like a real concern. As was the case for much of the game, OSU defenders often got blocked out of plays on the perimeter that turned into decent gains if not first downs (or touchdowns) for the Knights.

Mistakes or even less than ideal calls will happen, but giving up multiple wide-open touchdown passes feels more like a genuine issue. However, not stopping the UCF back from picking up the first down when he needed three yards felt like the single biggest red zone fault given the stakes of that play and OSU’s inability to win at the point of attack.

Fourth and Forget It

The Knights were 3-of-3 on fourth down in the first half and finished 1-of-2 in the fourth quarter when the outcome was either decided or their backs were against the wall.

Here are those plays in order (skipping Luke Webb’s stop covered extensively by PFB after the game).

Needing 2 yards: 15-yard completion (11 after the catch). Looked like Hammonds had responsibility here, but he’s rubbed out of the play by a crossing route that creates traffic in the middle of the field. This one felt less like his fault and more like good play design from the Knights.

Needing 1 yard: 1-yard RB run. The UCF offensive line wins enough at the point of attack to give the running back two efforts to push for the line to gain.

Needing 4 yards: 9-yard completion. Jenkins was rushed out of the pocket on this play, and it took a heckuva a throw-and-catch at the sideline to move the chains here against Romney. Given the fact that video review had to double-check this one, I’m okay not faulting the OSU linebacker who had impressively tight coverage on the tight end.

Needing 3 yards: 4-yard completion. At the time, OSU held a 21-point lead with roughly five minutes to play, so it’s fair to play this one pretty conservatively. However, the receiver is left all alone running even with the line to gain. Instead of forcing a contested catch, OSU defenders play at least two or three yards back, perhaps even more.

Overall conclusion: I’m less worried about the fourth-down conversions. At least one was a great play design, one came on an insane catch, another came when it was clear either the OSU players or coaches themselves were more worried with limiting explosive plays than getting off the field. And running on 4th-and-1 feels like something offenses should just get at least 50% of the time, so overall none of this felt indicative of OSU’s fourth-down defense truly crumbling.

Third Down for What

We’ve already covered two of UCF’s third-down successes that came in the red zone (and seemed problematic on rewatch). Before breaking down the others, it’s worth noting that UCF’s fourth touchdown probably should have been scored almost two minutes faster, as Jenkins overthrew a wide-open receiver in the end zone. That would have put OSU’s offense out with six minutes to protect a 14-point lead instead of four minutes.

Given how efficiently the Cowboys moved things, it likely doesn’t matter, but it would have added way more pressure on starting the drive well.

Of the remaining 13 plays, seven either resulted in first downs or set the Knights up to go for it on fourth down from a manageable distance.

Needing 1 yard: Jenkins sneaks for three yards. The extra yards gained here impressed more than the fact that UCF got it. OSU’s line just got beat on this play.

Needing 10 yards: 9-yard RB run when no OSU players are on the outside. Defensive end DJ Jackson moves inside, seemingly to take advantage of a hole created by the offensive line. This just sucks him inside and out of the play. Linebacker Isaiah Chisom eventually makes the tackle, but it takes him a bit to bring the runner down.

Needing 6 yards: 12-yard completion (eight after catch). It looked like Malik Charles hit Jenkins, but that wasn’t enough to stop the wide-open catch two yards short of the line to gain. Based on the structure of the defense, it feels like Romney is the guy who should have made this play here.

Needing 3 yards: 4-yard RB run off read option. Again, no one seems well positioned to make this play. UCF had two guys in the backfield with the quarterback, and given the way OSU was slanted down on the other side, it feels like the Cowboys expected the play to go the other way.

Needing 5 yards: 6-yard reception by a tight end who caught the ball at the line of scrimmage when nickel Christian Bodnar and Fields were blocked out of making a play on that side. Hammonds gets there, but it’s too late. Several of the third-down failures by UCF were due to Wesloski’s quick reaction time and sure tackling, but on this one it feels like OSU needed better play recognition and reaction from him.

Needing 10 yards: 11-yard catch. Corner Kollin Lewis is unable to keep up on this play, however, the receiver pushes him at the top of the route before cutting away. Both in the press box and on rewatch, it felt like this should have gone down as offensive pass interference.

Needing 11 yards: 10-yard completion (five after the catch). Bodnar goes low on this play, and the receiver hurdles him to set the Knights up with 4th-and-1.

Overall conclusion: I’m happy to ignore the play where the officials hung Lewis out to dry and the sneak. But the wide-open receiver should have been a touchdown. That gives the Knights eight strong plays on third down (out of 17). That’s way too many if OSU wants to make real noise in the Big 12 this season.

It was especially concerning to see how often the Cowboys didn’t even appear to be in the area to make a play on some of these third downs.

Does Oklahoma State Have a TE Problem?

A pair of future Cowboy pass-catchers had big weekends on the high school gridiron.

Let’s take a look at how Oklahoma State’s 2027 recruiting class did in the weekend that was with stats and highlights provided when available.

Ake O’Neal / WR / Argyle (6-1) / Texas

Height: 6-3
Weight: 195
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,494

Another weekend, another high offensive output from the Argyle Eagles.

Argyle beat Lovejoy 45-28. The Eagles are on a six-game winning streak and have averaged 57.5 points a game during that stretch.

O’Neal had the best game of his season thus far, catching 11 passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns.

Argyle plays at The Colony (5-1) this weekend.

Cooper Hooker / WR / Pryor (4-2) / Oklahoma

Height: 5-9
Weight: 165
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,055

Pryor came up short against Bishop McGuinness 31-17 this past weekend, ending a three-game winning streak the Tigers were on.

Cooper Hooker caught nine passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in the game.

Tough loss this week but we’re ready to bounce back 💯

9 catches
102 yards
1 TD
1 2 pt conversion

@PryorTigerFB @Coach_DavisPHS @CoachSaiz10 @CoachPugh317 @BrandonHuffman @samspiegs @Rivals @RivalsHS @ParkerThune @Bdrumm_OUI @derekrasmussen @TheUCReport @Sooner7v7 @MikeRoach247 @SWiltfong_ @ChadSimmons_ @Andy_Villamarzo @LemmingReport @TomLoy247 @nate_ratcliff3 @coach_hadac @PrepRedzoneOK @PRZMichaelK @OKState247 @Taylorskieens @247Sports @On3 @PokeOkc @AlldayOstate

— Cooper Hooker (@coophook1) October 12, 2026

Pryor head to Nathan Hale (3-3) this weekend.

Carson White / QB / Hightower (5-2) / Texas

Height: 6-2
Weight: 205
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 467

Carson White has led his team to five straight wins after his Hurricanes beat Fort Bend-Clements 42-3 this past weekend.

It was another superb game on the ground for the future Cowboy QB, and he ran for 174 yards on six carries, scoring three touchdowns. He also had 90 passing yards.

His season totals are up to 907 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, 814 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.

Hightower has the week off this week.

Jake Baker / OL / Ensworth (4-4) / Tennessee

Height: 6-6
Weight: 295
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,581

Jake Baker’s Ensworth team beat Christ Presbyterian Academy 28-17.

Baker released a highlight cut from his first eight games this weekend.

Ensworth is on bye this week.

Talan Scott / TE / ALA-Queen Creek (1-5) / Arizona

Height: 6-4
Weight: 225
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,285

ALA-Queen Creek had the week off, but the Patriots will travel to Casteel (1-5) this week.

Scott shared a midseason highlight reel this weekend.

Israel Hammons / LB / Choctaw (5-2) / Oklahoma

Height: 6-3
Weight: 230
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 172

Make it five wins in a row for the Yellowjackets after they took out Piedmont 45-30.

MaxPreps didn’t have stats for the game, but Hudl reveals that Israel Hammons had a touchdown run on a trick play in the game.

Choctaw hosts Putnam City-North (1-5) this weekend.

Jayden Vessell / EDGE / Baton Rouge Catholic (3-3) / Louisiana

Height: 6-2
Weight: 230
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,286

The Catholic Bears made it two wins in a row by shutting out Liberty Magnet 55-0.

Vessell uploaded a midseason highlight reel this week:

Baton Rouge Catholic travels to Zachary (4-2) this weekend.

Bryson Brown / DB / Broken Arrow (6-0) / Oklahoma

Height: 6-1
Weight: 190
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,126

The Tigers remained unbeaten with a 61-0 shutout win against Westmoore. Broken Arrow has outscored its opponents 279-71 thus far this season.

Broken Arrow hosts Mustang (4-2) this weekend.

Sonny Mullen / OL / Troy (5-1) / Texas

Height: 6-7
Weight: 285
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,261

Troy suffered its first loss of the season this past weekend, falling to Little River Academy 22-19.

Mullen was credited with three pancake blocks in the game, bringing his season total to 26.

Troy travels to C.H. Yoe (6-0) this weekend.

TJ Lewis / RB / Bolingbrook (7-1) / Illinois

Height: 6-0
Weight: 225
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,087

Bolingbrook pushed its win streak to seven games with a 46-14 win against Plainfield North.

The Raiders travel to Minooka (4-4) this week

Odaefe Oruru / OL / Jenks (4-2) / Oklahoma

Height: 6-6
Weight: 310
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 486

The Trojans continued their winning was with a 56-22 win against Deer Creek.

Jenks hosts Edmond Santa Fe (1-5) this weekend.

Chayce Davis / DB / Trinity (4-2) / Texas

Height: 6-0
Weight: 173
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 550

Trinity picked up a 52-7 win against MacArthur this past weekend.

Davis was credited with eight tackles and a pass breakup in the game.

The Trojans travel to Nimitz (1-5) this week.

The Cowboys and Cougars will meet Saturday for a game that carries with it a hefty amount of Big 12 title implications.

Oklahoma State plays Houston at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Houston. Cougar coach Willie Fritz met with reporters on Monday to preview the matchup. Here are three things he touched on.

1. Big Game in H-Town

When the AP Poll dropped Sunday, Oklahoma State was at No. 18 and Houston was at No. 20.

Houston hasn’t hosted a ranked-vs-ranked matchup since the 2015 American Athletic Conference championship game. That comes with a bit of a caveat, as to start the next season, a ranked Cougar squad played (and beat) a ranked Oklahoma team in Houston, but that game was at the Texans’ NRG Stadium rather than on campus.

So, Saturday’s game carries some weight.

“It’s a big game,” Fritz said. “It’s a big game for them. It’s a big game for us. This has a lot of implications for the Big 12 race, so this is a huge game. We’re very excited about the challenge. …

“That’s the reason we came here. We feel like we can compete for a national championship here at the University of Houston. We’ve got the facilities. We’ve got the location — without question. … We want to be in this situation all the time here at the University of Houston.”

2. Crowd Talk

College football Twitter (or X, if you prefer) poked fun at the Houston fanbase a few weeks back because of the Cougars’ crowd against UCF.

The official attendance for that game was 25,593 — about 64% of TDECU’s listed capacity of 40,000. The Cowboys played those same Knights this past weekend and drew a sellout crowd of 52,168.

It’s ‘Space City’ 🆚 ‘Space U’ in H-Town‼️

🏟️ TDECU Stadium
🏠 #20 Houston
🆚 UCF

#GoCoogs https://t.co/0Y2ykKCH0v

— College Football Campus Tour (@cfbcampustour) October 3, 2026

After Houston’s dominant win in Manhattan this past weekend, Fritz made a call to the Cougar faithful to show up this upcoming Saturday. He said he did so trying to help out Houston’s marketing department.

YOU HEARD THE HEADMAN🗣️

🎟️: https://t.co/pBIGXDW4Jb https://t.co/U0Dgr0Sp7t

— Houston Football (@UHCougarFB) October 10, 2026

Fritz was asked a few questions about the crowd on Monday and noted that with it being a Top 25 matchup at night, the crowd ought to be good.

“Like I’ve said a million times, there’s a lot to do in the city of Houston,” Fritz said. “There’s some towns where there may not be quite as much to do in the city, but there’s a lot to do in the city of Houston. We just feel like if we get people out here one time, they see what we have to offer, the quality of product that we put out on the field, the Big 12 puts out on the field.

“I know I say this, I say it in a joking manor, but every seat is a good seat at our place. That’s not the case at most stadiums. You’re way up there and you can’t quite see what’s going on down there. I think that’s another advantage for us, but I just think if people come out, they’ll really be impressed with our campus and everything about it.”

3. On OSU, Mestemaker

This won’t be the first time Fritz and Eric Morris are on opposite sidelines from each other.

The two met in 2023, which was Fritz’s final year at Tulane and Morris’ first year at North Texas. Fritz and Tulane won that game in New Orleans 35-28. North Texas came from down 21-0 at the half to tie the game at 28 early in the fourth quarter before a late Tulane score decided the contest.

The players and team colors have changed, but Fritz said Morris is doing a lot of what he did those three short years ago offensively.

“It’s identical,” Fritz said. “He does a very good job. I got a lot of respect for Eric and the way he runs his program. He’s hired a very, very good staff — defensive coordinator (Skyler Cassity), special teams coordinator (Drew Svoboda).”

Fritz was rather complimentary, as many are, about OSU quarterback Drew Mestemaker, particularly his athletic ability.

“Oklahoma State’s quarterback runs it better than you think, and you gotta play that part of it, as well,” Fritz said. “I was watching their film and saw a particular down-and-distance and formation, and I was like, ‘quarterback draw.’ Boom, that’s what they ran. You don’t do that unless you have confidence in your quarterback being able to run the football.

“He’s a dual-threat guy just like Conner (Weigman) is. They don’t wanna run him crazy, and we don’t want to run Conner like crazy, but sometimes you gotta play 11-on-11 football.”

Jaylen Warren, Chuba Hubbard and Ollie Gordon have all seen an increase in opportunities over the early part of the season, and all three have taken advantage. So with Hubbard on a bye week and resting up after his latest 100-yard rushing performance, Justice Hill decided to throw his hat in the ring.

Let’s take a look around the league at which OSU alums were making plays in the NFL, starting with a historic performance by Jaylen Warren.

Warren Makes History

The former Oklahoma State running back is on a tear, and he underlined that with a historic performance on Sunday. Warren led the Steelers to a 34-22 win over the Indianapolis Colts, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown as well as a career-high 87 receiving yards and a score on six catches.

He had a huge catch and run early and then picked up a 50-yard TD on the ground to put the Steelers in control in the third.

Jaylen Warren was the engine of Pittsburgh’s offense against Indianapolis.

15 CAR, 101 RUSH YDS, 6 REC, 87 REC YDS, 2 TOTAL TD

Warren helped Pittsburgh move to 3-2 and stay right in the thick of the AFC North race.

https://t.co/PJ6Zrma88E

— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) October 11, 2026

According to a post by the Steelers’ X account, Warren is the first NFL player to have an 80-yard receiving touchdown and a 50-yard score in the same game since Herschell Walker back in 1986.

What’s more, through five games, he is the only player currently to lead his team both in rushing yards and receiving yards, and he’s third in the NFL in total scrimmage yards with 640. That has him on pace for over 2,100 scrimmage yards.

According to Pro Football Focus, Warren also leads all NFL players with 289 yards after catch this season. The next on the list is Atlanta Falcons receiver Drake London with 220.

This recent surge in production came after Pittsburgh running back Rico Dowdle went down with injury. The two were sharing handoffs in more of a running back-by-committee situation. But over these last three games, Warren is averaging 107 rushing yards per game on 6.6 yards per carry. He’s also averaging 56 receiving yards over that span.

According to Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, Dowdle is expected to practice this week and be available this weekend, but it sounds like Warren will remain the featured back moving forward.

Justice Hill Breaks Loose

Carries have been hard to come by in the Ravens’ backfield for the former Cowboy running back, but he made this one count.

Justice Hill breaks free for 47 yards!

@BALvsATL on NBC/Peacock
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/fTDdcfMb6v

— NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2026

Hill also had a nice run earlier in the Ravens’ 30-23 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Justice Hill gets the first down and more

@BALvsATL on NBC/Peacock
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/4KACIZfLaP

— NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2026

His 73 rushing yards were a season high, but the most impressive part was that he did it on just four carries.

🏈 “Be The Best When The Best Is Needed.” – Justice Hill on The Ravens Mindset in Overtime.

The Ravens are off to their best 5 game start since 2021.

No Lamar Jackson, no problem. Henry, Huntley, and Hill give a celebratory post game interview 👇. https://t.co/8mMDLbG1hy

— 🔥 CEO Branding Expert (@Ceo_Branding) October 12, 2026

Ollie Gordon Scores Again

Another OSU running back that has gotten more reps of late has also been taking advantage.

Second-year Dolphin Ollie Gordon II has now scored a touchdown in three straight games since RB1 De’Von Achane went down with injury. On Sunday, he racked up 88 yards and a score on the ground though the Dolphins fell to the Bengals 31-24.

🏈 “Be The Best When The Best Is Needed.” – Justice Hill on The Ravens Mindset in Overtime.

The Ravens are off to their best 5 game start since 2021.

No Lamar Jackson, no problem. Henry, Huntley, and Hill give a celebratory post game interview 👇. https://t.co/8mMDLbG1hy

— 🔥 CEO Branding Expert (@Ceo_Branding) October 12, 2026

Gordon is averaging 76 yards per game at 5.2 yards per carry in that span.

STILLWATER — Scott Frost knows what an NFL quarterback looks like, and he sounds confident that Oklahoma State has one.

Frost was the offensive coordinator at Oregon from 2013 to 2015. In 2014, Frost coached Marcus Mariota en route to the Duck winning the Heisman trophy.

After Oklahoma State beat Frost’s UCF squad 42-28 on Saturday, Frost said he’d be surprised if Mestemaker wasn’t playing in the same league as Mariota next season.

“I think their quarterback, I’ll be surprised if he’s in college next year,” Frost said. “I know they’re gonna want him to be, but some of the plays and throws that he made, you know, when you see that happening, you know what kind of guy they got.”

Mestemaker was efficient against the Knights, completing 19 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also had an 11-yard rushing touchdown and for the first time this season, Mestemaker completed a game without a turnover.

He’s the Big 12 leader in pass yards per game, averaging 315 through his first five as a Cowboy. Longtime Arizona starter Noah Fifita is second with 292.7 yards a game.

On the season, Mestemaker has completed 16 passes at least 20 yards down the field, which leads the Big 12 and is tied for third nationally with Notre Dame’s CJ Carr. But Carr and the two quarterbacks ahead of Mestemaker (Alabama’s Keelon Russell and Oregon State’s Braden Atkinson) have played six games to Mestemaker’s five.

Among quarterbacks with at least 20 attempts of a pass of 20 or more yards, Mestemaker’s 64% completion percentage ranks second nationally behind Russell (66.7%).

Frost made note of the Knights sacking Mestemaker once on Saturday. With his quick release, that’s not something that happens a ton. It marked just the fourth time Mestemaker had been sacked all season despite having dropped back 181 times already, per PFF.

Mestemaker wasn’t the only thing Frost complimented about his trip to Stillwater.

Before the game got going, Frost peeked his head into one of the on-field suites and met with fans. After his first game in Stillwater, Frost noted Boone Pickens Stadium is a good college football environment.

Knights HC Scott Frost checks out the Oklahoma State on field cabanas pregame at Boone Pickens Stadium. #UCF https://t.co/XR3ZZhkf1M

— Sons of UCF (@SonsofUCF) October 10, 2026

“Hats off to Oklahoma State,” Frost said. “(Eric Morris has) done a good job of coming in here new. I’ve never been here before. That’s a cool environment. The people were really nice to us. So, he’s done a good job.”

It’s still relatively early in the 2027 NFL Draft cycle, but another football analyst has Drew Mestemaker as the early favorite to be the first quarterback off the board.

Coming into the year, there was a wonder of whether Mestemaker would be drafted in 2027 or 2028. Again, it’s early, but recent trends might suggest the NFL will be interested in him sooner rather than later.

This time it was ESPN/NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah who appeared on the Rich Eisen Show last Friday.

Eisen set the prompt up by asking for a dart throw (because of how early it is) of the first quarterback taken.

“Where we are right now, I think the most intriguing player when you put all that stuff together would be Mestemaker,” Jeremiah said. “Just off early season here.

“(Oregon’s) Dante Moore is, obviously he’s hurt. I hope he’s OK after that horrendous hit that he took, but he’s not played his best ball. And they were on the same field. I watched that tape, and Mestemaker was, from an NFL standpoint, was just so much more intriguing with the athleticism that he has to go along with the other array of skills.”

Jeremiah broke down Mestemaker’s game against the Ducks after it happened, talking about his pros and some things he’ll need to clean up before taking on NFL defenses.

And just because Jeremiah put in an early prediction for Mestemaker to be the first quarterback taken, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Mestemaker will be the first overall player taken. Jeremiah, who also does radio for the 0-5 Los Angeles Chargers, noted it’d be hard for teams in need of a wide receiver to not take Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith.

Jeremiah also noted that if an NFL team needed to win a game on this week, he’d probably take Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss as the most pro-ready prospect.

“In an ideal world for (Mestemaker) and his development, just more playing time,” Jeremiah said. “Another year would be great, but in terms at where we are at this point in the season, (Darian) Mensah has been outstanding with just the decision-making and the accuracy, but I think Mestemaker is just a little more toolsy than him. And when we get in draft time, Rich, that usually is what takes the cake.”

Jeremiah isn’t the first analyst to say such a thing. Earlier this season, ESPN’s Jordan Reid listed Mestemaker first among quarterbacks in his Top 50 prospects lists, while ESPN’s Field Yates also tabbed Mestemaker as an early pick to be the first quarterback taken. And just last week, David Pollack made an even more confident claim that Mestemaker was on track to being the No. 1 pick.

Two more Cowboys were honored by the Big 12 for their performances this past week.

Ethan Wesloski was named a conference Defensive Player of the Week, while Sam Keltner was named a Special Teams Player of the Week for their roles in Oklahoma State’s 42-28 win against UCF.

This is the third time this season both guys have earned there respective weekly honor, and OSU has collected 11 weekly honors in total already this season.

Wesloski made 17 tackles — marking the second straight game he’s tied his career-high. He now sits at second in the Big 12 in total tackles with 53 despite having played only five games because of OSU’s early bye, while some other teams have played six. His 10.6 tackles per game leads the conference.

Wesloski is a 6-foot-1, 234-pound redshirt senior linebacker from McKinney, Texas. He previously spent his entire college career at North Texas before transferring this offseason. Last season was a breakout for Wesloski, as he made 113 tackles and nine tackles for loss. Even with the jump up in competition, Wesloski projects to finish with even more tackles this season, as he’s on pace for 127.2 by the end of the regular season.

Keltner hit both of his field-goal attempts against UCF, remaining perfect on the season. The first came from 40 yards out in the third quarter before he hit from 29 yards out in the fourth.

He’s one of three Big 12 kickers to be 100% on the year, but he’s made more than the other two put together. His dozen makes lead the league and are tied for third nationally. He’s one of 15 kickers nationally to still be perfect to this point, and among that group he has made the most kicks.

A redshirt sophomore from Keller, Texas, Keltner transferred to OSU this past offseason from SMU. He was 14-for-20 for the Mustangs last season, finishing the year with 78 total points. Through five games as a Cowboy, he’s already up to 55 total points.

The Knights held on for as long as they could Saturday, but they couldn’t keep up with the Cowboys’ potent offensive attack.

Oklahoma State beat UCF 42-28. I already laid out 10 thoughts in the immediate aftermath of the game, but after watching the TV copy, here are three more things I noticed.

1. Mestemaker’s Biggest ‘Wow’ Throw of the Game (Probably)

Drew Mestemaker had six completions of at least 20 yards in what was another excellent display of arm talent.

After the game, I wrote about a throw that Mestemaker used his brain to get the better of the UCF defense, but he noted after the game that it’s probably more satisfying to fit a ball into a tight window — specifically pointing to a pass he made to Terrence Lewis.

“It was getting tight in the pocket and getting tight downfield, and you know you throw it and you don’t really know if it’s going to get caught,” Mestemaker said. “You’re just kind of throwing to a spot out there, and it’s a relieving feeling when your receiver comes down and catches it.”

The throw in question came on a first down in the second quarter. UCF rushed five on the play, bringing a guy flying in from the perimeter.

Mestemaker climbed up in the pocket, throwing as a pair of Knights converged on him before he hit Lewis among three UCF defenders.

Here’s the pressure:

And here’s the window Mestemaker if the ball into:

As pretty as the throw was, give Lewis credit after the fact, as he shook two would-be tacklers while gaining an extra chunk of yards for what ended up being a 26-yard play.

ESPN’s Jordan Reid posted the end zone copy. It’s the first throw of these two plays:

The Mestemaker tape vs. UCF is exceptional. Two of my favorite plays here. He sees the middle of the field so cleanly and understands how to access those windows. https://t.co/t97jwgFTmZ

— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) October 11, 2026

I’m not sure what’s more impressive, the anticipation of throwing to a spot knowing your receiver will be there or the ability to fit that ball in the middle of three defenders.

2. Braydon Nelson Snaps

Braydon Nelson made a brief debut on Saturday, playing five offensive snaps against the Knights.

Nelson had started every game at tackle for North Texas last season but has been out the start of this season with injury.

He subbed in for Shaun Torgeson at left tackle for the Cowboys’ fourth drive of the game.

There isn’t a ton to glean from just five offensive snaps, but here’s how they went.

Play 1: Nelson pulls on a counter alongside Desmond Magiya. Caleb Hawkins gains 4.

Play 2: Pass protection vs. a UCF edge rusher. Mestemaker gets it out quick to Wyatt Young for a gain of 9 yards.

Play 3: Looked to be an RPO, with right guard Joseph Hanson pulling to the left side, but Mestemaker pulled the ball out and threw a deep ball to Chris Barnes that landed incomplete. Without knowing everyone’s exact assignment, Nelson might’ve missed a pick up here. But the ball was out with time to spare, so it didn’t matter.

Play 4: Zone run play to the right. Hawkins gains a yard.

Play 5: The play is designed to get Mestemaker rolling to his left — Nelson’s side. Nelson does a good job passing one defender off to Magiya as another defender loops to the outside. The play results in an incomplete pass, and the Cowboys punt.

3. Excruciating Conversions

It doesn’t matter if you get a first down by 1 yard or 20, it resets the chains all the same, and it felt like in a lot of somewhat crucial downs, the Knights would just get the ball across the line to gain.

The OSU offense came up against just nine third downs on Saturday — UCF had 16. The Knights were just staying on schedule and inching forward.

UCF converted seven third downs and four fourth downs.

There was a stretch from the end of the second quarter to the start of the fourth where the Knights were 4-for-7 on the down. Here are those conversions:

3rd-and-6 — gain 12
3rd-and-3 — gain 4
3rd-and-5 — gain 6
3rd-and-10 — gain 11

That 3rd-and-10 conversion came with what looked to be a fairly evident push-off that the officials didn’t flag. But that shows an example of just how narrowly the Knights were staying on the field and moving forward.

Two of the Knights’ fourth-down conversions also came by a yard or less.

This isn’t a knock on the Cowboy defense. The Pokes still rank fourth in the Big 12 in third-down D, allowing conversions 31% of the time, but Saturday’s game provided a handful of crowd quieting moments as the Knights matriculated their way down the field.

• OSU remained at No. 18 in the AP Poll but managed to break into the Coaches Top 25 this week (PFB)

• ICYMI – Mike Gundy talked about his time at Oklahoma State on TNT over the weekend (PFB)

• WSJ did a profile on Drew Mestemaker recently – highlighting how junior college coaches would return his calls.

All of a sudden, the player who couldn’t keep his emails out of the junk folder has become the quarterback NFL teams are lining up to draft, as a projected first-round pick in April. [Wall Street Journal]

• ESPN’s SP+ has the Pokes losing by five to Houston on Saturday (Google Docs)

• In a Big 12 weekly recap, the Pokes were called a second-half team and Houston (this week’s opponent) noted for blasting K-State in Manhattan (HCS)

• Fun to see these guys back at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday. Is this the first time since James Washington graduated that OSU hasn’t been tempted to hand him a helmet?

Tony Allen and James Washington honored in Stillwater at halftime #Cowboys https://t.co/jscsydy9HG

— News On 6 (@NewsOn6) October 10, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Mike Tomlin on playing Minecraft to stay close to his middle school sons is awesome

• Parenting like Aslan (faith-based)

I decided to put Cal Newport’s three principles of ​​slow productivity​​ to the test:

1. Work on Fewer Things
2. Work at a Natural Pace
3. Obsess Over Quality

Newport argues that you can produce higher-quality, more satisfying results by working more slowly and deeply on one big thing. [Redeeming Productivity]

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news. 

OSU Bullets

• Steve Lutz’s Cowboys lost to New Mexico at GIA while missing a few yesterday (PFB)

• OSU remained at No. 18 in the AP Poll but managed to break into the Coaches Top 25 this week (PFB)

• ICYMI – Mike Gundy talked about his time at Oklahoma State on TNT over the weekend (PFB)

• WSJ did a profile on Drew Mestemaker recently – highlighting how junior college coaches would return his calls.

All of a sudden, the player who couldn’t keep his emails out of the junk folder has become the quarterback NFL teams are lining up to draft, as a projected first-round pick in April. [Wall Street Journal]

• ESPN’s SP+ has the Pokes losing by five to Houston on Saturday (Google Docs)

• In a Big 12 weekly recap, the Pokes were called a second-half team and Houston (this week’s opponent) noted for blasting K-State in Manhattan (HCS)

• Fun to see these guys back at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday. Is this the first time since James Washington graduated that OSU hasn’t been tempted to hand him a helmet?

Tony Allen and James Washington honored in Stillwater at halftime #Cowboys https://t.co/jscsydy9HG

— News On 6 (@NewsOn6) October 10, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Mike Tomlin on playing Minecraft to stay close to his middle school sons is awesome

• Parenting like Aslan (faith-based)

I decided to put Cal Newport’s three principles of ​​slow productivity​​ to the test:

1. Work on Fewer Things
2. Work at a Natural Pace
3. Obsess Over Quality

Newport argues that you can produce higher-quality, more satisfying results by working more slowly and deeply on one big thing. [Redeeming Productivity]

Support PFB with a PFB+ membership — $8 a month or $50 for a year.

STILLWATER — Well, that’s certainly not the ideal start to hoops in Gallagher-Iba Arena this school year.

Oklahoma State opened its exhibition schedule with an early game against New Mexico on Sunday afternoon. The Lobos beat the Cowboys 99-89. Here are five takeaways from the game.

1. It Looked Like Early October Basketball

If this game was streaming anywhere, it’d have to come with a viewer discretion is advised warning.

The contest featured 63 personal fouls, 82 attempted free throws and 27 total turnovers.

All of a sudden a game that was labeled an exhibition took two and a half hours.

2. A Lobo Went Loco

Three freshmen have made the All-Mountain West First Team — Kahwi Leonard, No. 1 NBA Draft pick Anthony Bennett and New Mexico’s Jake Hall.

It doesn’t seem as if Hall, now a sophomore Lobo, is slowing down, as he had 20 points less than 10 minutes into this game.

Hall finished with 31 on just nine shots, going 8-for-9 from the field, 6-for-7 from 3 and 9-for-10 from the stripe.

Not an ideal start in shutting down an opposing star player.

3. Freshman Anthony Felesi Had a Solid Cowboy Debut

OSU freshman Anthony Felesi was a bright spot in an otherwise gross 40 minutes of basketball.

Listed at 6-foot-5, the uber-athletic Felesi finished with a team-high 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting to go with six boards (one away from a team-high) in 28 minutes.

The athleticism that his coaches and teammates talk about was on full display on some of those rebounds, as Felesi would soar in with his head about a foot above everyone else’s.

Most of his scoring came either at the rim. He was also 2-for-4 from the foul line and 0-for-2 from 3. He has a nice pump fake down low that he utilized on a few occassions to get the defender in the air before he’d coolly lay it in.

4. Cowboys Were Without Some Bodies

Jordan Burks, Mekhi Ragland and Parsa Fallah were all in street clothes for this one.

Fallah tore his ACL late last season and is still on the road to recovery, but he was moving around without crutches or anything.

OSU coach Steve Lutz said Burks being held out was more precautionary than anything.

Meanwhile, starting point guard Kanye Clary played only 13 first-half minutes before a groin pull ended his day.

Burks and Clary in particular will be a big piece to what this team becomes. Fallah, too, given he can get up to speed at some point after the injury.

5. New Mexico Looks to be a Solid Team, but the Result Was Not Ideal

How much should you buy into an exhibition basketball game that was played on Oct. 11? Only you can answer that question, but the optics certainly aren’t ideal.

Last week, New Mexico was picked to win the Mountain West, so it’s not like the Cowboys allowed 99 points to a run-in-the-mill mid-major, but if you’re an OSU fan, you probably would hope that your team could handle a Mountain West squad no matter its preseason expectation.

There’s a world where — like the football team losing to Tulsa — this could provide a spark of motivation for the Cowboys. There’s still nearly a month before they play a game that counts.

“Sometimes you gotta get smacked in the face, and you gotta come out on the wrong side of it to be able to take accountability of you and your play,” Lutz said. “This certainly will be an opportunity to do that. We’ve gotta study the tape, and we’ve gotta get better.”

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There wasn’t exactly a title-deciding game on the Big 12 slate this weekend, but it did separate the pack a bit. Here’s a roundup from action from around the league.

Cougars Clobber ‘Cats

The conference’s game of the weekend was supposed to be Houston’s trip to Manhattan, but the Cougars took care of business in the Little Apple, winning 35-16.

Houston led 28-3 early in the third quarter. Three of their four touchdowns to that point were Conner Weigman passes to Patrick Overmyer.

A 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end, Overmyer finished with eight catches for 83 yards and four scores (he also had Houston’s final touchdown). Weigman had 242 passing yards and the four touchdowns on 30 attempts.

UTTERLY UNREAL 😱
Patrick Overmyer rakes in 4⃣ TDs in #22 Houston’s dominate win
Overmyer Highlights vs. K-State 🎬

@UHCougarFB https://t.co/VR4YSyldNN

— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) October 10, 2026

Kansas State finished with 299 yards of total offense, and the game’s only turnover was an Avery Johnson interception early in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats’ quarterback finished with 182 passing yards, 39 rushing yards, two passing TDs and that pick.

This result sets up a Top 20 matchup in Houston next weekend when Oklahoma State travels down.

Bachmeier Leads BYU Past Tough Iowa State Squad

From one set of Cougars to another, BYU beat a plucky Iowa State team 24-10.

Bear Bachmeier did a little bit of everything for the Cougars, throwing for 329 yards, running for 109 yards and finishing with two passing TDs. His running ability is extra important now that BYU running back LJ Martin is going to miss some time with injury.

Bear Bachmeier Masterclass 🐻

22/30
329 PASS YDS
109 RUSH YDS
2 TD

Highlights vs. Iowa State 🎬
@BYUfootball https://t.co/M4AV4fKcML

— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) October 10, 2026

After knocking off West Virginia in a shootout last week, Iowa State mustered just 200 yards of total offense in Provo in the loss.

West Virginia Has Another High-Scoring Game Loss

A West Virginia game is worth the price of admission this season when it comes to touchdowns scored. Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, many of those touchdowns are being scored on them.

Despite Arizona having to travel multiple time zones, the Wildcats’ offense made mince meat of the Mountaineers, with Arizona winning 52-31. Over their past three games, West Virginia has given up 46 points a game in three straight losses.

Arizona compiled 522 yards of total offense to West Virginia’s 482.

The Mountaineers pulled within 38-31 early in the fourth quarter, but that was obviously the end of WVU’s scoring.

Noah Fifita averaged 21.3 yards per completion in Morgantown, which is wild. Arizona had touchdowns of 32 yards (fumble return), 40 yards, 72 yards, 42 yards and 30 yards.

WVU again ran for north of 300 yards in a loss, with Cam Cook going for 141 and two touchdowns and Michael Hawkins running for 98 yards and a touchdown to go with his 219 passing yards.

Full Week 6 Results

BYU 24, Iowa State 10
Oklahoma State 42, UCF 28
Utah 41, Kansas 24
Houston 35, Kansas State 16
Arizona 52, West Virginia 31
Arizona State 30, Hawai’i 12

Next Weekend’s Schedule

Big 12 Standings

STILLWATER — Eric Morris knew the game was over well before the clock showed 15 seconds left on Saturday, but at the postgame podium he sounded like a coach obsessed with chasing something bigger than a hot start that has the Cowboys (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) ranked 18th in the nation.

“We’re at 4-1 right now,” Morris said. “We gotta get a week better. There’s no more bye weeks. Here we go with seven straight, and we gotta be tough enough to handle those situations and these places that we’re about to play.”

​That starts with a trip to No. 20 Houston (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) next week after the Cougars just demolished Kansas State on the road, 35-16.

That could be why Morris left his offense out on the field on 4th-and-3, resulting in a 21-yard pass from Drew Mestemaker to receiver Terrence Lewis.

“I told Drew to read it,” Morris said. “Sometimes there’s automatic hand tags. Sometimes if they’re going to zero out everything, then we’re going to take a shot. … Where we were at that point in the game, I told him to read it like he would on a normal down. That wasn’t a disrespectful move or anything. It’s going to be tough for us to get that fourth down. I knew they would have (only) 15 seconds to get two scores.”

Morris saw an opportunity for his quarterback, who has started only 20 games total (including only three against Power Four opponents), to get a valuable game rep where the Pokes needed to move the chains on fourth down.

As for the play itself, Lewis appears to catch a touchdown in the end zone. Upon replay, it looks like the officials got the call correctly, but for some reason the officials explained the decision incorrectly.

The official announcement made is that the receiver caught the ball out of bounds. The catch itself was an incredible effort from Lewis to jump up and high-point the ball, get one foot down, fall through the end zone and survive the ground.

“T-Lew is a dog when it comes down into the red zone,” Mestemaker said. “And you know plays like that, and so I knew I was going to him, and they just loaded the box up and left our guys one-on-one, and so I knew I was taking a shot to T-Lew, and I thought it was a touchdown. I don’t know about y’all, but I definitely thought it was a touchdown.”

The thing Mestemaker couldn’t see on the play, that apparently the head official himself missed, was that Lewis was forced out of bounds early on in his route. The official at the goal line saw it and threw his hat on the ground, indicating that the receiver left the field of play.

According to NCAA rules, if Lewis was blocked out of bounds, he can re-establish himself by immediately returning to the field of play. If he doesn’t, then he isn’t allowed to be the first player to touch the football. It seems like Lewis’ eligibility probably comes down to a judgment call of whether he was blocked out or if he re-established immediately.

Either way, perhaps due to the score, the officials decided it was not worth correction.

Bet Morris doesn’t see it that way, and Lewis will likely be coached up on how he can avoid leaving those plays in the hands of officials.

“Yeah, I mean it was huge,” Mestemaker said of getting the game rep itself. “That, I mean, just in a spot like that in a game, you need the first down. It’s not like we were being bad sports about it. Like you kind of got to do what you got to do to put the game away.”

The Cowboys may have gotten the win, but that didn’t raise their profile in the eyes of AP voters.

Oklahoma State was static in this week’s AP Top 25 ranking, remaining at No. 18. After an off week that saw Oklahoma State move up from 19th to 18th, the Pokes’ 42-28 win over UCF didn’t do anything to move the needle.

The Cowboys did finally crack into the Top 25 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, debuting at No. 20. OSU was the first team out the last two weeks.

Elsewhere in the Big 12

All the league’s ranked teams got Ws this weekend, but like OSU, they all a remained static or moved up just slightly.

BYU remained at No. 8 after it defeated Iowa State 24-10. Utah and Texas Tech did each moved up one spot. The Red Raiders moved up from 11th to 10th on a bye week, and the Utes moved up from 12 to 11 after taking care of Kansas 41-24. Houston climbed from 22 to 20 after beating K-State 35-16, setting up a Top 20 matchup between the Cowboys and the Cougars next weekend.

Other Movement in the Rankings

When people complain about SEC bias, sometimes it comes down to some pretty wild weekly swings in rankings like this.

Get ready for the rest of the state to get a little more mouthy. Unranked Oklahoma edged out No. 1 Texas in the Red River Showdown. It didn’t quite get the Sooners back into the Top 25, but they’re now the fifth team out of the ranking at 3-2. Texas on the other hand, fell from No. 1 to No. 7.

Filling that Longhorn-sized hole, Georgia took down Alabama in a tight one that saw the Bulldogs climb from 2 to 1. But the Crimson Tide remained at No. 6 despite the loss.

Speaking of SEC love, Florida finally fell out of the Top 25 after the Gators’ second-straight embarrassment. Florida dropped from 8 to 16 in Week 5 after getting thumped by an No. 25 Mizzou. That catapulted the Tigers from 25th to 14th. Now, after beating a 3-2 Texas A&M squad, Missouri moved up to 13. LSU only fell 12 spots from No. 10 to 22 after losing to unranked Kentucky. That win moved Kentucky from outside the Top 25 to 15th.

Maybe Mizzou was just that good to start with, but that’s just a peek at the mental gymnastics (subconscious or not) and go into affirming biases. All the Southeastern flowers.

No. 13 Oregon suffered its second loss, falling 17-15 to No. 21 UCLA, sans QB1 Dante Moore. The result dropped the Ducks out of the Top 25 and boosted the Bruins nine spots to No. 12.

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The Cowboys, once again, took control of a Big 12 opponent in the second half.

Oklahoma State is now 4-1 and one of five unbeatable teams in Big 12 play. Each W the Cowboys stack up makes that Week 1 loss to Tulsa all the more distant (and head-scratching). But that doesn’t mean it was a perfect outing.

Let’s take a look at a modified Good, Bad and Ugly review of the Cowboys’ win over the Knights.

The Good: Second-Half Team

We are getting to a big enough sample size to start considering this a trend.

There is a lot to like about the way the Cowboys played in the second half, especially on defense and specifically when it comes to causing turnovers. OSU forced two in the second half. One scoop and score that led to eight points and another interception to end the game.

But overall, the Cowboys have outscored teams in the second half in all four of their wins. They outscored UCF 21-7 after the break and won the second half in Morgantown 28-10. Murray State was a shutout so obviously, but OSU finished that game 28-0 over the final two frames. They even beat Oregon 15-14 in the second half.

It’s not like the Cowboys have dug themselves too deep a hole early, but you’d probably prefer to not have to mount a comeback each week. But the more impressive thing is that they’ve shown they can. Things aren’t going to be perfect in conference play, but the Pokes’ coaches and players have shown the ability to make halftime adjustments and to not lose confidence. That’s coaching and culture.

The Bad Better: Red Zone Scoring

I’m really taxing the format here, but I think it’s important to make this point. OSU is still ahead of only Colorado in the league in TD% in the red zone, but there was some marked improvement on Saturday. The Cowboys went 5-for-5 in the red zone but, more importantly, had to settle for only one field goal. And they boosted that percentage by thinking a bit out of the box.

We knew Drew Mestemaker could keep it from his performance against Oregon, but he picked up an 11-yard TD and then did a mini version of that acrobatic score with a 2-point conversion keeper. Then you have OSU tight end Morgan McPhaul picking up a 1-yard TD on the first rush of this career.

A minor digression that also bears pointing out: Sam Keltner is now 12-for-12 on field goals this season, the most makes by anyone in the FBS. So he’s not a bad option either. But it would be nice if he was utilized more for the longer kicks.

The Ugly: Rinse, Repeat, Missing on Too Many Third-Down Conversions

Broken record here, but the Pokes’ third-down struggles are more than a trend. They rank 14th in the Big 12 now, converting only 33.9% of their third-down attempts. If you look at fourth downs (the new third-and-short), the Cowboys are T-11th at 44.4%. It seems strange for such a dynamic offense with high-level playcalling. For comparison, OSU’s next opponent, Houston converts 62.7% of third downs and 71.4% of fourth downs, leading the league in both.

OSU was 4-of-9 on third downs against UCF and 1-for-2 on fourth down. If we include third- and fourth-down attempts, the Cowboys were 5-of-11 (45.4%). They’ve only been above 50% on those combined money downs once (4-of-7 against Murray State).

The Cowboys are still getting it done, and they are T-2nd in the league with Utah for first downs per game at 26.4. But they are leaving points on the table and putting more strain on their defense when they can’t sustain some of those drives. It might come back to bite them one of these Saturdays and could limit their potential when we get into November.

Let’s see what fans, former Cowboys and college football’s talking heads had to say about the Pokes’ fourth win.

Oklahoma State 🍊should be in the top 10 on Monday.

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) October 10, 2026

Them: Don’t get too irrational.
Me: https://t.co/jKs1U9wM2z

— Southwell (@JustinSouthwell) October 10, 2026

But Dez is right there with ya.

That’s right! I am a poke!🍊we are going to the national championship game and win!

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) October 10, 2026

To the Oklahoma State defense: https://t.co/31mgdHIPE4

— Wilson F. Ball (@WillyFoosball) October 10, 2026

(They did.)

Just leaving this here.

John Mateer and Ben Arbuckle, OU legends. Both deserve extended long term contract/eligibility extensions.

— Adam Lunt (@AdamLunt817) October 10, 2026

Mestemaker makes it look easier than it is.

This is the exciting stuff with Drew Mestemaker. Stands calm as the rush gets closer and delivers an intermediate strike as he gets hit. This is an NFL throw. https://t.co/AWpshQK3Aj

— King of Phinland🐬👑 (@KingOfPhinland) October 10, 2026

Placement accounted for the neighboring coverage leverage. This is the good shit from Drew Mestemaker. https://t.co/UVugmdX7A6

— Nick Martin (@themicknartin) October 10, 2026

Mestemaker milks every last millisecond out of his protection, never seen a college QB with that type of internal clock.

— Adam Lunt (@AdamLunt817) October 10, 2026

All kinds of streaks coming to an end.

The only game I went to last year was a W (UT-Martin). We sent Squinky packing to The Strip early. https://t.co/2DvYAXYKCl

— Carson Cunningham (@Carson_OKC) October 10, 2026

Nice to see Stilly was as welcoming as usual for the UCF contingent.

Knights HC Scott Frost checks out the Oklahoma State on field cabanas pregame at Boone Pickens Stadium. #UCF https://t.co/XR3ZZhkf1M

— Sons of UCF (@SonsofUCF) October 10, 2026

Immaculate college town vibes 🤌 https://t.co/lOkDsl0mKv

— Eric DeSalvo (@EricDeSalvo) October 10, 2026

It was also cool to hear Mike Gundy speak out about OSU and give support for the Cowboys.

Ball Coach. Bleed Orange!!

— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) October 10, 2026

Lol.

Here is TE Carson Kolb interviewing fellow TE Morgan McPhaul about their TD celebration 😂 https://t.co/Q7SfW6Ip6v

— Tyler Waldrep (@tylerwaldrep) October 10, 2026

OSU Bullets

• The Cowboys are now officially on their first Big 12 winning streak in two seasons. As always, Marshall’s 10 Thoughts are good place to start. [PFB]

• Houston head coach Willie Fritz already hyping up the Cowboys’ trip to H-Town.

Houston coach Willie Fritz opens his postgame press conference with a message for Cougar fans about next week’s top 20 showdown against Oklahoma State at TDECU Stadium. “Come on out.” https://t.co/V5UKM5ul3A

— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) October 10, 2026

• How Drew Mestemaker is fixing his “lone flaw.” [The Oklahoman]

• Sign me up for a Malik Charles redzone TD. [PFB]

• This is elite.

Hi, I’m Pete, and you’re watching Cowboy Football 🤠 https://t.co/RTWGOpUO7R

— Oklahoma State Athletics (@OSUAthletics) October 10, 2026

• Mike Gundy had some nice words for Oklahoma State. [PFB]

Non-OSU Bullets

• Perfect.

Me: Talk about any conference other than the SEC and Big Ten or bark like a dog. College GameDay: https://t.co/II95bU4cGI

— Derek Duke (@DerekDuke25) October 11, 2026

• Wild  

Tulsa with one of the wilder touchdowns you’ll see in Week 6. https://t.co/LG5kuER3j1

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) October 10, 2026

STILLWATER — The Cowboys are on a roll, having won more games this season than they have in the past two combined.

Oklahoma State bested UCF 42-28 on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. PFB photographer Devin Wilber was patrolling the sidelines with camera in hand. You can see his full gallery here, but here are some of his best shots:

STILLWATER — Justin Bowick wasn’t wide open in the end zone by accident.

As part of Oklahoma State’s 42-28 victory against UCF on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium, Bowick caught a fairly routine touchdown pass in the second quarter. But the buildup to that play was another shining example of Drew Mestemaker not only beating teams with his arm, but with his mind.

The UCF corner played up on Bowick and initially went with him on his route, but Mestemaker looked to Wyatt Young on a route coming under Bowick’s. The corner fell off to Young, and Mestemaker lasered the ball to Bowick before the safety could come over to help.

Mestemaker quickly identified it was Cover 2 and knew that corner wasn’t going to go with Bowick the whole way if someone came underneath.

“I kind of knew it (presnap),” Mestemaker said. “They were trying all game to try to disguise their Cover 2 as Cover 1. They were kind of giving it away pretty easily. As soon as I snapped the ball, I was just eyeing down Wyatt so that corner bit on him and then just threw it right over the top to J-Bow.”

always open @justinbowickjr

📺: ESPN2 https://t.co/x1yKcGJkC2

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 10, 2026

Mestemaker’s arm talent has been wowing all season, but the deeper you dig, the more evident it is that Mestemaker’s brain is just as deadly.

He’s able to check in and out of plays at the line of scrimmage and does so successfully.

OSU coach Eric Morris made note that he had Mestemaker check “the majority” of the RPOs the Cowboys ran Saturday, which included his late heave to the end zone on fourth-and-short.

“I thought his ball placement and his eyes were phenomenal today,” Morris said. ” … He sees it better. He sees leverage and leverage changes at times. So, yeah I thought that he had a great two weeks of preparation. …

“I thought his eyes were really good and really didn’t put the ball in harm’s way the whole entire night. Just testament to him. Made some unbelievable throws and put it into space and was able to keep us for the most part ahead of the chains. I thought he really managed the game really well.”

Saturday was Mestemaker’s first game of the season without a turnover. He finished with 304 yards on 28 attempts to go with two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown and a 2-point conversion.

He’s up to 1,575 yards and 13 touchdowns already this season. He is one passing touchdown away from doubling OSU’s team total from last season.

But make no mistake, as fun as it is for Mestemaker to beat a defense by looking a defender off, it’s more fun to rip a ball into a tight window.

“Probably a tight window throw (is more fun) because there’s a dig route in the game that I threw to T-Lew (Terrence Lewis),” Mestemaker said. “It was getting tight in the pocket and getting tight downfield, and you know you throw it and you don’t really know if it’s going to get caught. You’re just kind of throwing to a spot out there, and it’s a relieving feeling when your receiver comes down and catches it.”

STILLWATER — Coach Eric Morris had two weeks to stew on Oklahoma State’s “frustrating” struggles to score touchdowns in the red zone.

On Saturday, the Cowboys coach revealed that he spent the bye week looking for answers in an unusual place as defensive end Malik Charles lined up as a tight end twice in and-goal situations from the 1-yard line.

“Yeah, I think just trying to utilize how big, strong and athletic Malik is, right,” Morris said. “And he played tight end in junior college, and so somebody that’s familiar with the position.

“And so, yeah, during the bye week was something we felt like that gave us time to really teach him our calls and how to get in the huddle, how to get in the stance, which side he’s going to, and so yeah, it was good, and you know, thought we were able to push it in.”

Charles’ collegiate “experience” at the position was short-lived as he left Western Mexico and walked on at Northern Arizona as a defensive lineman the next season.

Hawkins got stuffed on the first play, and then tight end Morgan McPhaul, one of three tight ends on the field for this heavy package, scored on a 1-yard handoff on a play that even OSU tight ends coach Drew Svoboda raised an eyebrow at when Morris first suggested the play.

“He walked in my office, he said, ‘Coach, are you really handing the ball to Morgan?’” Morris said. “I said ‘Heck yeah man.’ He’s 250 pounds. He’s a great athlete. He’s going to bull his way in there, so that was exciting to see him get in the end zone.”

That’s pretty much exactly what happened as McPhaul, an FCS transfer from Virginia Millitary Institute who played running back in high school back in his eight-man football days, touched the football for only the third time this season.

“It’s pretty awesome,” McPhaul said of the Cowboy offense. “I think we’re the number two offense in the country, something like that, but I mean, I’m not used to being a part of a team this successful and explosive. Playing for coach Morris and coach (Sean) Brophy on offense has been electric.”

Quarterback Drew Mestemaker said that formation reminded him of a similar one Morris used at North Texas last season with a defensive lineman. Especially given its success on Saturday, it sounds like Charles will continue to play on both sides of the ball going forward.

“Obviously, (Charles) did a great job learning kind of what we’re doing in that package,” Morris said. “Hopefully, you know, we continue to utilize him when we get inside the 5-yard line.”

STILLWATER —When Oklahoma State’s defense needed answers on Saturday, the Cowboys first turned to the team’s No. 3 safety, who was playing roughly 25% of snaps.

If that wasn’t incredible enough, the other defensive hero from Saturday’s 42-28 win over UCF was the Cowboys’ No. 7 defensive tackle, who had only 19 total defensive snaps against the first three FBS opponents.

“We challenged those guys at halftime,” coach Eric Morris said, referring to the entire defense. “I thought we weren’t very good on the perimeter, setting edges of our defense early.”

Nickel Christian Bodnar set the edge and then some in the second half when he forced UCF’s would-be blocker into the intended pass catcher on a play that just so happened to be a backward pass.

With no UCF player standing anywhere near the ball, it just rolled on the turf.

“My eyes just got real big,” OSU safety Evan Jackson said. “It’s like, words can’t even describe it. Like just the feeling from the crowd and the emotions on the sideline just played a big part.”

Somehow Jackson hopped over a UCF player and scooped up the ball all without breaking stride in his 28-yard sprint into the end zone.

“I can’t even tell you,” Jackson said of how he managed to make that whole play look so smooth. “It’s just all adrenaline. Seeing the ball on the ground, and they tell you to see ball, get ball. Just pull the trigger.”

𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 https://t.co/PNxDbJMFV9

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 10, 2026

Jackson played a much bigger role than usual on Saturday following an in-game injury to starter Mose Phillips, who had his shoulder wrapped during halftime. Morris said Phillips would be okay after praising the big play by Jackson.

“It was just a really heads-up play by Evan,” Morris said. “He was Johnny on the spot. We teach that, and it was super close. … He didn’t hesitate.”

As previously referenced, Jackson played 51-of-211 possible defensive snaps against Tulsa, Oregon and West Virginia. Quinton Hammonds played all 211, while Phillips played 160. Jackson finished as the No. 3 safety last season at North Texas as well, but he was more involved in the rotation, playing more than 40% of snaps.

Morris and several other Cowboys described his big play as a momentum changer, but none put it quite like linebacker Ethan Wesloski.

“You feel the crowd come back alive, and then the next drive, it was the fourth-down stop,” Wesloski said. “That’s another huge momentum piece. The offense scores, we’re going up now, everyone’s getting a little bit of energy. Momentum is the biggest drug in college football these days. For us to have it on our side, huge.”

Speaking of the fourth-down stop, defensive tackle Luke Webb, a third-year Cowboy, grabbed hold of UCF running back Landen Chambers by the leg on 4th-and-1 and just refused to let him go, pulling him to the ground at the line of scrimmage.

“It was a got-to-have-it play,” Webb said. “If they get that, there’s a good chance they score, and they’re still in the game.”

Webb finished sixth on the team in tackles on Saturday, but his only solo play came on that fourth down. That tackle gave Oklahoma State the ball back on the UCF 34-yard line up 14 points with only 8:55 to play. The Cowboys all but put the game on ice three plays later when the offense found the end zone.

Webb played only 19 combined snaps against Tulsa, Oregon and West Virginia. Six defensive tackles had more, with four guys playing at least 37 snaps while Braylon Rigsby played 33 snaps despite missing one of those three games.

Between that and his postgame interview, it feels safe to say his play on Saturday might have meant something extra to him.

“Well, for me, so I’ve been rotating in here and there,” Webb said. “And I’ve really been trying to make plays where I can, and it’s just finally like a breakout play, I guess for me. Just finally able to feel like being a part, like not necessarily a part of the team, but like making an impact.”

STILLWATER — It took the Cowboys a bit to separate from the Knights, but in the end, the Pokes picked up their fourth straight win.

Oklahoma State beat UCF 42-28 on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. Here are 10 Thoughts on the game.

1. When the Dam Broke

UCF had been perfectly implementing its gameplan and was hanging around with the Cowboys, but the dam broke when OSU scored a defensive TD.

Keyone Jenkins threw a quick pass early in the fourth quarter, but the somewhat elementary throw went haywire, drifting backward.

Christian Bodnar had blown up his block, causing a pileup of humanity near where the ball landed. OSU safety Evan Jackson coolly skipped over the pile, scooped the ball up and ran it in for a touchdown.

scoop, there it is

📺: ESPN2 | @TheEvanJackson https://t.co/LPQaiVpggM

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 10, 2026

It gave the Cowboys their first two-score lead of the game, and it forced the Knights to start throwing the ball more. What was once a close game quickly got away from the Orlando-based squad.

2. Not the Most Ideal Defensive Performance

The Cowboys killed West Virginia with the outside zone play two weeks ago, but Saturday, it was the Cowboys’ D seemingly getting gashed by the concept.

UCF methodically moved down the field in the first half, staying on schedule and taking chunks out of the clock while keeping Drew Mestemaker and Co. on the sideline. With their ability to stay ahead of the chains, it felt like UCF was constantly getting a first down by a yard or two each time.

The Knights finished with north of a 10-minute advantage in terms of time of possession. They were 7-for-16 on third down but also 4-for-5 on fourth down.

UCF ran for 80 yards in the first half and just 30 in the second.

With UCF having injuries up front and a backup quarterback in, it felt like everything went as best as the Knights could’ve imagined until the big defensive touchdown forced them to attack differently.

3. But Another Good Second Half

After getting gashed in the first half in Morgantown, OSU’s D bowed up and got stops in the second half. That happened again Saturday.

UCF’s offense scored three touchdowns and punted twice in the first half. In the second, the Knights scored one touchdown, punted once, missed a field goal, lost a fumble, turned the ball over on downs and threw an interception.

Halftime adjustments reign supreme again.

4. Mestemaker Made It Look Routine

Drew Mestemaker finished with 304 passing yards and was responsible for three total touchdowns.

It wasn’t his most eye-popping of games, but that probably speaks more to how routine Mestemaker has made things look that he can slice up a Big 12 team like that and it go somewhat under the radar.

It felt like one of those days Mason Rudolph would throw for 300 yards and Mike Gundy would say he played “avruge” after the game.

That doesn’t mean he had a bad day by any means. I think his most impressive play to me was his touchdown pass to Justin Bowick, where Mestemaker seemingly read that the Knights were in Cover 2, and right when the corner dropped off Bowick to cover a route under him, Mestemaker fired the ball into a window before the safety could make it over.

always open @justinbowickjr

📺: ESPN2 https://t.co/x1yKcGJkC2

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 10, 2026

Mestemaker has now thrown for at least 300 yards in four straight games. The last time OSU did that was when Taylor Cornelius did so late in the 2018 season.

5. Justin Bowick Is a Pro

It was another day where opposing defensive backs had to be thinking, “this dude is an alien” in reference to Justin Bowick.

The 6-foot-5 speedster finished with a team-leading six catches for 98 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.

He had catches of 18 yards (the TD), 19 yards and 32 yards, but his most impressive snag of the day was no doubt a 12-yard reception in the first half where Bowick brought in a ball on a slant route with one hand while in traffic.

How did Justin Bowick catch this?🤯

📺 ESPN2 x @Big12Conference https://t.co/rRPrQR676q

— CFP (@CFBPlayoff) October 10, 2026

How the heck do you defend a guy who is bigger than you, stronger than you and needs only one paw to grab a ball?

6. Coleman in the Passing Game

Miles Coleman had his most impactful receiving game as a Cowboy on Saturday, as he brought in four passes for 69 yards.

It was an especially big performance considering Wyatt Young (Coleman’s fellow slot receiver) was questionable coming into this game.

Coleman had a 48-yard reception early in the third quarter after a crispy route left him in a lot of open space. He also picked up a nice block from Bowick downfield.

It continues to be a deep receiver room. It almost feels like a lock that Bowick and/or Young is going to have a big day, but then it always feels like there’s someone else who joins them.

7. Hawkins’ Fumble Seemed to Tick Him Off

Star tailback Caleb Hawkins lost a fumble on OSU’s second play from scrimmage on Saturday, but it seemed to only fire him up.

The Cowboys didn’t go away from him despite the mistake. Hawkins touched the ball on OSU’s next three plays — an 8-yard rush, a 23-yard reception and a 5-yard rush.

Even with the early mishap, Hawkins continued taking on contact and fighting for extra yardage. It wasn’t his best statistical day, but his 23 carries for 83 yards were impactful nonetheless.

8. Tackling Machine Ethan Wesloski

Facing back-to-back run-first teams, Ethan Wesloski has been earning his NIL money with back-to-back 17-tackle performances.

That pushes him to 53 total tackles this season — a 10-tackle lead among Cowboys.

“It’s never something to be tired of, (getting tackles),” Wesloski said. “But, I’ll sacrifice as many tackles as I need to be able to have our guys execute better at a higher level. I think you probably take away 10 of them if we’re executing at a higher level, so it’s my job to get in there tomorrow and Monday, get our guys on the same page.”

He was again joined in the double-digit category, as Tate Romney wasn’t too far behind with 14 tackles and Quinton Hammonds added 11.

9. Keltner Remains Perfect

The first sign that the Knights might not be able to keep up with the Pokes came early in the second half — even before the catastrophic fumble.

OSU kicked a field goal on its first possession of the second half, when Sam Keltner hit from 40 yards out.

UCF got in field-goal range on its ensuing possession, but Will Stone hooked a 45-yard attempt.

Keltner hit another field goal on OSU’s next possession, and the Knights would never be that close again.

An SMU transfer, Keltner is now 12-for-12 on field-goal attempts this season. Half of those attempts were from 30 or more yards.

He’s bound to miss at some point (right?), but it’s hard to ask for much more than perfection to this point.

10. Big Showdown in H-Town

For the first time in two years, the Cowboys seemed destined for a ranked matchup next week.

As of writing, Houston is taking care of Kansas State in Manhattan, which should lead to ranked vs. ranked under the lights next Saturday in Houston.

The Cowboys last ranked matchup came in 2024 when OSU went to Manhattan and lost to Kansas State 42-20. That was loss No. 2 in what would become an 18-game Big 12 losing streak. With how downhill that season went, it’s hard to remember that the Cowboys were at one point ranked.

It’s cool how quickly the stakes of these games have returned, and whether there is more red or more orange in the crowd in Houston, it ought to be a fun one.

STILLWATER — After arguably its worst first half of the entire year, Oklahoma State’s defense came through with the game-breaking play in the fourth quarter when safety Evan Jackson sprinted 28 yards into the end zone after scooping up a backward pass that hit the turf.

scoop, there it is

📺: ESPN2 | @TheEvanJackson https://t.co/LPQaiVpggM

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 10, 2026

That touchdown and quarterback Drew Mestemaker’s successful 2-point run gave the Cowboys a 14-point lead with 10:32 to play.

That forced UCF’s slower, more methodical offense to kick things into high gear, which prompted the Knights to go for it on fourth-and-1 at their own 34-yard line. After giving up the first three fourth-down attempts of the day, the Cowboy defense delivered again when Luke Webb grabbed hold of UCF running back Landen Chamber’s leg and wrestled him down for no gain.

Oklahoma State’s 42-28 victory over UCF was a lot less stressful after that.

Mestemaker completed 19-of-28 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns. Most of the QB’s attention (16 targets to be precise) was split between his favorite targets as receiver Justin Bowick finished with 98 yards and a touchdown on six receptions while Wyatt Young finished with 52 yards and a touchdown on five receptions.

Receiver Miles Coleman added 69 yards on four receptions, while running back Caleb Hawkins finished with a team-high 83 rushing yards on 23 carries.

We’ll share highlights of the game here, and if you want to get involved in the PFB+ Game Thread, here’s the link. Not a PFB+ subscriber? Here’s a discount.

After an early Caleb Hawkins fumble, the Knights struck first. But, the Cowboys got on the board quickly thereafter when Drew Mestemaker called his own number for an 11-yard TD run.

The perfect read doesn’t exi…

📺: ESPN2 https://t.co/6LjP3mFriN

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 10, 2026

OSU took its first lead of the game just ahead of the two-minute timeout, when Mestemaker expertly read the Knight defense and hit Justin Bowick in the end zone for a touchdown.

always open @justinbowickjr

📺: ESPN2 https://t.co/x1yKcGJkC2

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 10, 2026

But the Knights responded and tied it at 21 just before the half.

Youngest bossman we’ve ever seen @official_tyren2 😤

📺 ESPN2 https://t.co/dAWLqa91fu

— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) October 10, 2026

Brutal way for UCF to go down two scores: Jenkins’ pass is a lateral, and Evan Jackson scoops it up and scores. Pokes lead 35-21 after Mestemaker runs in a 2-point conversion.

scoop, there it is

📺: ESPN2 | @TheEvanJackson https://t.co/LPQaiVpggM

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 10, 2026

Mike Gundy has never been one for social media, but some in the Cowboy fanbase have been upset they haven’t heard from their ole ball coach since his dismissal.

But Gundy is doing some TV work for TNT’s coverage of the Big 12 this weekend. Wearing an orange tie, Gundy was asked how he remembers his time as the Cowboys’ coach.

“We’ve been very fortunate to be there a long time,” Gundy said. “I came there in 1986 as a player, and Oklahoma State was good enough to give me a scholarship to play football and finish there with a degree and nice enough to make me a coach there and then eventually as a head coach.

“So, fondest memories of my life, and just great people, great organization. Stillwater, Oklahoma is a beautiful place. Memories of a lifetime. So, very, very thankful for Oklahoma State. And excited about what they’re doing now. … Excited about Oklahoma State right now and what they’re doing.”

Coach Mike Gundy reflected on his 21 years at @CowboyFB 🧡 https://t.co/yXNmK3V11i

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) October 10, 2026

Gundy is unquestionably the greatest coach in OSU’s history, ending his 21-year tenure with a 170-90 record. Gundy won the Big 12 in 2011 and led the Cowboys on an 18-year bowl streak.

Before that, Gundy quarterbacked the Cowboys in the 1980s, finishing his playing career with 8,473 yards (fourth in program history) and 57 passing touchdowns (fifth in program history).

Three Thoughts

• Game preview and kick time for today’s game + predictions for how it’ll turn out (PFB) 

• Jenni Carlson says Wren Baker hasn’t been contacted by Oklahoma State (as of Thursday) – Could this Chad Weiberg noise die down? (NewsOK)

• ESPN laid out UCF’s path to an upset – and how OSU’s likely to shut that door. The Pokes are currently 10.5 point favorites.

OSU has been awesome since the Week 1 loss to Tulsa. Drew Mestemaker is on pace for another 4,000-yard passing season, and though the OSU defense is shaky against the run — which opens the door for Watson — it has been great against the pass. If the Pokes can force UCF behind schedule semi-consistently, that’s curtains for an upset bid. [ESPN]

Two Quotes

• Shirt color assignments for the stadium striping: 

Your seating assignments for tomorrow 🟠⚫️ https://t.co/p5IncDyZaR

— Oklahoma State Athletics (@OSUAthletics) October 9, 2026

• That late 2014 Rudolph-to-Washington was electric.

James Washington is being inducted into the Hall of Honor this weekend. So here’s every Rudolph to Washington touchdown 🤠 @JamesWashington https://t.co/KW2KwBFVkX

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 8, 2026

One Question

• OSU sold out another game just over a month after losing a game to Tulsa – can you imagine a bigger flip?

Non-OSU Bullets

• The Oregon Trail-style game of navigating the workforce in 2026\

• National Book Award finalists for 2026

• How you handle criticism is a test of your humility (faith-based)

After a week off, the Cowboys are back in the saddle.

Oklahoma State hosts UCF in the Cowboys’ Big 12 home opener on Saturday. Here are all the need-to-know details for the matchup.

Viewing Info

Time: 11 a.m. Saturday
Location: Boone Pickens Stadium
Watch: ESPN2 (Lowell Galindo, Kirk Morrison and Dawn Davenport)

Betting Info (via FanDuel)

Spread: Oklahoma State -10.5
Over/under: 54.5
OSU money line: -410

Team Stats

Statistical Leaders

Passing:
OSU — Drew Mestemaker — 95-for-141 (67%)/1,271 yards/11 touchdowns/5 interceptions
UCF — Keyone Jenkins — 53-for-76 (70%)/541 yards/4 touchdowns/2 interceptions

Rushing:
OSU — Caleb Hawkins — 83 carries/441 yards/2 touchdowns
UCF — Duke Watson — 49 carries/404 yards/3 touchdowns

Receiving:
OSU — Wyatt Young — 22 catches/410 yards/3 touchdowns
UCF — Josh Derry — 17 catches/220 yards/1 touchdown

Tackling:
OSU — Ethan Wesloski — 36 total tackles
UCF — Tackett Curtis — 33 total tackles

Sacks:
OSU — Malik Charles and Jaleel Johnson — 1.5 sacks each
UCF — Isaiah Nixon — 2 .5 sacks

Series History (UCF Leads 2-0)

Further Reading

3 things Scott Frost said ahead of his trip to Stillwater
OSU updates depth chart
Eric Morris addresses Chad Weiberg reports
What Braydon Nelson’s OSU debut means
Morris discusses adding Braylin Presley
How Drew Mestemaker earned responsibility of checking at the line
Comparing Drew Mestemaker and Keyone Jenkins
Morris discusses red zone struggles
3 things to know about the matchup
DT Jerry Lawson shining under Skyler Cassity
OSU was Quinton Hammonds’ dream school
Wyatt Young ‘excited to play’ after being listed as questionable
Uniforms
Predictions

The bye week felt like a bye month, but the Cowboys are back in action this weekend.

Oklahoma State plays UCF at 11 a.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. Here’s how we see the game playing out.

What We’re Predicting

Uniforms: These are already out, but we made our predictions before they dropped. You get a point for the helmet color, the decal, the jersey color and the pants color.

Receiving Yards Leader: Simple enough, predict the Cowboy with the most receiving yards and get a point.

Turnover: Predict a player who either intercepts a pass or recovers a fumble and get two points.

TD Parlay: You can name as many players who you think will score a touchdown (passing TDs don’t count), and you get two points for each player you name. However if you name a guy who doesn’t score a touchdown, you get no points in this section.

Score: Three points are up for grabs here: one for guessing the correct winner, one for being on the right side of the spread (OSU -9.5) and one to whichever one of us gets closest to the actual score.

Marshall Scott

Uniform: Black (Cursive)-Orange-Orange

Receiving Yards Leader: Justin Bowick

I made this prediction on The Reload before it was announced that Wyatt Young was questionable. It looks like Young is going to play, but with how nuclear he went in Morgantown, I’d expect Young will have a few more eyeballs on him Saturday and the pendulum flips back to Bowick.

Turnover: Quinton Hammonds

Hammonds has been making the media rounds this week, which is probably why he’s top of mind for me. He’s played every defensive snap of the Cowboys’ three games against FBS competition to this point, so he feels due in some ways. He also made a gnarly one-handed INT at North Texas last season that has lived rent free in my head since I saw it.

TD Parlay: Caleb Hawkins, Drew Mestemaker, Justin Bowick

We make a joke on The Reload that Caleb Hawkins feels like a free space given he led the country in total TDs last season. Then give me Mestemaker to run another in, and I’m all in on Justin Bowick for this game, it seems.

Score: Oklahoma State 38, UCF 17

This is the third time this season I’ve predicted OSU to score 38 points. I wanted to keep the Pokes’ run of 40-point games going, but I think the Knights will try to limit possessions somewhat. It won’t be enough to overcome the Pokes’ offensive firepower.

Kyle Cox

Uniform: Black (Cursive)-Black-Orange

Receiving Yards Leader: Wyatt Young

Young has had 100-yard outings in OSU’s two biggest games thus far this season. Despite him showing up on the injury report this week, I don’t expect that type of output to change.

Turnover: Mo Horn

Horn made some big hits in the quick pass game against Murray State, and UCF hasn’t been pushing the ball down the field much with its backup quarterback. So, maybe with that positioning he grabs a pick this weekend.

TD Parlay: Caleb Hawkins, Wyatt Young

This feels like keeping the ball in the fairway.

Score: Oklahoma State 42, UCF 24

The Knights are banged up, and the Cowboys are hot, coming off a bye and playing at home. So long as OSU is on its game, the Pokes should take care of business here.

Tyler Waldrep

Uniform: Black (Brand)-Orange-Black

Receiving Yards Leader: Justin Bowick

Despite Wyatt Young’s big night two weeks ago, Bowick still leads the team in targets. He was the focal point of the passing game early in Morgantown before Young took over. I’m willing to chase that more consistent volume.

Turnover: LaDainian Fields

I was surprised to see Fields leads OSU defenders in targets thrown his way. Some of that is just he’s out there more than most Cowboys, but still it is a huge change from last season when opponents ignored his area of the field. If one of these guys is going to get one, I think he’s the safest bet given his talent and aggressive play on balls thrown his way.

TD Parlay: Justin Bowick, Caleb Hawkins, Wyatt Young

Bowick becomes an even bigger focal point in the red zone, and Hawkins is way overdue for a touchdown. UCF’s defense has been surprisingly stout this fall, but I expect a big game from Drew Mestemaker. Terrence Lewis or Miles Coleman could easily score this time, but even I wouldn’t overlook Young in two categories after his last outing.

Score: Oklahoma State 41, UCF 17

I do worry some that OSU might come out sleepy for a morning game as a heavy favorite. This UCF team gave Houston a lot of trouble just last week.

Scoreboard

Nathan Gilsleider got every point possible in the West Virginia predictions in what was an all-time predictions performance, so he’s ran out to a bit of a lead. But four of the five predictors nailed their TD parlay against WVU, so numbers are trending up across the board. You can hear Nathan’s and Justin’s picks on The Reload.

1. Nathan Gilsleider — 27
2. Kyle Cox — 23
3. Marshall Scott — 20
4. Justin Southwell — 19
5. Tyler Waldrep — 18

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As always, we appreciate our sponsor Chris’ University Spirit, Echo Contracting. and Farm Service Company.

Support PFB with a PFB+ membership — $8 a month or $50 for a year.

• Wyatt Young is good to for this weekend (PFB)

• Can the Pokes get their first Big 12 win against the UCF Knights this weekend?

Interestingly, Oklahoma State hasn’t yet beaten the Knights since they joined the Big 12. OSU is 0-2, including the infamous 45-3 beatdown at the Bounce House in 2023. [Open for Business]

• CBS Sports has the Pokes finishing tenth in the league (men’s basketball) this year – and sliding into a historic spot for the Big Dance (CBS Sports)

• Checkout who’s playing around college football this weekend (PFB)

•  Doesn’t include numbers from Thursday Night Football but impressive stuff from the Cowboy crew:

NFL RB Rushing Yards by College — Through Week 4, 2026 Season 📊 https://t.co/PZdO6Lq70Q

— Deeg (@DeegSports) October 6, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Why so many acorns are on the ground • Simple principle for a more satisfying marriage (faith-based)

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news. 

OSU Bullets

• OSU’s uniform combo for Saturday was released (PFB)

• Wyatt Young is good to for this weekend (PFB)

• Can the Pokes get their first Big 12 win against the UCF Knights this weekend?

Interestingly, Oklahoma State hasn’t yet beaten the Knights since they joined the Big 12. OSU is 0-2, including the infamous 45-3 beatdown at the Bounce House in 2023. [Open for Business]

• CBS Sports has the Pokes finishing tenth in the league (men’s basketball) this year – and sliding into a historic spot for the Big Dance (CBS Sports)

• Checkout who’s playing around college football this weekend (PFB)

•  Doesn’t include numbers from Thursday Night Football but impressive stuff from the Cowboy crew:

NFL RB Rushing Yards by College — Through Week 4, 2026 Season 📊 https://t.co/PZdO6Lq70Q

— Deeg (@DeegSports) October 6, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Why so many acorns are on the ground • Simple principle for a more satisfying marriage (faith-based)

Oklahoma State unveiled its Week 6 uniform, and it features a lid Pokes fans will be excited about. It’s orange-black-orange with Cursive Pokes on the helmet.

Game 5⃣ uni drop https://t.co/hs8YB6t24Y

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 8, 2026

𝓟𝓸𝓴𝓮𝓼 https://t.co/S1MLz0Cgqa

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 9, 2026

It’ll be matched up against the gold-white-white look of the Knights.

Core road look in Stillwater 👑⬜️⬜️ https://t.co/i0LRW7U64R

— UCF Equipment (@UCF_Equipment) October 8, 2026

OSU is 2-1 in the orange-black-orange uniform combination since 2011. The Cowboys last wore the combo way back in a 2016 win against Iowa State. The Cowboys lost to Baylor in the look in 2015, and they beat Washington in the 2014 Cactus Bowl (also known as the check-engine light game).

This marks the second time the Cursive Pokes decal has been used, with the other being OSU’s loss against Cincinnati last season.

Oklahoma State fans’ panic didn’t even last a full 24 hours.

After being listed as questionable on the initial player availability report for the Cowboys’ game against UCF on Saturday, Wyatt Young was a guest on the Eric Morris Show and said he’s good to go against the Knights.

“I’m feeling great,” Young told Dave Hunziker. “I’m excited to play on Saturday.”

There wasn’t anything indicating what Young had been dealing with, but his coach said he’s been “banged up.”

“Wyatt had a good day,” Morris said. “He’s just been a little bit banged up here of late, but somebody that practiced well today. So, I think he should be full force come Saturday.”

Morris also gave an update on starting guard Johnny Dickson, who was also listed as questionable.

“Johnny has practiced on and off throughout the course of this week,” Morris said. “We’re getting Braydon Nelson back, so we do have some depth returning. So, obviously we want to keep that offensive line still — they’re steamrolling in the right direction right now, and they’re getting some continuity. So, we want to keep them all together, but feel really good about that position.”

Young leads the Cowboys in receptions (22) and receiving yards (410) this season and already has two 100-yard outings (against Oregon and West Virginia).

Dickson has played at both guard spots throughout the year and has played more offensive snaps as any Cowboy, per PFF.

Nelson playing would mark his OSU debut. He had played 1,836 snaps over the past two seasons at North Texas, mostly at left tackle.

There was no official update to the Thursday player availability report from the Big 12, with Young and Dickson both still being listed as questionable.

STILLWATER — While his teammates were arriving in Stillwater for their first session of summer workouts, Mekhi Ragland was in Arizona living in a house with six other people.

A sophomore center on the Oklahoma State basketball team, Ragland spent seven weeks at Live in Fitness, a weight loss retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona. There, Ragland transformed his body before getting back with the Cowboys ahead of their preseason trip to Puerto Rico.

Ragland said of the other people at the retreat with him, he was the youngest there and the only athlete.

“I was waking up at 4 a.m. every morning, going on hikes,” Ragland said. “Diet, it was a personal chef, so I was eating — I was probably eating seven to eight times a day, which is completely crazy because you would think you wouldn’t eat as much. But I ate more when I was there, actually. It was cool, though. It was definitely a mental challenge in the beginning. Once you get over that part, it becomes an everyday routine to be honest.

“Me and the strength coach here and the nutritionist, we’ve been trying to implement that same schedule for me here.”

Ragland said the idea for him to go to the camp came when he, his agent, OSU coach Steve Lutz and associate head coach James Miller got together in the early portions of the offseason. From there, it was about finding the right camp, and that’s where Live in Fitness stood out.

The retreat was founded by Eric Viskovicz, who has worked alongside the likes of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. The camp involves baseline tests, personalized meal plans, workouts and daily lectures focused on rewiring habits.

“It says that he is serious about improving — as a person and as a player,” said Miller on Ragland going to the camp. “He’s done a tremendous job. … His mentality in showing his growth and maturity has been awesome. It says a lot about him because when other guys had maybe a little bit of a break, he did not. When he went and did something that would be abnormal to try to better himself, to help himself first and foremost but obviously to help our team and make some personal sacrifices is pretty cool to see him and his journey. He’s come a long way.”

Ragland is a little banged up right now, but he showed flashes of his improved body while the Cowboys were in Puerto Rico.

Looking notably trimmer, Ragland averaged 9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in about 12 minutes a game in the three games in Puerto Rico. That came after he took part in just 14 games as a freshman last season, where he averaged 1.4 points and 1.6 rebounds a game.

“I think that’s just a glimpse of what I can do,” Ragland said. “I think it shows all the hard work I put in in those months I was away trying transform my body. It’s a carry over from last year, the last couple games we got at the end of the year, where I showed flashes, showed glimpses. I feel like now it’s just having do to the same thing in long spurts.”

We’re finally getting enough data points to where it doesn’t feel like every result makes a drastic change in power rankings.

This week’s power rankings include the most teams standing pat that I’ve had all year, but there were still some teams that surprised — in good ways and bad.

1. Utah

Record: 4-0
Week 5 Result: Bye
Week 6 Matchup: vs. Kansas

The Utes maintain their spot atop my rankings through their bye. They lead the Big 12 in scoring 43.3 points a game while being third in total offense per game with 491.3 yards.

Utah could still use a signature win, but to this point, the Utes have done all they can do.

2. BYU

Record: 4-0
Week 5 Result: W, 17-10 at TCU
Week 6 Matchup: vs. Iowa State

Winning by 7 against a meh TCU squad isn’t the most powerful of looks, but that game was played on a rainy day in Fort Worth that wasn’t all too conducive to offense.

What’s certainly a negative, though, is the Cougars lost star tailback LJ Martin for the next four to six weeks with a lower body injury.

BYU better be on its A game this weekend, too, as the Cyclones are a tough team.

3. Texas Tech

Record: 5-0
Week 5 Result: W, 29-7 at Colorado
Week 6 Matchup: Bye

I thought about moving Tech back ahead of the Cougars, but if you watched the Red Raiders’ game against Colorado, you’d know it should’ve been closer than it was.

Colorado led 7-3 at the half, and it wasn’t until the Buffaloes threw four second-half interceptions that Tech was able to get away from Colorado.

The passing game has still been an issue, throwing for just 134 yards against CU. But with all that said, Tech is still the unbeaten returning champ.

4. Oklahoma State

Record: 3-1
Week 5 Result: Bye
Week 6 Matchup: vs. UCF

The Cowboys held steady on their week off and play a UCF squad that often finds itself in close games this week.

5. Houston

Record: 4-1
Week 5 Result: W, 27-17 vs. UCF
Week 6 Matchup: at Kansas State

An example of the close games that UCF often finds itself in. The Knights led the Cougars 17-0 in the third quarter of this past weekend’s game in Houston before Conner Weigman took matters into his own hands (or legs). He ran three touchdowns in the second half to help the Cougs come back.

Houston’s trip to Manhattan is probably the league’s game of the week this weekend.

6. Arizona

Record: 4-1
Week 5 Result: W, 34-7 vs. Cincinnati
Week 6 Matchup: at West Virginia

Arizona’s steady thumping of a previously unbeaten Cincinnati squad was probably the second-most impressive result of the weekend (the most impressive is coming up next). The Wildcats were up 34-0 before Cincy got a garbage time TD, with the Wildcats running for 238 yards and throwing for 284 yards.

After Cincy had to make the long trip to Tucson, Arizona is now flying a long ways east for an early kick against West Virginia.

7. Baylor (+4)

Record: 4-1
Week 5 Result: W, 55-19 at Arizona State
Week 6 Matchup: Bye

If you didn’t stay up late on Saturday night, you might’ve missed Dave Aranda’s Bears beating the tar out of Arizona State in Tempe.

Baylor is deservedly the highest riser of the week with the Bears’ only loss being Week 1 to Auburn.

8. Cincinnati

Record: 4-1
Week 5 Result: L, 34-7 at Arizona
Week 6 Matchup: Bye

Here’s where a logjam of teams sort of gets started.

After upsetting K-State two weeks ago and vaulting up the rankings, the Bearcats were sent down to earth a bit by Arizona. But despite getting dominated, I’m not going to drop them below a team they just beat.

9. Kansas State (+1)

Record: 3-1
Week 5 Result: Bye
Week 6 Matchup: vs. Houston

K-State slides up a spot while on a bye and coming off a loss because of how catastrophic Arizona State’s loss felt. The Wildcats have a massive game against Houston this week that will tell a lot in terms of how good K-State is.

10. Iowa State (+3)

Record: 3-2
Week 5 Result: W, 45-42 vs. West Virginia
Week 6 Matchup: at BYU

Most of the time shootouts are more associated with the Big 12’s Oklahoma and Texas schools, but Iowa State of all teams came out on the right side of one this past weekend.

Cyclone running back Aiden Flora ran for 212 yards and three touchdowns while also throwing for two TDs.

Iowa State has played teams tough, but the Cyclones have a big test in Provo this week.

11. Arizona State (-4)

Record: 2-2
Week 5 Result: L, 55-19 vs. Baylor
Week 6 Matchup: vs. Hawai’i

Through four games, the Sun Devils’ best win is by a touchdown against Kansas in London. I think Arizona State is probably better than some of the teams I have listed ahead, but the Sun Devils are going to have to prove it after getting ran off their homefield by Baylor.

12. UCF

Record: 3-2
Week 5 Result: L, 27-17 at Houston
Week 6 Matchup: at Oklahoma State

UCF has looked a tougher team than its record might indicate. Both of the Knights’ losses are to teams currently ranked in the Top 25 by a combined 15 points.

Will they be able to clip one of these teams? Odds are if you’re reading power rankings on this site, you hope that doesn’t come this weekend in Stillwater.

13. West Virginia (-4)

Record: 3-2
Week 5 Result: L, 45-42 at Iowa State
Week 6 Matchup: vs. Arizona

Two weeks ago, West Virginia was up to No. 5 in my power rankings. The Mountaineers’ defense hasn’t stopped anyone since.

We’ll see if they can get off the mat with Preseason All-Big 12 QB Noah Fifita traveling to Morgantown.

14. Kansas

Record: 2-2
Week 5 Result: W, 55-0 vs. Middle Tennessee State
Week 6 Matchup: at Utah

The Jayhawks took care of their Group of Six foe this past weekend, but that is also their best win of the year to this point. They’re one of a few teams that its still tough to tell just how good they are.

15. TCU

Record: 2-3
Week 5 Result: L, 17-10 vs. BYU
Week 6 Matchup: Bye

The Horned Frogs hung tight with BYU, but it was a rainy game in Fort Worth. TCU has had chances (whether that be against North Carolina, UCF or BYU) to gain some ground in these rankings, but to this point, the Horned Frogs’ best win is still 31-7 against Arkansas State.

16. Colorado

Record: 2-3
Week 5 Result: L, 29-7 vs. Texas Tech
Week 6 Matchup: Bye

The Buffaloes were scrappy against Texas Tech, but in the end four second-half INTs spelled doom. Colorado has a real issue at the quarterback position. Ask OSU fans from the past few years, that’s not a fun place to be.

STILLWATER — The first month put Oklahoma State firmly on the national radar. The next three weeks could vault the No. 18 Cowboys from relevant to must-watch territory.

That stretch won’t only have postseason implications this year. It could redefine what is possible for the Cowboys on the recruiting trail.

“Our coaches have done a phenomenal job, our recruiting staff has as far as getting a ton of people to the games and involved,” Morris said. “Getting back in on recruits who didn’t really know. Winning is gonna be super important — people want to come play for that.”

Up first, a Saturday morning game as an 11.5-point favorite against what looks like a pretty beat-up UCF (3-2, 1-1 Big 12). Then comes what seems to be a Top 25 showdown at No. 22 Houston (4-1, 1-1 Big 12), where the Cowboys will take the field as 2.5-point underdogs based on current odds.

Not exactly new territory for a team that beat Oregon and West Virginia when most of the country didn’t give them a second thought. OSU then returns home for America’s Greatest Homecoming and should be heavy favorites against a Colorado (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) team that still lacks an offensive identity.

On Thursday, Oklahoma State announced that tickets for Saturday’s game sold out. The program also sold out against Oregon and Murray State and has already sold every seat for Colorado’s visit on Oct. 24.

“The energy around this place, I think nowadays, our media team here has done a phenomenal job, social media and blasting stuff out, getting likes and hits and all those different things that are super important to gaining momentum,” Morris said when discussing recruiting. “Not only for us here, but as attendance goes down nationally in college in general, right, it’s everywhere, I think we want to keep the spotlight here. … Obviously our gameday atmosphere sells itself, and I think that’ll continue to do so even though we have an early 11 o’clock game.”

So far Morris has proven he can win the big games. Setting aside the transfer portal, Morris is still looking to prove he can crush recruiting at this level. Oklahoma State’s 2027 class ranks 67th and 78th according to Rivals and 247Sports, respectively.

But that’s largely a reflection on the size, not the talent, of that group.

Although the Pokes officially rank 14th in the Big 12 according to both services, OSU ranks fourth and fifth among Big 12 teams when sorted by average prospect rating. OSU just happens to have only 12 commits while seven conference teams have at least 19 commits and five of the other six teams ahead of OSU have at least 16.

“The majority of the last class, they now come on their official visits during the summer,” Morris said on Sept. 15. “I think for us to try to get back in on, maybe, some people in the ‘27 class once they see the product and see actually what we’re doing on the field, get in Stillwater, experience this game day atmosphere, that’ll be something. …

“We’re a little bit behind in the ‘27 class, to be honest with you, and so we have a little bit of catch-up to do right now.”

Although not ideal, Morris added that historically he’s found some of his best players by combing through senior season film. Typically that tape only matters when guys are late bloomers or just overlooked for whatever reason.

“Winning’s the best recruiting tool of all, and has been forever, will be forever,” Morris said just a few days removed from the win over Oregon. “Obviously, there’s a financial aspect now that goes into the mix, as well. But winning counts.”

Although he’s a bit removed from his signature win, head coaches are limited in what they can do in person during the season, considering they still have a team to coach.

On Tuesday, Morris said coaches and prospects were excited to see him and OSU staffers stop by during the bye week. Although circumstances limited what he could personally get done in the all-important state of Texas.

“Reception was great,” Morris said. “Thursday was not good. Planned to travel and see a ton of kids in Texas. The storms were awful. Donald Trump was in Dallas, so they had all these regulations going into all these airports.

“Got stuck actually, started my day in Waco planning to move up to the metroplex, got stuck in Waco for like four or five hours and wasn’t able to get to the metroplex because of the storm.”

He couldn’t wait out the weather because he still had practice to coach Friday morning before turning his recruiting efforts to Oklahoma.

“Super important, like I said since Day 1, there’s great football players in the state of Oklahoma,” Morris said. “We’ve got to work extremely hard to keep some of those guys here. We’re getting on young guys trying to get ahead, and then we’re trying to sneak in the back door on some guys that might be committed somewhere that we’re trying to keep home.”

STILLWATER — For most of the bigger names at North Texas, Eric Morris’ new job offered them a chance to prove themselves at the Power Four level.

For safety Quinton Hammonds, it meant so much more.

“I am blessed to even be in this position right now,” Hammonds said. “I got to give all glory to God. And Coach (Drew) Svoboda and Coach Morris were the two people that trusted me coming in as a walk-on, and I mean just giving me a chance to play at North Texas. …

“Now them trusting me to be able to come here and be at Oklahoma State, which is my dream school, … I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Hammonds’ attachment to OSU is somewhat unique among his teammates, but it’s a story as old as Cowboy football itself. A little kid walks into Boone Pickens Stadium without a favorite team and just like that, he leaves a Cowboy for life.

Hammonds was roughly 4 years old when his cousin Quinten Mobley visited the Pokes alongside high school teammate quarterback Alec Morris.

Of course, just because he had the dream, that doesn’t mean OSU was remotely realistic coming out of high school. Especially not at safety, a position he had to learn from scratch when he arrived at North Texas as a walk-on.

“I was expecting to be a scout team guy, maybe getting a few reps on special teams,” Hammonds said.

During Week 3 in 2024, they made the trip to Texas Tech and Hammonds found himself somewhat surprisingly thrown into the game on defense during the second quarter.

“It was a big culture shock,” Hammonds said. “I mean, first time ever being in a back pedal against a P4 team that Texas Tech with that crazy environment, but I was blessed to even be in that position.​”

He’s come a long way since then. Hammonds is the only player on OSU’s defense to play 100% of snaps against all three FBS opponents this fall, highlighted by a heroic 89-snap performance against West Virginia.

“He’s so smart. … His communication is phenomenal,” Eric Morris said. “He’s a guy that continues to grow and get better within this system. He’s just still learning. He has a lot of similarities like Drew (Mestemaker) and Wyatt (Young), where those guys didn’t play a ton of that position in high school, and they continue to grow. Now they’re in year three of playing.”

Unlike those other two, Hammonds took a year-two detour where he primarily lined up at nickel before moving back to safety this offseason.

One of his favorite plays this year came in the last game at West Virginia when Hammonds and teammate Jerry Lawson brought WVU quarterback Michael Hawkins down at the line of scrimmage on 3rd-and-1 late in the third quarter. It was a turning point in the game as the Mountaineers turned it over on downs near midfield, which allowed OSU to go up by a full touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“We knew about some of their tendencies,” Hammonds said. “Especially when they go empty, they like to run the ball out of it. So when we saw it was empty, I knew I could just end up letting the nickel do his thing on the receiver, and then I’ll just be on the run fit, just be able to be that edge piece, and me and Jerry Lawson were able to make a play on it and be able to stop him.”

Hammonds’ football journey has already exceeded his every expectation, but from time to time he runs into teammates who feel buried on the depth chart. He doesn’t mind giving them the advice that served him so well.

“Sometimes you just got to trust the process,” Hammonds said. “I mean, it is God’s plan and God’s speed. So I mean it is going to happen at some point, and you’re going to get a chance. You just got to be able to take full advantage of the opportunity you get.”

Editor’s note: If you want to read more about Hammond’s journey from walk-on to starter check out our story from last month where Eric Morris and former UNT teammates share his journey from their vantage point.

The Big 12 released its preseason poll and awards on Thursday, and Oklahoma State was picked as this year’s favorites to take home the championship. These are voted on by the league’s coaches who are not allowed to vote for their own team.

And a pair of incoming Cowgirls were also honored with Iowa State transfer Audi Brooks being tabbed as the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year and Florida transfer Liv McGill being named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year.

OSU was picked to finish fourth in last year’s preseason poll, and that’s where they landed, winning a tie-breaker over Texas Tech in the league’s final standings.

OSU went 24-10 overall and 12-6 in league play winning four of their last five regular season conference games. The Cowgirls lost to Kansas State in the first round of the Big 12 Championship before making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

In four years under Jacie Hoyt, the Cowgirls have finished with at least 21 wins three times and have made the NCAA Tournament three times. Last season’s second-round exit to 2-seeded UCLA was a high postseason watermark for the Pokes and something they plan to exceed in 2026-27 after adding some star talent.

That leads us to those individual honors.

Crooks may be a newcomer to Stillwater but she’s been dominating in this league for a while. She was a three-time All-American at Iowa State and earned countless All-Big 12 honors. She led the lead in scoring the last two years and was second as a freshman the year before. Last season she led the NCAA with 820 total points scored. She was also voted Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year last year.

McGill was a consensus top 5 portal transfer this past offseason and an All-American honorable mention for Florida last year. She was an All-SEC first-teamer last season and named to the SEC All-Freshman team the year before that. She was second in the SEC in scoring (22.5 points per game) and fourth in assists (6.3 per game).

The Cowgirls tip off their regular season against Southern on Nov. 2 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Big 12 Preseason Poll

1. Oklahoma State (7) – 215 points
2. TCU (6) – 212 points
3. Baylor (2) – 199 points
4. West Virginia (1) – 186 points
5. Kansas – 160 points
6. Arizona State – 143 points
7. BYU – 137 points
8. Colorado – 126 points
9. K-State – 121 points
10. Texas Tech – 103 points
11. Iowa State – 78 points
12. Utah – 77 points
13. Arizona – 55 points
14. Cincinnati – 43 points
15. Houston – 38 points
16. UCF – 27 points

Individual Honors

Preseason Player of the Year: Audi Crooks, Oklahoma State

Preseason Newcomer of the Year: Liv McGill, Oklahoma State

Preseason Freshman of the Year: Jessie-May Hall, TCU

All-Big 12 Preseason Team:
McKinna Brackens, Arizona State
Taliah Scott, Baylor
Delaney Gibb, BYU
Zyanna Walker, Colorado
Jaliya Davis, Kansas
S’Mya Nichols, Kansas
Audi Crooks, Oklahoma State
Liv McGill, Oklahoma State
Clara Silva, TCU
Gia Cooke, West Virginia

The Cowboys are back in action this weekend, and it looks to be another great week of games nationwide.

Here’s a look at the Big 12 slate and some of the best games from around the country for college football’s Week 6.

Big 12 Schedule

Iowa State (3-2) at No. 8 BYU (4-0) — 9:15 p.m. Friday on ESPN
Arizona (4-1) at West Virginia (3-2) — 11 a.m. Saturday on TNT/truTV
UCF (3-2) at No. 18 Oklahoma State (3-1) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2
No. 22 Houston (4-1) at Kansas State (3-1) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX
Kansas (2-2) at No. 12 Utah (4-0) — 9:15 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
Hawai‘i (1-4) at Arizona State (2-2) — 9:30 p.m. Saturday on FS1

Houston-Kansas State: K-State is coming off a bye and trying to bounce back from a road loss in Cincy, while the Cougars just had to come back from a 17-0 second-half deficit against UCF. The winner here stays very much alive in the race to Arlington, while the loser gets put behind the proverbial 8-ball.

Iowa State-BYU: Going into the year, this wasn’t a game I thought I’d be highlighting. However, the Cyclones are coming off a big win against West Virginia in which they scored 45 points. BYU got some bad news this week: star running back LJ Martin is set to miss four to six weeks with a lower body injury. So, the Cougars will have to adjust against a hot team.

Arizona-West Virginia: The Mountaineers need to figure something out defensively, as they’ve given up 86 points in the past two weeks. Enter the Preseason All-Big 12 quarterback Noah Fifita and the Wildcats. Arizona is just a 3.5-point favorite, as the Wildcats are going to have to travel multiple time zones for an early kick.

Other Games to Watch

No. 7 Indiana (5-0) at Nebraska (5-0) — 11 a.m. Saturday on FOX
No. 1 Texas (4-0) vs. Oklahoma (2-2) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
No. 21 UCLA (4-0) at No. 13 Oregon (3-1) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS
No. 10 LSU (4-1) at Kentucky (4-1) — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
No. 2 Georgia (5-0) at No. 6 Alabama (5-0) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Indiana-Nebraska: The Cornhuskers are again at the precipice of gaining some national respect. Can they grab it? Despite being undefeated with two Big Ten wins, Nebraska isn’t ranked, but a win against the reigning champs would make the Cornhuskers undeniable to pollsters.

Red River: You can never know for sure how the Red River Shootout is going to go, but given where these teams are right now, a Sooner win would be quite surprising. With that said, the Longhorns’ offense hasn’t been busting bulbs on scoreboards, but the OU offense has been … bad.

Georgia-Alabama: The knock against the Bulldogs entering this weekend is that they haven’t played anyone yet, but they have outscored their first five opponents a combined 257-67. The Crimson Tide got a signature win in Starkville this past weekend, beating a ranked Mississippi State squad 56-23. Alabama also crushed Kentucky 45-17 earlier in the season.

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Josh Allen 2.0 🤔

This Zero-Star Recruit Will Be The No. 1 Pick in the 2027 NFL Draft @CowboyFB https://t.co/bI0fbqGQgz — David Pollack (@davidpollack47) October 5, 2026

• Cowgirl Softball beat Oklahoma Christian, 13-3 last night

• Eric Morris called out a nice ceiling for the Pokes on a college football podcast:

“At our best, I think we’re gonna be a problem for anybody on our schedule,” Morris said. “If we can stay committed to the process and take this thing one week at a time, I think we can win the rest of them on our schedule. “On the flip side of that, at our worst this year, it was pretty bad. So, yeah, I like way our schedule sets up. Obviously, I like our bye week being this week. We were a little bit banged up, but I definitely think there’s a chance we can run this thing if we can stay committed to the process and play our brand of football.” [PFB]

• Cowgirl Golf won The Ally tournament in Mississippi, taking home an individual title to boot (OKState.com)

• Eric Morris played off any controversy around his boss (Chad Weiberg) at his weekly press conference (PFB)

• This feels like one of those times when taking a couple of weeks off is reasonable – best wishes to the former Cowboy.

NEW: Alabama TE Josh Ford broke his arm against Mississippi State and had surgery on Sunday.

Kalen DeBeoer is “optimistic” Ford can play this week against Georgia. https://t.co/RuGncdm0vU — On3 (@On3) October 7, 2026

• Couple of big time Pokes on this injury report.

Wyatt Young and Johnny Dickson listed as questionable on the initial player availability report. https://t.co/mg9td3WaKa

— Marshall Scott (@MarshallScottOK) October 8, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Check out this fall foliage map to see when the leaves should turn • How much money is God not concerned about? (faith-based)

Good stuff from Alex Hormozi:

I compiled Alex Hormozi’s best offer advice https://t.co/ZrIufttPs7

— Mitchell Keller (@MitchellKeller_) October 6, 2026

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news. 

OSU Bullets

• College football analyst David Pollack on OSU’s star quarterback: “The future No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, Drew Mestemaker” (PFB)

Josh Allen 2.0 🤔

This Zero-Star Recruit Will Be The No. 1 Pick in the 2027 NFL Draft @CowboyFB https://t.co/bI0fbqGQgz — David Pollack (@davidpollack47) October 5, 2026

• Cowgirl Softball beat Oklahoma Christian, 13-3 last night

• Eric Morris called out a nice ceiling for the Pokes on a college football podcast:

“At our best, I think we’re gonna be a problem for anybody on our schedule,” Morris said. “If we can stay committed to the process and take this thing one week at a time, I think we can win the rest of them on our schedule. “On the flip side of that, at our worst this year, it was pretty bad. So, yeah, I like way our schedule sets up. Obviously, I like our bye week being this week. We were a little bit banged up, but I definitely think there’s a chance we can run this thing if we can stay committed to the process and play our brand of football.” [PFB]

• Cowgirl Golf won The Ally tournament in Mississippi, taking home an individual title to boot (OKState.com)

• Eric Morris played off any controversy around his boss (Chad Weiberg) at his weekly press conference (PFB)

• This feels like one of those times when taking a couple of weeks off is reasonable – best wishes to the former Cowboy.

NEW: Alabama TE Josh Ford broke his arm against Mississippi State and had surgery on Sunday.

Kalen DeBeoer is “optimistic” Ford can play this week against Georgia. https://t.co/RuGncdm0vU — On3 (@On3) October 7, 2026

• Couple of big time Pokes on this injury report.

Wyatt Young and Johnny Dickson listed as questionable on the initial player availability report. https://t.co/mg9td3WaKa

— Marshall Scott (@MarshallScottOK) October 8, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Check out this fall foliage map to see when the leaves should turn • How much money is God not concerned about? (faith-based)

Good stuff from Alex Hormozi:

I compiled Alex Hormozi’s best offer advice https://t.co/ZrIufttPs7

— Mitchell Keller (@MitchellKeller_) October 6, 2026

The initial player availability report for Oklahoma State’s game against UCF released on Wednesday night, revealing that Wyatt Young and Johnny Dickson III are questionable. Defensive tackle Landon Dean will miss the game, while offensive tackle Braydon Nelson is listed as probable to make his OSU debut.

Here’s the report in full:

Young leads the Cowboys in receptions (22) and receiving yards (410) after his big game against West Virginia. In Morgantown, Young caught eight balls for 192 yards and a touchdown. That came two weeks after Young caught five balls for 121 yards and a score against Oregon.

Dickson has played 297 snaps on the Cowboys’ offensive line through four games, per PFF, with 192 of those snaps coming at left guard and 105 coming at right guard. His snap total leads all OSU offensive players.

Nelson appeared on the depth chart this week, with OSU coach Eric Morris saying he expects the North Texas transfer to rotate in. He played 1,836 snaps across the past two seasons with the Mean Green, with most of those coming at left tackle.

Dean is a redshirt senior who has spent his entire career in Stillwater. He has regularly rotated in on the defensive front this season, playing 173 snaps.

It’s less than ideal for the Cowboys that Young and Dickson are questionable and Dean is out, but the injury report is much beefier on UCF’s side.

The Knights’ will be without starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III again. They’ll also be without starting center Jacob Maiava and staring linebacker Lewis Carter.

​“Majority of time, I remind (OSU running backs) coach (Patrick) Cobbs, ‘I’m ready to get that rock whenever you need to punch it in at the goal line, I got you,’” Lawson said.

​Not sure Cobbs will take him up on that offer anytime soon, but for the longest time Lawson believed his future was to play running back in college, then the coaches at Abilene Christian set him straight.

​“They told me, ‘stop sending us your running back film, send that D-line film,’” Lawson said.

Lawson doesn’t end up a Cowboy without Abilene Christian. That’s where he met Skyler Cassity, who was in his second year ever as a defensive coordinator.

“He was the one that believed in me. … He was like, ‘we know you can play, and you’re going to have to start and all that and have to man up and put your big boy pants on and get it rolling,’” Lawson said.

The then-freshman defender really needed to hear his coaches voice that belief in him because Lawson lacked it himself.

“At that time I didn’t really have that much confidence, for one,” Lawson said. “I was young and still learning how college football works and all that.”

Lawson started for the first time in week three, and he finished the season with seven starts and recorded 41 tackles, including 5.5 for loss. A more confident Lawson showed up the next season and finished with 65 tackles, including 14 for loss and 5.5 sacks.

With that success under his belt, he decided to test the transfer portal out, but even Lawson didn’t know if that decision would result in a Power Conference or even an FBS offer.

“I had no idea,” Lawson said. “I was low-key stressed. I would wake up sometimes, I had an 8 a.m. I would be missing the 8 a.m. because of making phone calls to all these different coaches and all that, so it was really stressful in that moment, but when I got at Louisville it felt pretty good.”

At Louisville, Lawson’s role shrunk smaller than ever in college, and his only start came in the bowl game. With that in mind, it makes sense he would want to reunite with Cassity for the first time since his freshman season.

“It was pretty important,” Lawson said of Cassity’s involvement getting him to Stillwater. “Because I kind of still remember some of the plays that we used to run at ACU, and he still has some of the plays that are the same name, and I was like, ‘Oh, I already knew that and all that.’ Just going out there doing what I gotta do, and just having that connection and chemistry with him. I just know how he’s gonna coach. He knows how I’m gonna play.”

Playing is something Lawson has done quite a bit of this season. Although the Cowboys rotate a lot of guys up front, he has played at least 50% of snaps against all three FBS opponents this season. No other OSU defensive tackle has played more than 40% in more than one such game this fall.

“Jerry’s a little bit undersized, but just the attitude, the grit that he plays with,” Morris said. “He’s been phenomenal. And really a guy that’s been good against the run and against the pass somebody that we’ve been able to count on.

“He’s definitely a guy that’s earned the starts that he’s had around here. … Just a joy to be around every single day. I mean, he does it the right way. Comes out and practices his tail off, so happy for Jerry.”

Lawson was a no-star prospect coming out of high school. The past few years raised his profile quite a bit as he was a three-star transfer ranked 41st and 42nd at his position this offseason according to Rivals and 247Sports.

Yet, in many ways, he arrived at Stillwater as one of many newcomers hoping to prove they could deliver against Big 12 competition. Lawson has eight tackles this season, including a 0.5 sack against West Virginia.

He is tied for fourth in total pressures, with three of those coming against Oregon and West Virginia, and tied for sixth in “stops” which basically is any tackle that puts the offense in a bad spot.

“After week one, a lot of people doubted us when we were going into playing Oregon, and we were like, ‘Well, we gotta prove these people wrong,’” Lawson said. “And I like being doubted because I’ve been doubted my whole life, and I know what it takes to like surpass people and all that.”

Over the past few weeks, he’s done a handful of podcasts and various other interviews as his Oklahoma State squad has rattled off three straight wins.

Earlier this week he went on the Brandon Walker College Football Show. There, he talked everything from his ongoing war with local armadillos to how big the win against Oregon was for his program. But perhaps the most notable thing he mentioned came when Walker asked Morris what success in Year 1 looks like.

“At our best, I think we’re gonna be a problem for anybody on our schedule,” Morris said. “If we can stay committed to the process and take this thing one week at a time, I think we can win the rest of them on our schedule.

“On the flip side of that, at our worst this year, it was pretty bad. So, yeah, I like way our schedule sets up. Obviously, I like our bye week being this week. We were a little bit banged up, but I definitely think there’s a chance we can run this thing if we can stay committed to the process and play our brand of football.”

That’s a nice level of confidence while still having data to point to if the Cowboys aren’t on their Ps and Qs.

The “worst” Morris mentioned there is the Cowboys’ Week 1 loss in Tulsa, a game the Cowboys mustered just 10 points and 368 yards of total offense. In the three games since, OSU has averaged 46.3 points and 608.3 yards of total offense.

Walker then asked if there is some benefit to having the Week 1 film to show his team how poorly they can play. Morris again noted he watches the Tulsa film once a week as a self reminder.

“In hindsight, I am thankful that it did happen Game 1, and we were able to have a hard reset and come out and be able to change the narrative,” Morris said. “A lot better Week 1 than later on in the season. So yeah, I think our guys have locked into the thought of the practice and the preparation getting us to be able to perform on Saturdays.

“So, as long as we continue to get a week better, this team is still, there are a lot of new bodies on this team. A lot of new faces, so we are growing week by week right now. Same thing with our quarterback. He hasn’t played just a ton of football still in his career, which I still have to remind myself of. If we can continue to do that and not turn the ball over, I like our chances.”

Another Funny Quote

Walker, a Mississippi State fan, asked Morris if his practices were similar to that of Mike Leach, who coached in Starkville and coached Morris.

Morris noted his practices are intense, but shared this funny anecdote on wearing the whistle and a headset.

“A lot of people hate that I call the plays and I still blow the whistle after every play,” Morris said. “One thing that stinks for my assistant coaches is the microphone, I still talk in the microphone, so they have to hear the whistle in their ears. So, they don’t really appreciate the fact that I blow the whistle and have all the communication.”

Hearing a whistle blare next to you can be loud enough. Now imagine wearing a pair of headphones while a guy blows into a whistle into his mic.

STILLWATER — Jalen Montonati is sick of eating Chipotle.

In his transition from high school to college basketball, the Oklahoma State legacy has been tasked with adding weight. He said he has already gone from 185 pounds to 200 pounds in about four months, lifting before and after practice and eating a lot. He said he’s having to eat about every two hours.

“About anything,” said Montonati on what he eats. “They’ll just throw stuff at me, tell me to eat before, eat after. I’m usually lifting before and after practice right now, so they’ve got me working a lot, but I definitely need it to get where I want to get to.”

Steve Lutz has made note of Montonati’s need to add some muscle, and it’s something that Montonati himself didn’t need long to figure out.

He said in his first college practice, Lutz had the Cowboys do a drill where they had to get an offensive rebound with a heavy ball while two guys with pads went after him. It wasn’t the ideal first day.

“I was going through it my first ever practice,” Montonati said. “That was probably my ‘welcome to college’ moment, just how hard that was. But looking back on it now, I’m lightyears ahead from where I was at that day, but that was probably my first practice moment I was like, ‘Dang, this is for real.'”

Whether fair or not, there are a lot of eyeballs and expectations on Montonati.

For starters, he’s an Oklahoma kid. That by itself makes fans more knowledgeable of Montonati. But, then add to the fact that his father, Brian Montonati, played at OSU under Eddie Sutton, meaning there aren’t a ton of OSU fans who will show up to Gallagher-Iba Arena this fall without knowing about the younger Montonati.

“He’s handled it great,” OSU associate head coach James Miller said. “I think there’s some limitations physically that he knows he has right now. He’s very intelligent as you guys see, so he understands that he’s gotta get better physically and is a little bit behind in that aspect, but he’s handled it great. He really has.

“Are there expectations? Sure. When you’re the player of the year in Oklahoma and the best high school player in the last couple years in the state of Oklahoma, his father played here, and obviously he’s talked about how special this place is to him. So, there are some expectations both externally and internally from him and his family, I would say. But he’s handled it in the right way.”

Although being a legacy Cowboy comes with a higher level of expectation from the outside, there are also benefits to it.

He has been warned about the moments of potential struggle and has a guy who has been through it to help him continue to push through.

“I was kind of expecting it, just talking with my dad,” Montonati said. “He’s been through it. Like, he’s prepared me my whole high school career for it, like telling me what I’m gonna go through and how to get through it. Just wake up the next day and continuously get better. Just get 1% better every single day, and it’s a marathon not a sprint. So, just having him in my corner, going and talk to him about it, it’s really big time.”

OSU was Montonati’s first offer, coming from Mike Boynton way back in 2022. In the time since, he developed into one of the better prospects in the country, with the 247Sports Composite ranking tabbing him as the No. 99 player in the 2026 class and the top player in the state. He garnered offers from far and wide: Kansas, Michigan, Indiana, Houston, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, USC.

When Montonati announced he was committed to Oklahoma State, though, he did so with a picture of him as a child standing on Eddie Sutton Court wearing an OSU hat and an OSU sweatshirt with the simple caption, “Loyal and True.”

Loyal and True… #commited 🤠 https://t.co/WgArToBnk8

— Jalen Montonati (@JalenMontonati) September 25, 2025

“It’s been great — everything that I’ve ever dreamt of,” Montonati said. “I’ve dreamed of putting this jersey on playing for the Cowboys since I was a little kid, so to finally be able to have the chance to do it, it’s a dream come true to walk into GIA every morning and see the banners, see the history. It’s been great — everything that I’ve ever dreamt of.

“Whenever I’m working out, I take a second to, like, just be where my feet are and understand that I put in a lot of work to get to where I’m at today. It means a lot to my family. It means a lot former players’ family. It means a huge amount to the alumni here. But even to look up and see the Remember the Ten banner, that pushed me harder because I know how much those people meant to my family.”

The Drew Mestemaker NFL Draft hype took no breaks despite the Cowboys being on a bye this past weekend.

Bleacher Report on Monday released a video of David Pollack breaking down some of Mestemaker’s film, where Pollack made a proclamation.

“The future No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, Drew Mestemaker,” Pollack said.

“… Here’s the thing about Drew Mestemaker, he has all the tools you wanna see. He’s 6-(foot)-3, 225 (pounds), and he’s sneaky athletic. We’ll start there. He’s got the big arm. He can throw into man. He can throw into zone.”

The first play Pollack broke down was Mestemaker’s 75-yard run to start the Oregon game, showing the Oklahoma State quarterback is more athletic than one might think.

Then Pollack showed a ball Mestemaker threw to Terrence Lewis in the West Virginia game. Against a zone defense, Mestemaker anticipated where he needed to put the ball while Lewis was running and put it one him, layering the throw over the linebackers.

“The No. 1 thing you have to be able to do, have arm talent — check, size — check, athletic ability — check,” Pollack said. “Why else is Mestemaker gonna be the No. 1 overall pick? You better be able to throw in tight windows. You better have some arm arrogance. The ability to throw the football where it shouldn’t fit there, but I’ll fit it there. …

“This is the equivalent of going to the golf course. I’ve gotta get this up, but it’s also gotta be able to come down at the right spot.”

Pollack also showed the flea-flicker pass against Oregon, where there was a Duck defender who had a free run at Mestemaker before he magically zipped the all over the heads of two defenders and into the waiting arms of Wyatt Young.

That led to the final play Pollack showed: Mestemaker’s acrobatic leap into the end zone against Oregon to show his toughness.

“This dude is a dude, man,” Pollack said. “Right here (points at heart). He ain’t scared to get hit. He’s not worried about getting hit. …

“It’s good to be tall. It’s good to have a big arm. It’s good to be able to throw in zones. It’s good to be able to run. It’s good to be able to do all those things, but then how competitive are you, man? How tough are you? How much are you gonna make that play when I need it at that moment?”

There’s still a lot of football to be played, but over the past three weeks or so, the Mestemaker hype train toward the NFL Draft is only picking up speed.

The Cowboys laid low this weekend while the Big 12 tore itself apart. Now the Pokes are one of just five teams without a conference loss. Let’s take a look at three things to know about the matchup between OSU and UCF.

1. The Knights Can Slow Teams Down

UCF’s offense is not exactly a world-beater, but its defense has kept the Knights in games, consistently holding teams below their scoring average.

UCF held Pittsburgh to just 12 points (in heavy rain) in a 12-7 loss. The Panthers are currently ranked 24th nationally, scoring 38.4 points per game. The Knights held TCU to 13 points. The Frogs also aren’t blowing the doors off teams, but they are averaging 25.4 points. And then in a loss at Houston last weekend, UCF held the Cougars to 27. Houston’s 41 points per game is ranked 17th in the FBS.

A big part of that has been UCF’s ability to slow down the run game. Their overall rushing defense gets knocked down a peg by a strange outlier. The Knights allowed 203 yards at 5.8 yards per carry to Georgia State. Granted, those Panthers are a Top 30 rushing team in the FBS. No other team has sniffed 200 yards on the ground or managed more than 3.5 ypc against the Knights.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Knights’ run defense has an 89.0 rating, their best across the board and 28th nationally. Their overall defensive rating of 88.9 comes in at No. 29. For the sake of comparison, Oregon is rated above UCF in both categories (90.6 defense, 91.4 run defense), and the Cowboys rushed for 237 yards and scored 39 points on the Ducks. It’s not exactly a one-for-one swap, but maybe the Cowboys are set up to score points on good defenses too.

If UCF gives OSU issues there, it will be up to Eric Morris and Drew Mestemaker to try to stretch that defense with their dynamic passing attack like they did against West Virginia, specifically in the second half.

2. The Knights Can Take It Back

UCF is tied for the league lead (and Top 10 nationally) with 10 turnovers gained over five games. Four fumbles and six interceptions.

The Knights’ defense had three interceptions against Georgia State and then took two fumbles and had two picks against TCU. The Cowboys are on the wrong end of that stat as well. OSU is tied for second most turnovers in the Big 12 with three lost fumbles and five interceptions.

The caveat here is that Drew Mestemaker’s interception rate has been trending in the right direction. After two picks against Tulsa, the two he had against Oregon were both tipped at the line of scrimmage. He had none against Murray State and one at West Virginia.

A big part of it comes down to decision-making, and he’s been on the right side of that more often than not the last three games. But that’s not to say it couldn’t be an issue, and this UCF defense is obviously skilled at dispossessing QBs. Turnovers can be an equalizer for a team like UCF that doesn’t put up points like the Cowboys do. And it’s help keep them in those games.

3. UCF Might Need Those Turnovers

UCF, again, has not been running up the scoreboard on teams. They dropped 73 points on FCS opponent Bethune-Cookman and 44 on Georgia State, but against Power Four teams the Knights are averaging just 15 points per game. And it comes down to both phases of their offense.

The Knights lost their starting quarterback in Week 2 when Alonzo Barnett II went down. He’s yet to return. Keyone Jenkins has been an efficient passer, completing 69.7% of his throws, but he’s not the sling-it-around-the-yard guy. UCF is 15th in the conference, ahead of only West Virginia averaging just 178.2 passing yards per game.

Their rushing game has been less than dominant, though Jenkins is a threat to run it himself. In both of their losses, the Knights have struggled to run the ball effectively. Against No. 25 Pittsburgh, UCF rushed for just 20 yards on 22 attempts. That’s less than a yard per carry. In the loss at Houston last week, the Knights managed just 73 rushing yards at 3.5 per carry. Even in their win against TCU, they totaled 106 rushing yards at 3.2 ypc.

STILLWATER — For the most part, Oklahoma State’s offense has torched opposing defenses this season.

The Cowboys boast the nation’s No. 2 offense (averaging 548 yards per game), No. 7 passing offense (327 yards per game) and the No. 23 rushing offense (221 yards per game).

That success moving the ball nearly at will has OSU tied for the nation’s No. 30 scoring offense (37.3 points per game), which is actually impressive given that the Cowboys’ worst offensive stats include a 32% success rate on third down (ranked 121st nationally) and a red zone success rate of 83% (tied for 90th).

Both struggles have made Oklahoma State kicker Sam Keltner quite busy through four games as he has converted all 10 of his field-goal attempts this season, nine of which came after OSU entered the red zone.

“I think it’s probably the most frustrating thing for me as a play caller right now is kicking the field goals,” coach Eric Morris said. “And us not being super efficient inside the score zone, which we call the 12 to the five-yard line. We haven’t been good this year.”

Morris’ team last season finished the year ranked 18th nationally with a 91% success rate in the red zone. All that success looks even better considering UNT led the nation with 72 red zone scores overall and 62 of those (86%) were touchdowns.

Of the only 18 teams with a higher red zone success rate, only Utah scored touchdowns at a higher percentage, edging Morris out by just over 1%. However, the Utes scored only 47 red zone TDs in total.

That’s probably what makes OSU’s difficulties through four games especially tough for Morris to swallow.

This season, the Cowboys entered the red zone 24 times. Nine times, OSU settled for a field goal and 11 times Oklahoma State found the end zone. That means only 55% of OSU’s red zone scores are touchdowns.

“Defense has been playing good though, and we’ve kind of shifted our philosophy to be able to take some points at times,” Morris said of the kicking game. “And I just think that’s the best thing for our team right now. But there’s nothing more frustrating. You know, we’ve done a bunch of self-scouting over the course of the last, you know, week and a half.”

At West Virginia, OSU entered the red zone five times, and OSU again struggled in what Morris calls the “score zone.”

OSU’s red zone attempts vs West Virginia:

When asked about personnel groupings in the red zone, Morris mostly dismissed the question, stating so much is dependent on what the opponent does in that part of the field. He briefly touched on running back Caleb Hawkins’ success last season and seemed to suggest he would try to lean on that more.

“You know we were able to use some three tight end stuff last year,” Morris said. “Haven’t used a ton of it this year, and so you know it’s a game-by-game, week-by-week thing. We’re game planning.”

Less use on multi-tight end sets is likely the result of preseason injuries, which seemed to slow Donovan Green’s involvement (28 snaps so far, third among OSU TEs) and Oscar Hammond, who technically made his Cowboy debut at WVU when he took the field for three kneel-downs.

Tight end Carson Kolb has dominated OSU’s snap count at the position, playing 236 snaps while No. 2 tight end Morgan McPhaul has played 47.

This will be somewhat old, or at least repackaged, news to PFB subscribers who read the Final Draw breakdown of the WVU game, but OSU has run 43 plays inside the red zone against FBS opponents this season.

On these, Drew Mestemaker is 10-of-21 for 51 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

One of the 23 running plays was Mestemaker’s improvised touchdown run against Oregon. Other non-Hawkins skill players rushed five times and averaged 1.4 yards. That leaves 16 carries for Hawkins, who averages 3.5 yards per carry and has found the end zone only once inside the red zone.

That’s a big change from last season, when Hawkins scored 22 times inside the red zone, with 12 of those coming inside Morris’ “score zone.”

“And really third downs too, like we haven’t been good offensively on third downs or sticking it (in) the end zone you know once we do get into the red zone. … I think you know it’s going to allow us to set ourselves apart if we can get better in those two areas,” Morris said. “And so they’re being addressed right now.”

Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker will square off against UCF’s Keyone Jenkins, a former FIU transfer that started the year as the Knights’ backup before QB1 Alonzo Barnett II went down with injury.

Jenkins has started the last three games, going 2-1. He also went down briefly with an injury in the loss to Houston last week but did return and is expected to start.

Let’s take a look at how Mestemaker and Jenkins stack up by the numbers before digging into the matchup.

Jenkins spent three years as the starter at Florida International. In 33 games leading the Panthers’ offense, he threw for 6,713 yards and 42 touchdowns to 25 interceptions while completing 61% of his passes. He’s also effective when he keeps it, having run for 13 TDs over his time at FIU.

Since Barnett went down in Week 2, Scott Frost and Co. have put more and more on Jenkins’ plate when it comes to running the offense. In his first start in against Georgia State, he had 41 running snaps to just 18 passing. A week later in the win over TCU, the split was down to 33 runs to 24 passes and then last week he finally was given the reins to open it up. He had 42 passing plays to just 18 run plays.

Jenkins led the Knights to a 17-0 lead over the ranked Cougars on the road last Saturday. He actually had the Knights in position late to make a bid for the upset last week in Houston. UCF held a 10-point lead late in the third quarter when a pass of his was tipped and intercepted. He got injured attempting the tackle and had to leave the game. The resulting return set up Houston on the 2-yard line for an eventual touchdown.

UCF went to third-string QB sophomore Kaleb Annett who threw the first three pass attempts of his career. Jenkins would return in the fourth quarter but apparently didn’t look 100%. He finished completing just three of his last eight attempts.

Jenkins is not the type of quarterback that is necessarily going to stretch your defense. According to Pro Football Focus, 9.2% of Jenkins’ throws are considered deep, but he’s only completed one of them this season (1-for-7). For comparison’s sake, 12% of Mestemaker’s throws have been deep (20-plus) yards, but he’s completed 71% of those (12-for-17).

But Jenkins did account for some chunk plays against Houston as they let him open it up a bit. He had four passing plays of at least 20 yards after just two over 20 yards his first two starts.

The Knights have also depended on Jenkins to use his wheels. He’s averaging nearly seven rush attempts per game since he took the reins, and he’s scored three TDs on the ground.

The Knights’ defense has been stingy against Power Four teams. They held Houston scoreless in the first half and to just 27 all game. Strange enough, they gave up 30 points to Georgia State. But the point is that Jenkins hasn’t been asked to put up big numbers to compete. If the Cowboys break loose for a couple big plays early, how will he handle going from more of a game manager to a playmaker?

Jenkins is an efficient passer with the ability to beat you with his legs if you get greedy. The key for the Cowboys will be their ability to bring pressure without blitzing and to play disciplined on the edge. If OSU can make things tough on Jenkins and do what they do best on third downs, it will go a long way towards a Cowboy win.

• OSU officially announced that Bedlam hockey is coming to Boone Pickens Stadium – here’s where the revenue will go (PFB)

• HCS has the Pokes No. 2 in the league in their power rankings (HCS)

• The analytics have the Pokes as the No. 18 team in the country, highlighted by key defensive metrics: 

Oklahoma State has been particularly effective in money-down situations on defense. Opponents have converted just 29.6% of their third- and fourth-down opportunities, tied for the 18th-best defensive rate in the FBS, while the Cowboys are tied for 38th in defensive EPA allowed per play (-0.09). [PFF]

• Check for any updates on the Cowboy depth chart – one massive addition is Brayden Nelson making his Cowboy debut at tackle (PFB)

• Three in the top fifteen of production is really nice.

Oklahoma State is the ONLY FBS team with a Top 15 passer, rusher and receiver.

Three of the best in the country, all in the same offense. #GoPokes https://t.co/dO2haHHv1T — Boone Pickens State (@BP_State) October 6, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Considering a hypothetical merger of the best ACC/Big 12 teams was really fun • Reflect over rush (faith-based)

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news. 

OSU Bullets

• Mike Gundy is headed for the commentator’s box this weekend (PFB)

• OSU officially announced that Bedlam hockey is coming to Boone Pickens Stadium – here’s where the revenue will go (PFB)

• HCS has the Pokes No. 2 in the league in their power rankings (HCS)

• The analytics have the Pokes as the No. 18 team in the country, highlighted by key defensive metrics: 

Oklahoma State has been particularly effective in money-down situations on defense. Opponents have converted just 29.6% of their third- and fourth-down opportunities, tied for the 18th-best defensive rate in the FBS, while the Cowboys are tied for 38th in defensive EPA allowed per play (-0.09). [PFF]

• Check for any updates on the Cowboy depth chart – one massive addition is Brayden Nelson making his Cowboy debut at tackle (PFB)

• Three in the top fifteen of production is really nice.

Oklahoma State is the ONLY FBS team with a Top 15 passer, rusher and receiver.

Three of the best in the country, all in the same offense. #GoPokes https://t.co/dO2haHHv1T — Boone Pickens State (@BP_State) October 6, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Considering a hypothetical merger of the best ACC/Big 12 teams was really fun • Reflect over rush (faith-based)

STILLWATER — OSU Hockey’s Chairman of the Board said Bedlam on Ice is going to cost somewhere between $1.5 million and $2 million, but the revenue the landmark event creates is going to a charity and to the Cowboy football team.

“I’ll be promoting the hell out of that thing,” said OSU coach Eric Morris as he took the stage after the hockey news conference. “Kudos to you, appreciate you.”

Michael Mann, OSU Hockey’s Chairman, spoke before Morris’ regular media availability on Tuesday to provide some details on the Bedlam hockey game that will be played on Jan. 30 in Boone Pickens Stadium.

At the end of his news conference, Mann announced where the revenue would go.

“It came to me that our president Colleen Harvey and a couple of the people on the staff realized what’s going on with athletics, how it’s growing and the momentum around the football team and all that,” Mann said. “We realized that we had this thing paid for through donors, and there’s two missions on campus that we’re really excited to get involved in. One is Dr. (Jim) Hess and his wife have a mental health awareness mission, so part of our revenue for that game will go to them. And then the majority of the revenue is gonna be donated back to Coach Morris and his staff for his operations and him building a great organization moving forward.”

If an ice rink in the middle of Boone Pickens Stadium isn’t exciting enough, Mann said there will be musical performances and none of it will cost OSU a penny.

“We’re going to announce five Grammy Award-winning acts that are gonna be concert style at intermissions, pregame, postgame sort of thing, as well,” Mann said. “… Additionally to add to that, the university is putting no money towards this, not that they didn’t want to. Obviously, funding for anything today in the university world is difficult, so our student committee has actually worked with sponsors, corporate, donors, great supporters of the program, and they helped put all the money together. So, it’s all been done by the group.”

There’s no denying OSU Hockey is on the rise.

It’s a club team, but it’s well funded. Mann noted that their budget is multimillion dollars.

The Cowboys play in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, making the ACHA Division 2 national final last school year. OSU is off to a 6-1 start this season, beating the OU team it’ll play in Boone Pickens Stadium 11-3 to start the year.

The program has eyes on joining the NCAA Division-I ranks, but Mann said for now, the Cowboys are focused on pulling off this event and bringing more awareness of the sport to the university.

“We have a lot of goals,” Mann said. “As a team or any organization or any university growing something, you want to get to a pinnacle point, but as of today we are really, really focused on developing this outdoor game, having this be a success, going out and winning a national championship in the division that we play in, bringing more awareness to the university on the sport, getting people hooked. I think one thing about this sport, people get hooked very quickly if you look at the stats of fandom around the country. And obviously where that takes us, we’ll discuss that down the road.”

STILLWATER — At this point, Eric Morris has about a decade worth of data proving he is an elite FBS play-caller, so now imagine going up to the line and changing one of the plays he called.

Drew Mestemaker has found himself in that position of late, with Morris granting his quarterback more freedom within the Cowboys’ offense.

It’s worked in more than a few instances, with Morris noting Mestemaker threw a pair of touchdowns on plays he changed at the line against Murray State, and Mestemaker himself noting that coming out of the half against West Virginia, he made a check at the line to throw to Chris Barnes for a 52-yard gain.

Mestemaker said at North Texas last year, he was awarded the freedom to make checks, but he was a little uneasy about it at first, saying he’d often just check one route and hoped it worked.

“I feel like this offseason, he’s really just let me go up to the line and give me free reign, honestly, of what I want to do,” Mestemaker said last week. “At first, there was the kind of stress of, ‘Alright, if I check this, I need to make it work because I’m going away from his play.’ But at this point, I feel like me and Coach Morris have the relationship where if it doesn’t work, I can go to the sideline and say, ‘Coach, I’m sorry. I thought it was gonna work.’ And he’ll be like, ‘Alright, it’s all good.'”

Morris has been an FBS offensive coordinator or play-calling head coach for nine seasons before this year. Of those nine seasons, his offenses have finished in the Top 10 in total offense on seven occasions. On four instances, he’s had a Top 5 offense, and he had the nation’s best offense in two seasons (2025 at UNT and 2016 at Texas Tech).

That’s why there might be some hesitation in changing his plays because most of the time, they work. But Morris has often noted how bright his current quarterback is and how quickly he can process information.

Morris pointed to Mestemaker’s outing in Morgantown as an example of why he trusts his quarterback so much.

West Virginia showed a three-high safety look it hadn’t employed much to that point, but Mestemaker stayed patient and let running back Caleb Hawkins feast until those safeties started to roll down.

Then in the second half — starting with that check to Barnes — Mestemaker threw for 274 of his 389 yards, as the Cowboys ran away from the Mountaineers.

“I think over time, you build the trust in people to be able to go out there and execute,” Morris said Tuesday. “I think he has the best vision to see what’s going on in front of him, right? And I think, at this point in his career, he’s seen all the different disguises. …

“I think that just showed another step in his maturity, the patience that he had during the course of that game. He’s somebody that’s earned that trust over the course of time.”

But with a play-caller as heralded as Morris, Mestemaker knows that if he makes a change, he better at least have a reason for it.

“Today in practice, we had some play call against our defense, and I changed it and it worked, and he was like, ‘Why’d you change it?'” Mestemaker recalled. “And I was like, ‘Well, they were in man. It’s not the man that I thought they were gonna run, but it worked anyways.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, it’s good with me.’

“I think as long as I communicate what I saw, and I’m not just checking it for no reason, he’s good with it.”

STILLWATER — It’s not very often a college coach gets to add a free agent midstream, but that happened when the Cowboys picked up Braylin Presley within the past week.

Presley received a court order granting him an extra year of eligibility as part of the 2022 recruiting class.

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris was asked about Presley on Tuesday. The Cowboys’ coach noted he isn’t a fan of all the moving parts of a roster in the modern era, but as many who wear orange are, he’s a fan of the Presley family.

“He’s a guy that obviously I think really comfortable with his family,” Morris said. “Not for sure, still working through all the eligibility pieces what that looks like on if he’s going to be ready to go when that is. But a guy that’s been here, has been at Tulsa … just a great family and a great kid that we knew what we were getting, right?”

Based on that quote, it doesn’t seem totally clear that Presley is out of the eligibility woods quite yet. He has, though, been added to OSU’s official roster as a 5-foot-6, 170-pound wide receiver who will wear No. 83.

It’s been a rollercoaster for that 2022 recruiting class as to whether they’d be eligible or not — so much so that it’s dragged into the season.

Take quarterback Thomas Castellanos, for example. Shortly before the season started, Castellanos was ruled eligible and joined Texas Tech. Then last week, after he’d already taken part in four games with the Red Raiders, Castellanos was ruled ineligible after another court ruling.

What that means for Presley at OSU could be anyone’s guess at this point.

After starting his career at OSU as a freshman in 2022, Presley transferred to Tulsa, playing in 35 games across three seasons. In his time with the Golden Hurricane, Presley had 336 receiving yards, 215 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns.

Presley was a dynamo of Bixby High School before his college career. He was a four-star recruit in his recruiting class and was a walking highlight reel in all of the Spartans’ games.

With all that said, it’s not going to be easy for Presley to enter halfway through a season and start producing for a team that’s already played four games.

“So we’ll see kind of when we can fit him in, where we can fit him in,” Morris said. “Obviously, extremely hard, and really unfair to the kid, right in the middle of the season bringing him in. You’re throwing him in trying to learn all this new verbiage when everybody’s been doing it for 10 or 11 months now. But was comfortable mainly because of how high of character his family is.”

He joins his younger brother Braeden Presley on OSU’s roster. Braeden is a true freshman safety. Then their older brother Brennan Presley played at OSU from 2020 through 2024. Brennan is the Cowboys’ all-time leader in receptions with 315 and finished his college career with 3,315 receiving yards.

STILLWATER — It’s common for players to return from injury following a bye week, but on Saturday offensive lineman Braydon Nelson will finally make his Oklahoma State debut. And this isn’t just a nice add for the Cowboys.

Nelson could very well prove to be a missing piece for the offense, considering coach Eric Morris described him as a “key contributor” the Cowboys needed to get healthy since the spring scrimmage and has repeatedly given progress reports on Nelson’s recovery throughout the last several weeks.

“Braydon is someone I’ve got a ton of trust in,” Morris said on Tuesday. “He’s a kid that kind of got thrown in the fire as a true freshman for us at North Texas. He started a ton of games. I don’t even know what that number is up to now, but he was having a great spring.”

Nelson started all 14 games for the Mean Green last season, with 12 coming at left tackle and two at right tackle. He also started 11 games for Morris during 2024 when he nearly evenly split time between right guard and left tackle.

On Tuesday, he was listed as a potential co-starter at both tackle positions alongside Shaun Torgeson and Ashton Lepo, suggesting that any combination of the three of them could see the field against UCF on Saturday. The Cowboys’ head coach seemed to shoot down the idea that Nelson would start over either guy this weekend.

“Working him back into things, obviously feel really comfortable,” Morris said. “I think you’ll see all three of those tackles during the course of this game. None of those tackles, Torgeson or Lepo, has done anything for us to take them out of the game right now, right, and so those are the guys that you’ll see we start the game with.”

The more Morris spoke on Saturday, the more it sounded like the coaching staff plans to use this game as something of an audition to see where Nelson fits best.

“Have a ton of confidence in Braydon playing inside, playing some guard,” Morris said. “He’s done that for us. Super smart. One of the smartest kids we have up front on the offensive line. You’ll see Braydon in this game in some capacity.”

It sounds like the entire offensive line could shuffle a bit, likely with the exception of center Tyler Mercer.

Here’s where the other five guys, including Nelson, have lined up in their careers:

?? Braydon Nelson: 1,836 snaps played (1,190 LT, 468 RG, 173 RT)
LT Shaun Torgeon: 1,248 snaps played (1,013 LT, 48 RT, 7 C)
LG Johnny Dickson: 1,721 snaps played (1,273 RG, 341 LG, 105 C)
RG Joseph Hanson: 1,275 snaps played (920 RT, 192 RG, 161 LT)
RT Ashton Lepo: 1,212 snaps played (1,117 RT, 94 LT)

Among the four who have seen the field already this season, Hanson appears to be the safest at first glance. His overall PFF score of 75.1 leads the other three by at least eight points. He’s the top run-blocker by nearly 8.5 points and is the best pass-blocker by more than 4.5 points.

Torgeson and Lepo grade out the worst from a pass-blocking perspective, with Lepo holding a slight edge there but losing to Torgeson as a run blocker by nearly the same amount. However, according to PFF, it’s Torgeson who leads OSU with 10 pressures allowed this season, though Lepo has given up two sacks, according to PFF.

When asked how those two and Nelson have handled shuffling along the line recently, Hanson said all three were handling the situation with maturity. He then spoke about the difficulties of changing sides from left to right or vice versa on the offensive line.

“Shoot, a big tackle in the NFL went from right to left and he had like a mental breakdown there,” Hanson said. “I don’t want to say that is how it always is, but it is just you understand it is on the opposite side, but it is almost like a different mentality there because everything is flipped. And you just got to understand that it is going to take a couple days for you to get back into it, but it is always doable.”

On Nelson specifically, Hanson said he’s been a resource for the younger players on the team even when he wasn’t able to participate himself.

“It’s always good,” Hanson said of adding Nelson. “Just getting more experience on the line. I know he’s a younger guy, but he’s been playing the past two years (in this offense), I believe, and he’s just a great player. Excited for him to come back.”

For running back Caleb Hawkins, picking a spot behind Nelson’s blocks won’t be anything new. It’s safe to say the OSU running back is eager to celebrate his former UNT teammate’s return to the field this weekend.

“Obviously, knowing him, I just feel that he’s going to go out there and show exactly what I know he’s going to do,” Hawkins said. “And that is absolutely kill it every play and give everything he has.”

STILLWATER — The Cowboys’ bye week came with some off-the-field drama among the higher ups in Oklahoma State’s administration.

It started popping off when Tulsa World columnist Berry Tramel put out a column noting that it appeared Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg’s future with the program was still up in the air after a tumultuous two years.

Many have deemed it a power struggle, that started somewhere around that 2024 Board of Regents meeting that resulted in then-coach Mike Gundy getting his contract reworked following a rough stretch of football and Gundy saying that, “In most cases, the people that are negative and voicing their opinion are the same ones that can’t pay their own bills.”

Gundy was then fired three games into the 2025 season after a 1-2 start and a home loss to Tulsa.

Weiberg was, at one point, working without a contract before finally getting an extension signed, but yet, the rumblings of his job status continued.

During his weekly media availability on Tuesday, Morris was asked about his relationship with Weiberg, who hired Morris last year, and the ongoing drama.

“It’s been phenomenal,” Morris asid. “Super thankful, like I’ve said up here all the time — for him and Dr. (Jim) Hess for giving me this opportunity to go out here and lead this organization.

“Obviously super important for us to continue to build the momentum that we have right now. Obviously I tell my players all the time, you get momentum in sports, you want to keep it. And other people are gonna try to take it from you. I’m not a big social media guy. I don’t read stories. Like, I got so many problems I gotta fix on a day-to-day basis up here. So, I’ve had my weekly meetings with Chad, and he’s been great like always.”

The Cowboys certainly do have momentum, which makes the timing of all this feel rather odd.

Morris’ tenure didn’t get off to a flying start, as the Cowboys went east to Tulsa and laid an egg in a 24-10 loss. But since then, the Cowboys have proved to be a much better team, beating then-No. 6 Oregon 39-31, FCS Murray State 59-0 and West Virginia 41-24 in Morgantown.

The Cowboys host UCF at 11 a.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium.

According to Pokes Report’s Robert Allen, the former Oklahoma State coach will be a part of TNT’s coverage of Arizona at West Virginia this weekend.

It’s not the first time Gundy has been used in this type of capacity, as he’s led the Coaches Film Room on a few occasions during national title broadcasts. His most recent example of that came last season, where he was again excellent.

Gundy’s 21-year tenure as OSU’s coach came to an end last season when he was let go after a 1-2 start following a 3-9 2024 season.

Despite the struggles toward the end, Gundy is undeniably the most decorated coach in the school’s history. He had a 170-90 record in Stillwater and led the Cowboys on an 18-year bowl streak. Gundy’s teams won double-digit games in eight seasons, with his most prestigious being when his 2011 squad went 12-1, winning the Big 12 and beating Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl.

That was one of two Fiesta Bowls the Cowboys won under Gundy, as 10 years after his first time hoisting that trophy in Phoenix, Gundy did it again after a comeback win against Notre Dame.

Before he had the headset on, Gundy was the Cowboys’ quarterback from 1986 to 1989. He finished his career with 8,473 yards (fourth in program history) and 57 passing touchdowns (fifth in program history).

The Cowboys were on a bye, but future Cowboys were on the gridiron this weekend.

Here’s a look at how Oklahoma State’s dozen high school commits fared this past weekend, with stats and highlights provided when available.

Carson White / QB / Hightower (4-2) / Texas

Height: 6-2
Weight: 205
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 467

The Hurricanes continued their hot streak with a 41-6 win against Fort Bend-Bush.

Carson White threw for 100 yards on 16 attempts while running for another 118 and a touchdown on a dozen carries.

Through six games as a senior, White has 817 pass yards, 640 rush yards and has been responsible for 14 total touchdowns.

Hightower hosts Fort Bend-Clements (3-3) this week.

Ake O’Neal / WR / Argyle (5-1) / Texas

Height: 6-3
Weight: 195
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,494

The high-flying Argyle Eagles were dominant on offense again, beating Eagle Mountain 56-21.

O’Neal caught a pair of passes for 39 yards in the game. He’s up to 24 receptions for 334 yards and four touchdowns in his junior season. Those are good numbers, especially considering he’s playing alongside four-star receiver Julian Caldwell (Texas Tech commit), who has caught 34 passes for 735 yards and 14 touchdowns to this point.

Argyle hosts Lovejoy (6-0) this weekend.

Cooper Hooker / WR / Pryor (4-1) / Oklahoma

Height: 5-9
Weight: 165
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,055

Pryor won in shootout fashion this weekend, besting Tahlequah 59-48.

Pryor was down 42-28 at halftime before the defense locked it down in the second, and the Tigers came back to win. Hooker scored the touchdown that brought Pryor within 42-40 and was making plays all night outside of that.

Pryor hosts Bishop McGuinness (4-1) this week.

Bryson Brown / DB / Broken Arrow (5-0) / Oklahoma

Height: 6-1
Weight: 190
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,126

The Tigers remained unbeaten with a 44-7 win against Edmond Memorial.

Brown was credited with four tackles and a pass breakup in the game. He released a highlight reel from his first five weeks this weekend, as well.

Broken Arrow travels to Westmoore (1-4) this weekend.

Jake Baker / OL / Ensworth (4-3) / Tennessee

Height: 6-6
Weight: 295
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,581

Ensworth got back above .500 by beating Knoxville Catholic 20-14.

Baker released an updated highlight reel on Monday.

Ensworth hosts Christ Presbyterian Academy (0-7) this week.

Talan Scott / TE / ALA-Queen Creek (1-5) / Arizona

Height: 6-4
Weight: 225
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,285

ALA-Queen Creek fell in a tight one to Corona del Sol 35-28.

Scott caught four passes for 29 yards in the game. He’s up to 27 receptions for 225 yards and two touchdowns in his senior season.

The Patriots have a bye this week.

Israel Hammons / LB / Choctaw (4-2) / Oklahoma

Height: 6-3
Weight: 230
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 172

Choctaw extended its win streak to four as it put a hurting on Putnam City West, with the Yellowjackets winning 72-0.

Choctaw travels to Piedmont (3-2) this weekend.

Sonny Mullen / OL / Troy (5-0) / Texas

Height: 6-7
Weight: 285
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,261

Sunny Mullen’s squad remained unbeaten with a 54-28 win against Caldwell.

Mullen was credited with a quartet of pancakes in the win.

Troy hosts Little River Academy (3-2) this week.

TJ Lewis / RB / Bolingbrook (6-1) / Illinois

Height: 6-0
Weight: 225
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,087

TJ Lewis and Bolingbrook just keep winning. The Raiders picked up their sixth win in a row by beating Joliet Central 42-0.

Bolingbrook hosts Plainfield North (6-1) this week.

Odaefe Oruru / OL / Jenks (3-2) / Oklahoma

Height: 6-6
Weight: 310
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 486

Jenks has won two in a row now after beating Owasso 20-17.

The Trojans travel to Deer Creek (3-2) this week.

Chayce Davis / DB / Trinity (3-2) / Texas

Height: 6-0
Weight: 173
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 550

The Trinity Trojans made it two wins in a row when they took out South Grand Prairie 24-17.

Davis and Co. will host MacArthur (3-2) this week.

Jayden Vessell / EDGE / Baton Rouge Catholic (2-3) / Louisiana

Height: 6-2
Weight: 230
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,286

Jayden Vessell’s Catholic Bears got back in the win column with a 37-14 victory against Madison-Ridgeland Academy.

The Bears host Liberty Magnet (0-5) this week.

Nelson started all of North Texas’ games at tackle last season but hasn’t played at Oklahoma State yet after suffering a preseason injury.

Nelson is listed at both tackle spots, sharing an OR with Ashton Lepo and Shaun Torgeson, who have been starting at tackle for the Cowboys.

Here’s the depth chart in full.

Quarterback

QB1: Drew Mestemaker (R-So., 6-3, 215, North Texas)
QB2: Grant Jordan (R-Sr., 6-2, 217, UMass) OR Brodie Vehrs (Fr., 5-11, 205)

Running Back

RB1: Caleb Hawkins (So., 6-0, 219, North Texas)
RB2: Tre Page (R-So., 5-8, 184, Tarleton State) OR Ayo Adeyi (R-Sr., 5-7, 194 , James Madison)

Wide Receiver

Z1: Chris Barnes (R-So., 5-7, 169, Wake Forest)
Z2: Terrence Lewis (So., 5-11, 170, North Texas)

X1: Justin Bowick (R-Sr., 6-5, 209, Illinois)
X2: Rodney Harris II (R-Sr., 6-1, 207, Ohio)

Y1: Miles Coleman (Jr., 5-6, 158, North Texas) OR Wyatt Young (Jr., 6-0, 199, North Texas)

Tight End

TE1: Carson Kolb (R-So., 6-4, 243, Oregon State) OR Morgan McPhaul (R-Sr., 6-2, 265, VMI)

TE2: Bodie Boydstun (R-Jr., 6-5, 239, SWOSU) OR Donovan Green (R-Sr., 6-3, 238, LSU) OR Oscar Hammond (R-Sr., 6-3, 243, returner)

Offensive Line

LT1: Ashton Lepo (R-Sr., 6-7, 320, Michigan State) OR Braydon Nelson (Jr., 6-4, 327, North Texas) OR Shaun Torgeson (R-So., 6-4, 302, Portland State)

LG1: Johnny Dickson III (R-Sr., 6-2, 317, North Texas) OR Desmond Magiya (R-Jr., 6-4, 333, North Texas)

C1: Tyler Mercer (R-So., 6-4, 300, Kansas)
C2: Louie Canepa (R-Sr., 6-3, 299, returner)

RG1: Joseph Hanson (Sr., 6-4, 302, Coastal Carolina)
RG2: Jakobe Sanders (R-Jr. 6-2, 327, returner)

RT1:Ashton Lepo (R-Sr., 6-7, 320, Michigan State) OR Braydon Nelson (Jr., 6-4, 327, North Texas) OR Shaun Torgeson (R-So., 6-4, 302, Portland State)

Defensive End

END1: Jaleel Johnson (R-Sr., 6-4, 270, returner)
END2: Malik Charles (R-Sr., 6-3, 284, returner) OR Keviyan Huddleston (R-Jr., 6-4, 269, North Texas)

RUSH1: James Williams (R-Sr., 6-5, 256, Florida State)
RUSH2: DeSean Brown (R-Sr., 6-2, 266, returner) OR DJ Jackson (Sr., 6-4, 243, Troy) OR Billy Walton III (R-So., 6-3, 253, SMU)

Defensive Tackle

NT1: Jerry Lawson (Sr., 6-1, 312, Louisville) 
NT2: Saadiq Clements (R-Jr., 6-4, 310, North Texas) OR Luke Webb (R-So., 6-3, 311, returner)

DT1: Iman Oates (R-Sr., 6-3, 317, returner) OR Braylon Rigsby (R-Jr., 6-3, 283, Texas Tech)
DT2: Landon Dean (R-Sr., 6-5, 290, returner) OR Enai White (R-Sr., 6-5, 300, Penn State)

Linebacker

SAM1: Ethan Wesloski (R-Sr., 6-1, 234, North Texas)
SAM2: Trip White (R-Sr., 6-3, 234, returner)

MIKE1: Tate Romney (R-Sr., 6-1, 223, Arizona State)
MIKE2: Taurean Davis (Jr., 6-1, 231, Miss. Gulf Coast)

WILL1: Isaiah Chisom (R-Jr., 6-0, 234, UCLA)
WILL2: Gunnar Wilson (R-So., 6-2, 217, returner)

Cornerback

CB: LaDainian Fields (R-So., 6-1, 176, returner) OR Kobi Foreman (So., 5-10, 175, returner)

CB: Trudell Berry (6-1, 196, Vanderbilt) OR R-Sr., Mo Horn (R-Sr., 5-11, 183, Texas Tech) OR Kollin Lewis (R-Jr., 5-10, 188, North Texas)

Safety

BS1: Mose Phillips III (Sr., 6-2, 196, Missouri)
BS2: Evan Jackson (Sr., 5-11, 188, North Texas)

FS1: Quinton Hammonds (Jr., 6-1, 206, North Texas)
FS2: Markeith Williams (R-Sr., 6-2, 175, Miami)

N1: Christian Bodnar (R-Jr., 6-0, 188, Liberty)
N2: Cameron Epps (R-Sr., 6-2, 207, returner) OR Vincent Holmes (R-Jr., 6-2, 175, Washington)

Kicker

K1: Sam Keltner (R-So., 5-10, 185, SMU)
K2: Joseph Kim (R-Jr., 5-9, 196, UCO)

Punter

P1: Lachie Pozzobon (So., 6-4, 182, Stephen F. Austin)
P2: Nate Ost (R-Sr., 6-2, 198, Robert Morris)

Kickoff

KO1: Joseph Kim (R-Jr., 5-9, 196, UCO)
KO2: Sam Keltner (R-So., 5-10, 185, SMU)

Long Snapper

LS1: Caden Yates (R-Jr., 6-1, 223, North Texas)
LS2: Nolan Akins (R-Fr., 6-1, 198, SMU)

Holder

H1: Nate Ost (R-Sr., 6-2, 198, Robert Morris) OR Lachie Pozzobon (So., 6-4, 182, Stephen F. Austin)

Kick Return

KR1: Chris Barnes (R-So., 5-7, 169, Wake Forest)
KR2: Miles Coleman (Jr., 5-6, 158, North Texas)

Punt Return

PR1: Miles Coleman (Jr., 5-6, 158, North Texas)
PR2: Bobby Deal Jr. (R-Jr., 6-1, 190, Coffeyville CC)

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Oklahoma State on Tuesday announced that Oklahoma State will host Oklahoma for a hockey game at 6 p.m. Jan. 30. The rink will be in place in the days leading up to the event for the public to skate in. More details on that to come as it gets closer.

“This is a historic event that reflects the remarkable growth of Cowboy Hockey in recent years,” OSU Athletic Director Chad Weiberg said. “Our students, alumni, fans, community and state will be able to see on full display the bold innovation of OSU Hockey and watch Bedlam in Boone Pickens Stadium.”

Hockey is currently a club sport at OSU. The Cowboys are 6-1 this school year, which includes an 11-3 win against OU in Tulsa on Sept. 3.

Last school year, the two state school clubs met at the BOK Center in Tulsa, where more than 15,000 tickets were sold. OSU won that game 13-2 and went on to play in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Men’s Division 2 national title game.

This won’t be the first time college hockey has made it in a football stadium. Michigan and Michigan State played at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor in front of 104,713. Earlier this year, Michigan State and Penn State played at Beaver Stadium in State College in front of 74,575.

“Playing hockey in Boone Pickens Stadium is something you don’t get to do twice,” OSU captain Kaden Nelson said in the release. “There’s going to be a lot of noise that night. A lot of people are going to come to see something they’ve never seen before. We’re coming to give them something they won’t forget. There have been a lot of sacrifices and dedication for this moment. We’re there to make a statement.”

• Bedlam on ice at Boone Pickens Stadium in January (X)

• Super interesting thought – the timing of Mike Gundy’s firing led perfectly to Eric Morris’ hiring.

If Gundy had been fired in December 2024 instead of September 2025, Eric Morris today is not the OSU head football coach.

At North Texas, Morris’ 2023 Mean Green team was 5-7. His 2024 Mean Green was 6-7.

Morris was the same coach in 2023 and 2024 — with the same football acumen — that he is today in Stillwater, but through the 2024 season he didn’t yet have that signature season that says, “I’m one of those guys. I can win at a power-conference school.” [TulsaWorld]

• Three things UCF’s coach had to say about planning the Pokes (PFB)

• Drew Mestemaker is learning when to hold back and when to let it fly (TulsaWorld)

• RBU

#okstate backs have been making plays in the NFL

Jaylen Warren: 309 rush yards, 143 receiving yards Chuba Hubbard: 306 rush yards, 84 receiving yards, 2 TDs Ollie Gordon: 148 rush yards, 14 receiving yards, 2 TDs Justice Hill: 60 rush yards, 44 receiving yards, 188 return yards https://t.co/Tyd2vcI8NC — Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) October 5, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Loved this – how to talk to strangers

• Ten things to know about heaven (faith-based)

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news. 

OSU Bullets

• Pokes get prime TV spot and station for the game against Houston (PFB)

• Bedlam on ice at Boone Pickens Stadium in January (X)

• Super interesting thought – the timing of Mike Gundy’s firing led perfectly to Eric Morris’ hiring.

If Gundy had been fired in December 2024 instead of September 2025, Eric Morris today is not the OSU head football coach.

At North Texas, Morris’ 2023 Mean Green team was 5-7. His 2024 Mean Green was 6-7.

Morris was the same coach in 2023 and 2024 — with the same football acumen — that he is today in Stillwater, but through the 2024 season he didn’t yet have that signature season that says, “I’m one of those guys. I can win at a power-conference school.” [TulsaWorld]

• Three things UCF’s coach had to say about planning the Pokes (PFB)

• Drew Mestemaker is learning when to hold back and when to let it fly (TulsaWorld)

• RBU

#okstate backs have been making plays in the NFL

Jaylen Warren: 309 rush yards, 143 receiving yards Chuba Hubbard: 306 rush yards, 84 receiving yards, 2 TDs Ollie Gordon: 148 rush yards, 14 receiving yards, 2 TDs Justice Hill: 60 rush yards, 44 receiving yards, 188 return yards https://t.co/Tyd2vcI8NC — Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) October 5, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Loved this – how to talk to strangers

• Ten things to know about heaven (faith-based)

After the Cowboys went to Orlando in two of the past three seasons, the Knights are finally making the return trip.

Oklahoma State hosts UCF at 11 a.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. UCF coach Scott Frost met with reporters Monday to preview the game. Here are three things he said.

1. Barnett Sounds Doubtful

UCF brought in Alonza Barnett III from James Madison to be the Knights’ quarterback this season, but Barnett hasn’t played since UCF’s Week 2 loss to Pitt because of a hamstring injury.

It looks like the Knights will be without Barnett again in Stillwater.

“I don’t think it’ll happen this week,” Frost said. “We got a bye week coming up after this, and we gotta pour everything into this one. Hopefully that gives us time to get a lot of guys some more time to get healthy.”

FIU transfer Keyone Jenkins has been playing in Barnett’s place. Jenkins has completed 70% of his passes this season for 541 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. He has also ran for three scores.

2. On Mestemaker, OSU

It never takes too long in these press conferences for Drew Mestemaker to pop up.

“This guy’s a good player,” Frost said. “… Drew’s a special guy. He’s gonna be a draft pick. When you’re playing a guy like that, you really gotta be on your game.”

There was also quite a bit of talk about the migration of players from North Texas to Oklahoma State. Frost made note to credit OSU coach Eric Morris for finding that talent at North Texas in the first place.

As good as OSU has looked the past three games, there is still that wart of the loss to Tulsa. Frost was asked how he’s seen the Cowboys progress since that loss to the Golden Hurricane.

“Defensively, they’ve played pretty well all season,” Frost said. “… They didn’t score a lot of points in the first game, and then they’ve been lighting it up since. Usually it takes offense a little longer to get going, and with the guys they have, I’m not surprised that they got it turned up.”

3. On Getting Over the Hump

The Knights are 3-2, but both of their losses came on the road to team currently in the AP Top 25.

UCF lost to Pitt 12-7 on a woeful weather day in Pittsburgh, which was also the game the Knights lost Barnett. Then this past weekend, UCF found itself up 17-0 on Houston in the third quarter before the Cougars stormed back and won 27-17.

“We put ourselves in position to have a chance to win two games against really good opponents on the road,” Frost said. “We’re gonna play another one this week, and we gotta try to do the same thing and then find a way. I don’t think it’s anything about the mentality of the team. I think they showed up and played hard against Pitt on a tough day. I think we played really well for a considerable amount of time against Houston. We didn’t finish those. Had a chance to and didn’t.”

Between their two losses, the Knights beat Georgia State 44-30 and picked up a Big 12 win by beating TCU 21-13 in Orlando. Scott noted how the feel of a season can flip quickly — just ask OSU.

“This league is funny, you look at them and everybody kind of counted them out after getting beat by Tulsa, and all of a sudden they beat Oregon and look really good in every game since,” Frost said. “Sometimes it takes a while to catch your footing. I think across the board it’s hard to win on the road in this league, and I think everybody in the games I’ve watched has had an advantage and played a little better at home than they have on the road. We get another road opportunity this week.”

STILLWATER — It’s been two weeks since Oklahoma State’s Big Three dominated at West Virginia, but Big 12 defensive coordinators might still have nightmares over what’s coming down the track this season.

As of Monday, Oklahoma State’s offense features the No. 2 quarterback, No. 12 running back and No. 13 receiver based on passing, rushing and receiving yards per game this season.

Here’s a closer look at where those guys and other top-performing Cowboys rank through four games this season and where they could finish in OSU’s record books.

NOTE: All records mentioned are only based on season-long numbers instead of career totals, and all projections assume the current players hit the field for 13 games this season.

QB Drew Mestemaker

Through four games: 95-of-141 passing (67.4%) for 1,271 yards, 11 TDs and 5 INTs; 13 rushing attempts for 106 yards and 1 TD

National rank: 2nd total offense per game, 2nd passing yards per game, 21st passing TDs, 25th yards per attempt, 44th completion %

On Pace for: 309-of-458 passing for 4,131 yards, 36 TDs and 16 INTs; 345 rushing yards and 3 TDs

Mestemaker is making an early case that he’s the Cowboys’ best quarterback ever, and the numbers reflect that. Here’s a brief look at where he would land on OSU’s single-season list for a few key stats if he maintains this pace.

Passing TDs: 3rd, behind Bradon Weeden (2011) and Mason Rudolph (2017), who each threw 37

Completion %: 3rd, behind Weeden (2011) and Dru Brown (2019), but Brown only attempted 107 passes

Total offense per game: 3rd, behind Rudolph (2017) and Weeden (2011)

Passing yards: 4th, Weeden (twice) and Rudolph (2017)

Completions: 4th, Weeden (twice) and Rudolph (2017)

Attempts: 6th

Yards per attempt: 7th

​The biggest obstacle to Mestemaker’s spot on or near the podium for most of these stats could actually be his NFL future. Although it’s way too early to wonder if Mestemaker would play in a bowl game or not (his history suggests he would), if he decided to declare for the NFL Draft (also not a given), it’s hard to imagine him not locking down the best season by an OSU quarterback since 2017.

That’s a huge win for a program that has seen pretty subpar quarterback play in recent seasons.

RB Caleb Hawkins

Through four games: 83 carries for 441 yards (avg 5.3) and 2 TDs; 11 receptions for 43 yards

National rank: 12th in rushing yards per game, 21st in all-purpose yards per game

On Pace for: 270 carries for 1,433 yards and 7 TDs; 36 receptions for 140 yards

Hawkins’ yardage output this season puts him on pace to finish 26th all time as a Cowboy. That’s also just one yard shy of his total last season when he finished fifth in the nation. However, his yards per carry is almost a full yard behind what he did at UNT, but he’s on pace to carry the ball 39 extra times this season, which accounts for the nearly even numbers.

Morris thought Hawkins ran out of steam last year, so it’s a bit concerning to see his carry totals so high this early into the fall. On the bright side, Hawkins did score 25 rushing touchdowns last season, so it feels like he’s due to hit the end zone a lot more in the coming weeks.

WR Wyatt Young

Through four games: 22 receptions for 410 yards and 3 TDs

National rank: 13th in receiving yards per game, 33rd in yards per reception, 38th in receptions per game, 49th in total offense per game

On Pace for: 72 receptions for 1,333 receiving yards and 10 TDs

The hardest place to earn a spot in the OSU record books is on the ground, but OSU’s had plenty of all-timers line up at receiver as well.

Despite being second on the team in targets, Young is on pace to finish 9th in OSU’s record books averaging 18.6 yards per catch (most since 2017). That season-long yardage total would put him 10th all time, most since 2018, and 10 touchdowns would put him in a five-way tie for 10th

WR Justin Bowick

Through four games: 20 receptions for 344 yards and 4 TDs

National rank: 20th in receiving TDs, 26th in receiving yards per game

On Pace for: 65 receptions for 1,118 yards and 13 TDs

Bowick leads the team, averaging just over eight targets per game. Currently, his yardage totals put him on pace to finish 13th all-time, making this only the second time two Cowboys would top 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. The only other time came in 2017 when James Washington and Marcell Ateman both crossed the milestone.

Bowick is also on pace to finish seventh all-time in touchdown receptions, tying Washington’s 2017 season.

Young and Bowick rank 13th and 26th in receiving yards per game. Currently, only five other teams in the country boast two top-50 players in that stat. Florida Atlantic has two players ranked 14th and 24th, while Missouri has two guys ranked 12th and 30th.

Other duos play for: TCU (31st and 38th), Virginia Tech (39th and 40th) and Notre Dame (40th and 43rd).

LB Ethan Wesloski

Through four games: 36 total tackles, including 13 solo, 1 TFL and 1 sack

National rank: 22nd in tackles per game

On Pace for: 117 tackles (42 solo)

Wesloski was everywhere in Morgantown when he racked up a season-high 17 tackles in what was somewhat surprisingly his first double-digit performance of the season. Although it’s hard to imagine many more of those games, he only needs to boost his per-game average up by 1.5 tackles to finish inside the top 10.

K Sam Keltner

Through four games: 10-of-10 FGs with a long of 47

National rank: 1st in accuracy, 2nd in field goals per game

On Pace for: 33 FG attempts (seven over 40 yards)

Keltner is the only kicker in the country still perfect with at least 10 attempts. It’s hard to project perfection, but Oklahoma State’s most accurate kicking season (with at least 10 attempts) came in 2022 when Tanner Brown went 22-of-23 to hit 95.7% of his kicks.

Keltner’s pace would put him third behind only Alex Hale and Quinn Sharp, who attempted 34 field goals in 2023 and 2012, respectively. Sharp holds the record for made field goals in a single season with 28, while Hale splits second place with Dan Bailey (2010) after they each hit 27.

Keltner will almost certainly ink his name somewhere on all three all-time kicking lists, but he’s well-positioned to make a run at first on at least one of these.

No one has had more 100-yard rushers in NFL games this season than Oklahoma State.

There have been 17 100-yard rushing games in this young NFL season, coming from 13 different players. Three of those players spent their college years at Oklahoma State: Jaylen Warren, Ollie Gordon and Chuba Hubbard. Alabama (Jahmry Gibbs and Derrick Henry) and Georgia (James Cook and D’Andre Swift) are the only other schools with multiple 100-yard rushers.

There are a few caveats. Cook and Kyle Monangai (Rutgers) have hit the 100-yard mark already twice this year, while Kenneth Walker (Michigan State) has done so three times by himself. But in terms of having depth of NFL rushers, OSU is right there with any other college at the moment.

Going back to Walt Garrison in the 1960s, there has been a steady stream of Oklahoma State running backs playing in the NFL. But aside from when Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders were household names in the 1990s, I’m not sure there’s been a time where Cowboy running backs were as impactful as they are here in 2026.

There are four former Poke running backs regularly contributing to their NFL teams this season, with Justice Hill joining the three former Cowboys who have 100-yard games.

Gordon and Hubbard each had their 100-yard performance on Sunday.

It started with Gordon, whose workload increased when De’Von Achane went down with a torn ACL. In a loss to Minnesota, Gordon carried nine times for 100 yards and a touchdown. He broke of a 53-yard run, the longest of his young career.

53 yards for Ollie Gordon II

MIAvsMIN on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/AC6Jer243h

— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026

“It felt like it had been a minute since that (breaking a long run) had happened,” Gordon said after the game. “It was good. It was good. Just whenever the men up front, they handle their business like that, I feel like one of those things where we can get downhill and just run without thinking, honestly. That’s all it is out there, just running without thinking. I feel like our guys up front, they played a great game today. We just take this week and go back and build on it.”

Then in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football, Hubbard helped lead Carolina to a 32-26 win against the Lions. Hubbard carried 20 times for 122 yards and two scores.

Chuba Hubbard scores his fourth TD this season

https://t.co/lE7DNnQPld

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 5, 2026

“In the running back room, we talk about it all the time, breaking tackles, making guys miss, especially at the second level,” Hubbard said after Sunday’s game. “We’ll just continue to do that. It wasn’t a perfect game. Still a lot of stuff we gotta fix, but appreciate coach for believing in us and letting us run the rock.”

Warren has been a bright spot in the Steelers’ offense to this point. In Week 3, Warren powered Pittsburgh to a 30-27 win against the Bengals when he rushed for 127 yards and had 49 receiving yards. Then in a losing effort in Cleveland this week, Warren ran for 93 yards and had 33 receiving yards.

Warren has more than double the yards from scrimmage as any other Steeler, having 452 to D.K. Metcalf’s 213.

Although Hill hasn’t ever truly been the Ravens’ featured back, he’s proven to be a valuable piece to their offense, as Baltimore has kept him around since drafting him in 2019. Hill ranks sixth among Ravens in yards from scrimmage this season, trailing heavy hitters Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews and Lamar Jackson.

This quartet might not have the star power of the Sanders-Thomas Era, but the depth of this era of Cowboy rushers is cool to see.

The Big 12 on Monday released its kick times for Week 7, revealing that Oklahoma State’s game in Houston will start at 6:30 p.m. on FOX. Here’s the full schedule for that week (times are Central):

Cincinnati at West Virginia — 11 a.m. Saturday on TNT
Kansas at Kansas State 11 a.m. Saturday on FS1
Arizona State at Texas Tech — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX
TCU at Baylor — 6 p.m. Saturday on FS1
Oklahoma State at Houston — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX
Notre Dame at BYU — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
Utah at Colorado — 9:15 p.m. Saturday on ESPN or ESPN2

This’ll be the Cowboys’ third primetime game of the season, most recently going to Morgantown and beating West Virginia 41-24. The Cowboys also thumped Murray State 59-0 on Sept. 19.

It’ll also be the Cougars’ third evening kick of the year and second on FOX. Houston throttled Southern 77-6 on Sept. 12 before losing to Texas Tech 28-26 (on a Friday) on FOX.

Houston travels to Kansas State this weekend. The Cougars are 4-1 this season after beating UCF 27-17 this past weekend.

The Cowboys will host those Knights this weekend while coming off a bye.

The Cougars boast a high-powered attack. They average 41 points a game, which is second in the Big 12 behind only Utah. Houston’s 483.2 yards a game sits fourth in the league, a stat OSU (548.3) leads the Big 12 in by some margin.

In five games, Houston QB Conner Weigman has thrown for 1,186 yards, 11 touchdowns and only one interception. That yardage total ranks fourth in the league, a spot behind OSU’s Drew Mestemaker. In four games, Mestemaker has thrown for 1,271 yards, 11 touchdowns and five picks.

Oklahoma State will come out of its bye week by hosting Central Florida. The Cowboys are 3-1 but have won their last three games, starting with a home upset win over then-No. 6 Oregon and went into their off week with a road win over West Virginia. The Knights are 3-2 after falling 27-17 on the road to No. 22 Houston. UCF has yet to win a road game.

As stated, this is just the third meeting between the Cowboys and the Knights, but the Cowboys have never hosted. Let’s see what we can take from the teams’ two previous matchups in Orlando.

Capsule

Overall record: UCF leads 2-0
Neutral site meetings: N/A
Meetings in Stillwater: N/A
Meetings in Orlando: UCF leads 2-0
Past 10 meetings: UCF leads 2-0
First meeting (2023): UCF defeated OSU 45-3
Most recent meeting (2025): UCF defeated OSU 17-14

The two results might seem counterintuitive on the surface. The Cowboys got bludgeoned by the Knights during an otherwise up year in 2023 but came pretty close last season on their way to going winless against the FBS. Guess that’s the problem with a small sample size.

In 2023, the Cowboys were making their final brilliant surge under Mike Gundy. After laying an egg at home to South Alabama, the Cowboys dropped one on the road to Iowa State to start 2-2. But then they clicked in, winning five-straight including home wins over three ranked teams: No. 18 Kansas State, No. 23 Kansas and then finally No. 15 Oklahoma.

We wondered if the Cowboys would view Orlando more as a vacation than a road game, still gluttonously hungover from winning the final edition of Bedlam. Whether or not that counts as an excuse, the Pokes were near no-shows in the Space Game at UCF. The Knights blew their doors off 45-3, holding Ollie Gordon to just 25 yards on 12 carries. That was a season-low 2.1 yards per attempt. In a monsoon, Alan Bowman also logged his worst game of the year, completing just 53% of his passes for 225 yards, zero TDs and three interceptions.

The Cowboys would bounce back with wins at Houston and against BYU and still made a Big 12 title game. They got thumped pretty hard by Texas but took it out on the Longhorns’ rivals, Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl, a final bright spot under Gundy.

Two years later, the Cowboys were outscored by an average of 19.2 points per game. If you removed their one win over FCS opponent UT-Martin, Oklahoma State got outscored by 250 points, and average deficit of 25. But the Knights let them get the closest.

OSU showed up in Orlando this time on the opposite of a high. The Pokes were on a nine-game skid led by lame-duck head coach, and it was basically all about the moral victories. This wasn’t one, but it was close. But they came out hot.

Zane Flores turned in one of his just two games as a Cowboy with multiple TDs. He threw for one in the first quarter and rushed for one in the second. Meanwhile, Flores’ counterpart, UCF quarterback Tayven Jackson threw two interceptions in the first half. The Cowboys rolled into halftime up 14-0.

But Jackson got the last laugh, throwing TDs in the third and fourth quarters before Flores threw a pick deep in his own territory with 57 seconds to go. That allowed UCF to seal it with a 34-yard field goal.

Back with the weekly Top 25 🤝 https://t.co/JSbTo2qefG

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 4, 2026

• See what happened around the Big 12 while OSU rested (and recruited) (PFB + GoPokes 247)

• Ollie Gordon had a career day for the Miami Dolphins – and Chuba Hubbard was dominant in a SNF win (PFB + USA Today)

• CBS Sports has the Pokes in the Independence Bowl against Tulane

• Fun nugget – Brennan Presley’s younger brother (Braylin) is back with the Cowboys (PFB)

• Cowboy Hockey completed a sweep of Lindenwood with a 7-6 win on Saturday (X)

• Worthwhile use of 6 minutes and 27 seconds.

It’s Bye week, kickback and watch Oklahoma State beat Oregon in football.

You deserve this. https://t.co/HbrCoQ1JK9 — OKSTProbs (@OKSTProbs) October 3, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• USMNT looked solid in 3-0 win over Mexico with youngsters 

Pretty impressive stuff from the Crimson.

Hail Mary lateral for the win 😱 https://t.co/i65KuR8fzU

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 4, 2026

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news. 

OSU Bullets

• Pokes climbed a spot in the AP Poll during the bye week – still not in the Coaches Poll (PFB + CBS Sports)

Back with the weekly Top 25 🤝 https://t.co/JSbTo2qefG

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 4, 2026

• See what happened around the Big 12 while OSU rested (and recruited) (PFB + GoPokes 247)

• Ollie Gordon had a career day for the Miami Dolphins – and Chuba Hubbard was dominant in a SNF win (PFB + USA Today)

• CBS Sports has the Pokes in the Independence Bowl against Tulane

• Fun nugget – Brennan Presley’s younger brother (Braylin) is back with the Cowboys (PFB)

• Cowboy Hockey completed a sweep of Lindenwood with a 7-6 win on Saturday (X)

• Worthwhile use of 6 minutes and 27 seconds.

It’s Bye week, kickback and watch Oklahoma State beat Oregon in football.

You deserve this. https://t.co/HbrCoQ1JK9 — OKSTProbs (@OKSTProbs) October 3, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• USMNT looked solid in 3-0 win over Mexico with youngsters 

Pretty impressive stuff from the Crimson.

Hail Mary lateral for the win 😱 https://t.co/i65KuR8fzU

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 4, 2026

Braylin Presley has rejoined the Cowboys, according to a report by Ben Hutchens of The Oklahoman. The wide receiver/running back started his career at Oklahoma State in 2022 before transferring to Tulsa where he spent the last three seasons.

According to the report, his father Arthur Presley told The Oklahoman that Presley had enrolled on Wednesday and will practice with the Cowboys on Monday. This was made possible due to a court order that gave Presley and seven other in-state athletes a temporary restraining order to allow for an extra season of eligibility.

Presley appeared in seven games for the Cowboys as a freshman in 2022, catching five passes for 26 yards. He also rushed twice for three yards and returned one kick for 19 yards. He overlapped that one year with is older brother Brennan Presley, who played at OSU from 2020-24 and ended as the Cowboys’ all-time leader in receptions.

Following his freshman season, Presley transferred to Tulsa where he appeared in 35 games and caught 38 passes for 310 yards and touchdown. He also rushed for 261 yards and two scores and returned 11 kicks for the Golden Hurricane over three seasons.

The temporary restraining order came from Cleveland County Judge Thad Balkman in September and was part of the NCAA’s Five-for-Five Rule, which was approved this summer. All eight of those athletes were part of the 2022 high school graduating class, and it is being argued that they were excluded from the rule that allows student athletes to play five season from the time they graduate.

Braylin Presley joins his younger brother Braeden Presley, a true freshman safety for the Cowboys. The youngest Presley made one appearance so far, playing against Murray State without recording any stats. All three Presley brothers were stars for Bixby High School.

The former Oklahoma State running back and Doak Walker winner racked up 100 rushing yards on just nine carries as he tried to will his team to a first win. He couldn’t quite do it alone. The Dolphins, now 0-4, fell 15-10 to the 4-0 Vikings.

He got a big chunk of those yards on one run.

53 yards for Ollie Gordon II

MIAvsMIN on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/AC6Jer243h

— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026

This new career high game a week after Gordon’s season-high 41 yards in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. In that game he scored his first TD of the season. He got his second to kick things off in Minnesota.

.@Ollie_Gordon2 hops in for 6️⃣! 🕺

📺 @NFLonFOX https://t.co/aDc9uEgr7J

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) October 4, 2026

Gordon’s increase in handoffs came after Miami starting running back De’Von Achane went down last week with a season-ending ACL injury. It was assumed Gordon would play a bigger part still in this week’s game plan, but he seems to have leapfrogged RB Jaylen Wright. Wright technically got the start and took the first two handoffs, but it looked like Miami’s staff was intent on riding the hot hand.

Gordon ended up averaging 11.1 yards per carry. he ended up with nine carries, with five going to Wright and two each for Malik Willis and Malik Washington. Gordon also caught both passes thrown to him but for a net zero gained yards.

53 yards for Ollie Gordon II

MIAvsMIN on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/AC6Jer243h

— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026

The former Cowboy is coming off a rookie season in which he totaled 199 rushing yards and three touchdowns but on 70 attempts.

Next up, Gordon and the Dolphins return home to host the Cincinnati Bengals at 12 p.m. CST, Sunday Oct. 11.

The Cowboys were productive in their rest.

Oklahoma State is up one spot to No. 18 in the newly released AP Poll.

The Cowboys jumped USC (a team that beat Washington 25-21 in Los Angeles) and Iowa (a team that lost at home to Ohio State 31-14). Missouri leap frogged OSU, and a lot of others, after beating Florida 45-17.

Here is the poll in full:

So, the Cowboys are one of five ranked Big 12 teams, joining No. 8 BYU, No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 12 Utah and No. 22 Houston. Of those squads, OSU plays at Houston on Oct. 17 and hosts Texas Tech on Nov. 14. Arizona is also in the receiving votes category. The Cowboys also don’t play the Wildcats this season.

Oregon, OSU’s big Week 2 win, is up two spots to No. 13 while it’s been on a bye.

The Cowboys are still on the outside looking in on the Coaches Poll, sitting atop the receiving votes category. The poll features four Big 12 teams: No. 8 BYU, No. 9 Texas Tech, No. 12 Utah and No. 19 Houston. It has the Ducks at No. 13.

Jacobe Smith beat Bruce Whitehead via TKO in the first round of their bout at UFC 332.

THE SLAM AND THE FINISH

JACOBE SMITH STAYS UNDEFEATED

📺 #UFC332 on @paramountplus https://t.co/MM7FWxSlEG

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) October 3, 2026

The win moves Smith to 13-0 in his MMA career, which includes a 4-0 record in UFC fights. Only one of those UFC fights have made it to the second round. The other three were stopped in the first.

“This is incredible,” Smith told Joe Rogan in the octagon after Saturday’s fight. “I know I’m gifted. I know I got great opportunities, surrounded with my family, my team, Ranger MMA, DC’s fighting academy. They doing something special with me. Give me one month, and I will be ready for anybody in this division, word to mother. Let’s go.”

Out of Muskogee, Smith was a two-time junior college national champ at NEO before transferring to Oklahoma State.

He went 15-0 while redshirting in his first year as a Cowboy (2016-17) before winning Big 12 titles in his next two seasons.

Smith went 22-8 during the 2017-18 season, finishing eighth at the NCAA Tournament at 174 pounds. He then went 28-5 as a senior, finishing seventh at nationals.

He made his MMA debut in 2021 and has been on the steady climb up the ladder since.

There were some unexpected results and some of the league’s top dogs looked mortal in wins. Here’s a recap of the Big 12’s Week 5.

Bears Dominate in Tempe

If you got to bed a little early on the open Saturday, you might’ve missed the fact that Baylor went to Tempe and beat the heck out of the Sun Devils.

Baylor won 55-19.

It was 21-3 early in the second quarter, with the Bears scoring three touchdowns on their opening four possessions.

It was a ceiling game from Bear quarterback DJ Lagway, who threw for 306 yards, four touchdowns and no picks.

His go-to target was again Oklahoma State transfer Gavin Freeman, who caught seven balls for 115 yards. Freeman hurdled two players at once late in the first half. Probably would’ve been better to get out of bounds in this specific situation, but the highlight was sick regardless.

*whispers*

He did it again. 🤫

#SicEm | @TheGavinFreeman https://t.co/icM2EnnXHd

— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) October 4, 2026

Baylor finished with a season-high 564 yards of total offense while holding Arizona State to a combined 4-for-17 on third and fourth down.

Cyclones Beat West Virginia in a Shootout

West Virginia’s defense is officially suspect.

After getting ran off their homefield by the Cowboys last weekend, the Mountaineers went to Ames and lost in a 45-42 shootout.

It was the Aiden Flora show, as Iowa State’s running back carried 22 times for 212 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw two passes, both were touchdowns.

Surprise delivery 📦

Running back Aiden Flora finds Cody Jackson for a 46-yard TD after a lateral to put @CycloneFB ahead.

📺 TNT https://t.co/DFNLoBJ4fX

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 3, 2026

West Virginia took a 42-38 lead with 5:04 to play, but that was enough time for the Cyclones to put together a six-play, 74-yard game-winning drive that Flora capped with a 2-yard touchdown run.

The Mountaineers were making some headway on their return drive but fumbled.

It’s back to the drawing board for the Mountaineers, while the Cyclones are a much scrappier team than many (myself included) anticipated coming into the year.

Tech Beats Colorado, But It Wasn’t Super Clean

The Red Raiders remain undefeated, but after running roughshod over the league last season, it still just doesn’t look as if that’ll be the case this year.

In the end, Tech beat Colorado 29-7. That came with Colorado throwing four picks, one of which was a 0-yard pick-six.

John Curry* didn’t have to take that one back too far 🔥

📺 FOX https://t.co/OytCcQaoDC

— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) October 4, 2026

If you want to talk about an offense that stinks, look no further than the Buffs’, but it still hasn’t felt like the Red Raiders have clicked on that side of the ball yet.

Colorado actually led 7-3 at halftime before burying itself by throwing all four of those INTs in the final two quarters. Tech’s first lead in the game came with three minutes left in the third quarter.

Will Hammond finished 17-for-26 with 134 yards and a touchdown while the Red Raiders ran for another 181 and a score.

Going on the road and winning a Big 12 game by 22 points should always be commended, but there’s just been something missing with Tech this year.

Houston Wins Space Race

OSU’s next two opponents met in Houston on Saturday in a battle of two space-enthused cities, and Houston came out the winner. But it wasn’t super straightforward.

UCF was up 17-0 midway through the third quarter before Houston sat up like the Undertaker and rattled off 27 straight points.

Cougar quarterback Conner Weigman ran for all of Houston’s touchdowns, finishing with 239 passing yards, 50 rushing yards and the three scores.

A lot of the online discourse about this game had to do with the crowd (or lack thereof). It went from “Space Game” to “Look at all the Space Game.”

It’s ‘Space City’ 🆚 ‘Space U’ in H-Town‼️

🏟️ TDECU Stadium
🏠 #20 Houston
🆚 UCF

#GoCoogs https://t.co/0Y2ykKCH0v

— College Football Campus Tour (@cfbcampustour) October 3, 2026

OSU hosts UCF next week, but then the Pokes will be down in Houston. There’s a decent OSU alumni base in that area that showed up the last time OSU was there (2023). We’ll see if the Cougs can get more fans in the stands before then.

Full Week 4 Results

Texas Tech 29, Colorado 7
Iowa State 45, West Virginia 42
Houston 27, UCF 17
Baylor 55, Arizona State 19
BYU 17, TCU 10
Arizona 34, Cincinnati 7
Kansas 55, Middle Tennessee 0

Next Weekend’s Schedule

Big 12 Standings

OSU Bullets

• After a bye week, Eric Morris can’t wait for The Walk next weekend. [PFB]

• While OSU was off this week, let’s see what some former Cowboys were up to. [PFB]

• OSU’s staff is spending their off week on the recruiting trail. [SI.com]

• More offers handed out by OSU’s staff. [GoPokes]

• Bill Haisten on Eric Morris being a “person who knows how to fix this.” [Tulsa World/PAYWALL]

Non-OSU Bullets

• Needed this in my day.

The Japanese call of Munetaka Murakami’s homer is INCREDIBLE. 🎙️ (Via: @SPOTVNOW_JP) pic.twitter.com/AIXJsWtBPQ

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) October 3, 2026

• Oof

The most high school football play you’ll ever see pic.twitter.com/hZ2qfdrye9

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 3, 2026

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No one is enjoying the Cowboys’ current success more than Eric Morris.

After a disappointing Tulsa loss swept the leg on an offseason’s worth of hype, his team responded and rebounded in a big way. The Cowboys topped No. 6 Oregon at home and then ran it up on an FCS opponent like folks haven’t seen in Stillwater in years, before passing the next hurdle — a comeback conference win on the road. Now they’re earning plenty of fanfare from college football’s talking heads. But Morris is focused on those based in or connected with Payne County.

Following the Cowboys’ win in Morgantown, Morris said he was just happy to build some excitement around the program that’s been lethargic for the last couple of years.

“I’m really excited to see Boone Pickens Stadium for this next game,” Morris said. “The Walk’s been my favorite thing so far about being here. I’ve always heard about it, and I’ve seen pictures but the energy you feel in it has been incredible so I’m excited to be back in Boone Pickens.”

It’s a big tradition at OSU, a parade of players and staff making their way from the Student Union to Boone Pickens Stadium a couple hours before kickoff. A chance for fans to gather and greet in an up-close-and-personal way.

With two of the Cowboys’ first four games having been on the road, and an early bye week, Morris will hit mid-October on just his third time experiencing ‘”The Walk.” And he’s seen both extremes. On his first walk, the Cowboys were coming off that head-scratching loss at Tulsa and walking into what most fans (and sane football consumers) assumed would be a buzzsaw as they hosted a title contender in Oregon. The Pokes paid off the fans’ engagement with a program-shifting win. A week later, OSU fans were still buzzing from the upset and looking forward to a highlight factory against Murray State. The Cowboys paid that off as well.

But that’s just a microcosm for the two extremes OSU fans have experienced over the last three-plus years. During that span, they’ve experienced a 10-win season and a one-win season. A Big 12 title game appearance and a drought of conference wins that lasted 1,037 days.

When Morris was informed of the latest unfavorable streak his team had snapped, he just leaned in on his new home and with his players.

“Yeah, just extremely happy,” said Morris. “This is what I do for a living. I’m in the bunker with these guys. We’re up there all day every day, seven days a week, 10-12 hours a day spend way more time with these kids and people in our program so we’re kind of in this little bubble.

“But it’s been so cool for me even after the Oregon win just to watch our fans and celebrate and see the excitement and Cowboy nation come together. Brandon Weeden told me ‘Hey Coach, if you get this thing going, you’ll be surprised. Light a match underneath this thing and it’ll be incredible, like you’ve never seen,’ and so to see that and the people that care about this program so much, this university so much, just rewarding to see their faces after a win and smiling.

“Jaleel [Johnson] in the locker room after that made the announcement and the biggest smile ever on that kid’s face. I made him take a picture of it so hopefully we post that and so hopefully you’ll see how big a smile and how beautiful it was.”

Now, after a win at West Virginia and a bye week, the Loyal and Truthers should be even more fired up to see the Cowboys make the trek to BPS. Oklahoma State hosts UCF at 11 a.m. next Saturday, Oct. 1o.

Since it’s the bye week, I thought it’d be interesting to catch up on a few former Oklahoma State players. Here’s a look at five.

Gavin Freeman, Baylor

Gavin Freeman accounted for about 23% of OSU’s receiving production last season, and he’s already nearing his 2025 numbers four games into 2026.

Freeman landed at Baylor, where he has been a human highlight reel. He’s caught 35 passes for 364 yards and two touchdowns. That reception number leads the Big 12 by 11 catches entering Saturday.

He wasted no time whatsoever making an impact as a Bear. In Baylor’s first game of the season against Auburn, Freeman caught a dozen balls for 154 yards and a touchdown.

Freeman is still as fearless as ever, something he proved last weekend. He caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage and got a running start at a Colorado defender. He used said running start to jump up and over a Buffalo before bouncing off a few and gaining even more yards.

“America we have a new short king.” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/OxY27ImSL6

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 26, 2026

Freeman during OSU’s bye week: at Arizona State, 9:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Josh Ford, Alabama

Josh Ford got punched in the helmet and made a one-handed touchdown grab last week — just another day at the office.

The touchdown grab was actually Ford’s first catch of the young season. With a catch like this, I imagine Alabama will start looking his way a little bit more.

OMG. 😳 @JoshFord888

📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/0c9BdRMxwS

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) September 27, 2026

After that game, Ford noted that South Carolina edge rusher Dylan Stewart punched him on three occasions. It was part of an all-time crash out from Stewart, who has since been suspended.

And now Dylan Stewart throws a punch pic.twitter.com/vyBM5k0Pp2

— Brandon Walker College Football Show (@BFWshow) September 27, 2026

“He’s a great player,” Ford said. “We had a lot of fun today. I think he punched me three times, but it was awesome. Good battle.”

Ford during OSU’s bye week: at Mississippi State, 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC

Hauss Hejny, Colorado State

Hauss Hejny has already electrified as a Ram, but unfortunately he’s running into injury troubles again.

In three games at Colorado State, Hejny has thrown for 619 yards and 10 touchdowns to just one interception while running for another 128 yards and a score. Oh, and for good measure, he has a 28-yard reception.

How bout that QB touchdown?! https://t.co/mKuHmVUD8w pic.twitter.com/1goCTS54HE

— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) September 13, 2026

But in the midst of Colorado State’s 41-23 loss to BYU on Sept. 19, Hejny left with a hamstring injury and hasn’t played since. He was listed as questionable for Colorado State’s Pac-12 opener against Oregon State earlier this week but has since been downgraded to doubtful. It doesn’t look as if his year is done, at least.

Hejney during OSU’s bye week: vs. Oregon State, 5 p.m. Saturday on USA Network

Rodney Fields Jr., Kansas State

Rodney Fields Jr. seemingly entered a running back battle in his transfer to Kansas State, but through the Wildcats’ first four games, he’s simply been the better back.

Fields has carried a team-high 49 times, rushing for 274 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Avery Johnson leads the Wildcats in rushing yards, but Fields has the most behind him. Field’s rushing TDs lead his team, as well.

Rodney Fields can’t be stopped 😤 @KStateFB

📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/ZSL3WxmrkE

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 27, 2026

He has two 100-yard games already, going for 101 and a touchdown against Nicholls and 105 and a touchdown against Washington State.

Fields during OSU’s bye week: Bye

Wendell Gregory, Kansas State

But as we remember, Fields wasn’t the only player who went from Cowboy to Cat.

Edge rusher Wendell Gregory is the Wildcats’ fourth-leading tackler with 16 total takedowns this season. He’s leading K-State with 8.5 tackles for loss and is tied for a team lead with 2.5 sacks. The tackle for loss total leads the Big 12 by 2.5 tackles for loss.

Kansas State EDGE Wendell Gregory dominated week 2 vs Washington State

It’s hard to find guys that can turn the corner the way he can #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/KaHNkQIR8W

— Draft Capital Podcast (@TheDraftCapital) September 15, 2026

Gregory during OSU’s bye week: Bye

Three Thoughts

• What a therapeutic moment for UNT to beat Tulsa – and feel like they have something on the Pokes… Who have their coach and best players (PFB)

• It’s fun to see the Todd Monken-led Cleveland Browns winning football games (CBS Sports)

• The Chad Weiberg scrutiny feels so wild (to me, an outsider) – these two quotes really drive home the absurdity of it.  Carson and Colby talk more about it here on the PFB podcast.

Any minute now, sources indicate to the Tulsa World, there could be a leadership change.

It is said that 54-year-old Oklahoma State grad Chad Weiberg may not be the athletic director for much longer…

 

If Weiberg no longer is the athletic director and (Eric) Morris is unhappy about it, what an idiotic mistake it would be.

And it wouldn’t be an OSU President Jim Hess move. Board of Regents fingerprints would be all over such a situation.

[TulsaWorld]

Two Quotes

• Brandon Weeden made lots of OSU fans smile, he’d certainly know.

“Brandon Weeden told (Eric Morris), ‘Hey Coach if you get this thing going, you’ll be surprised. Light a match underneath this thing and it’ll be incredible, like you’ve never seen.’ And so to see that and the people that care about this program so much, this university so much, just rewarding to see their faces after a win and smiling.” [GoPokes 247]

• Old friend Gavin Freeman has been super reliable this season: 

Most Targets WITHOUT A Drop This Season:

1. Gavin Freeman, Baylor: 48
2. Collin Dixon, Illinois: 40
3. Malachi Toney, Miami: 37
4. Luke Reynolds, Virginia Tech: 36
5. Cayden Lee, Missouri: 34 pic.twitter.com/FkBAECWrEl

— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 2, 2026

One Question

• What’s your favorite – black out or stripe the stadium? 

Stripe the Stadium is back. 🟠⚫️🟠

Find your section and rep your color on October 10 vs UCF!

Get your official shirt: https://t.co/7i3FDByx6l pic.twitter.com/OeKj3RUAbJ

— Oklahoma State Athletics (@OSUAthletics) October 1, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Why Americans stopped throwing dinner parties • Per a FOIA request, four from the ACC are lobbying for rule changes in coming legislation (so they can leave the league)

“If you spend too much time thinking about the past, you miss out on what you have right now. Reflecting, learning, and moving on is a fruitful cycle. But replaying old mistakes and revisiting past injustices is a fast way to lose the opportunity of today. Don’t let one bad event beat you twice.” James Clear

STILLWATER — All signs point to Sergio Vega moving up in weight for his sophomore season, and the weight class he is jumping into isn’t short on tough competition.

Vega won a national title as a true freshman last season at 141 pounds. He was the first undefeated true freshman national champ since 1947 — a stat Jax Forrest would join him in later that night. But not only did Vega go a perfect 24-0, he did so without giving up a takedown.

But being longer than many of the guys he was wrestling, Vega wasn’t long for the 141-pound division he found himself in.

“Really doesn’t weigh that much different than what he weighed last year,” OSU coach David Taylor said this week. “His body composition, I feel like, has changed. His love handles aren’t as much of love handles anymore. But, yeah, I feel like he’s just kind of maturing. I think you can kind of see it in his face and his body and his composition has matured. Just the way he approaches things. …

“I think 149 is a good weight class for him.”

The season doesn’t start for another month, but it’s going to be hard to imagine many more weight classes being as tough as 149 is at the top this season.

It looks as if three former national champs will be in the 149-pound field, with Vega joining Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson (149-pound champ in 2024) and Stanford’s Aden Valencia (149-pound champ in 2026). On top of that, Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness returns after being the 149-pound bracket’s 1 seed last season before he lost in the NCAA final.

Taylor noted that this time last year, they weren’t sure whether Vega would wrestle or redshirt. Now he has vastly different expectations going into a season, but this isn’t the first time Vega is dealing with expectations of being among the best in the country.

Vega finished as the No. 7 wrestler on Flo’s big board for the 2025 class. He had wins at Fargo, Super 32 and Who’s Number One under his belt and went 140-2 with four state titles at Sunnyside (Arizona).

There also might not be as much of an “iron sharpens iron” sport than wrestling, and Taylor and Co. have a lot of premier iron in the Cowboy wrestling room for Vega to sharpen his skills against.

“What I think is cool about our guys, I think culturally our three returning national champs, they are three of our hardest-working guys in the room,” Taylor said. “By design, just continuing to keep them hungry and giving the perspective. Maybe you go to a different school where winning a national title is a surprise, well what do you do after that? It’s no surprise here. Our guys are expecting to come in here and win national titles, and we’ve laid that vision out for them. And not only to win once, but to win multiple times. …

“As they were having their success last year and post-success, like yeah, it hasn’t changed anything about them in terms of the way that they are training. And their all in really tough weight classes again, which is great for them to have those challenges, to keep them hungry. They have challenges in our room, which keep them hungry. It’s cool to see, just that culturally our guys that are having a lot of success are also our hardest-working guys that are trying to get better all the time.”

Julian McDonald announced an Oklahoma State offer on Thursday. A 6-foot-2, Class of 2027 cornerback from Alabama, McDonald has been committed to Mississippi State since June.

Blessed to receive a offer from Oklahoma State @BSonnone @TomLoy247 @JWilson_2 @__izayahh @ChadSimmons_ @CoachPittRiley5 @coachcook55 @AC_BIG12AU @Rivals @ScoutFball @CoachSkyCassity @SWiltfong_ pic.twitter.com/MqefOZX53K

— 3 ⭐️Julian “ juju “McDonald (@picksix_9) October 2, 2026

The major recruiting services list McDonald as a three-star prospect. He’s the No. 989 overall player in the 247Sports Composite rankings for the 2027 cycle, which makes him a Top 100 corner in the class and the No. 41 player from the state of Alabama.

Since his commitment to the Bulldogs, McDonald has also announced offers to LSU, Cincinnati and others.

McDonald plays at Williamson High School in Mobile, Alabama. His Lions are 5-0 in his senior season. Per MaxPreps, McDonald has six tackles, and interception and five pass breakups in three games.

The Cowboys haven’t shied away from offering committed prospects late in the 2027 cycle. In the past few months, Boston College DT commit MJ Woods, Cincinnati defensive back commit Noah Willis, Arizona receiver commit Braylen Ross and Pitt defensive back commit Jordan Young have all announced OSU offers.

OSU has a dozen players committed in its 2027 class, two of whom are defensive backs in Bryson Brown (Broken Arrow) and Chayce Davis (Euless, Texas).

That class ranks 14th in the Big 12, but some of that comes down to quantity, as OSU is tied with Baylor and Arizona State for the fewest commits in the Big 12. When looking at the average ratings of commits, OSU’s class ranks sixth in the league.

OSU’s 2027 Commits

North Texas, Eric Morris’ old squad, went to Tulsa to play the Golden Hurricane in American Conference action. After Oklahoma State lost 24-10 at H.A. Chapman Stadium, the Mean Green went there and won 45-44 in overtime.

In winning, the UNT X account poked a little fun at the circumstance.

pic.twitter.com/vMWONXHWgP

— UNT Football (@MeanGreenFB) October 2, 2026

If you’re not up to date on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that’s a scene from Thor: Ragnarok, in which Hela (Tulsa), let’s Thor (Oklahoma State) know he’s incapable of winning this battle. But Thor (Oklahoma State) had backup.

Could be worse than being referred to as Thor. The past two seasons, OSU has looked more like a civilian than a superhero.

It was a wild game. UNT went up 31-17 in the third quarter before the Golden Hurricane stormed back and forced OT. The Mean Green scored first in OT before Tulsa went for a 2-point conversion and the win but came up short.

Tulsa is now 3-2, having lost back-to-back games to Arkansas and UNT.

Under former West Virginia coach Neal Brown, the Mean Green is also 3-2.

Both schools look to be competitive in the American Conference, but OSU’s loss in T-Town is looking more and more like an aberration given the Cowboys have gone 3-0 since, scoring 46.3 points a game while averaging 608.3 yards of total offense a contest.

STILLWATER — Pretty much everything has come up in favor of the Cowgirls since the season ended.

​Get the consensus No. 1 player in the transfer portal (Audi Crooks), check.

​Put the No. 1 portal class in the country around her, check.

​Extend head coach Jacie Hoyt, check.

​Have national rules change granting all athletes the ability to play for five years instead of four so the best season in Cowgirl history can go down twice, check.

​“I love that rule because I get another year,” Stailee Heard said. “So I’m very grateful for that. And you know that just makes me want to enjoy this year more, just because you know I still look at this as my senior year, and I just want to make the best out of that, and don’t want to look too far ahead, and just want to have a great year, great season this year.”

​Heard is the only returning Cowgirl this season, and considering this week she joked about wishing she could be here for the entirety of Hoyt’s extension, it would be shocking to see Heard play anywhere else for her fifth year, barring changes at the top (which seem less likely following that extension).

“Stailee is one of those kids you just never want to stop coaching,” Hoyt said. “You don’t like to think about not getting to coach her. So, just the opportunities for us as coaches to continue to pour into kids and continue to build off of a relationship is great.”

Heard will almost certainly remain a huge piece of the puzzle for OSU this season despite the influx of newcomers, but that boost has the Cowgirls in the conversation for a serious run next March.

ESPN ranked the team 22nd in the site’s way-too-early rankings following the first month of the portal when the Cowgirls cleaned up. Currently, FanDuel has the Cowgirls in a three-way tie for the ninth-best odds to win the national championship this season, alongside Notre Dame and Vanderbilt.

When the class was initially announced, this was supposed to be one last hurrah for much of the roster, including Heard and Crooks. Now with the move across college athletics to a five-for-five model, OSU could get two bites at the apple if they can keep the group intact.

“For me, in my position, I love the rule because I have an opportunity to essentially run this whole roster back,” Hoyt said. “And of course, you can’t look at it that way. You don’t know how things are going to play out, but just knowing that we could have this team back, that I just love coaching right now, that’s really exciting.”

Here’s a brief look at the Cowgirls who suddenly have two years left instead of one following the rule change.

Stailee Heard (G) — 2025 Big 12 First Team, 2026 Second Team; averaged 11.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Audi Crooks (C) — Iowa State transfer ranked as the consensus No. 1 player in the portal; Three-time Unanimous Big 12 First Team (2024-26); averaged 25.8 points (second nationally), 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Ellie Brueggemann (G) — Lindenwood transfer ranked No. 36 by USA Today; two-time First Team All-OVC (2025 and 2026); averaged 14 points per game last season while shooting 44% beyond the arc (ranked seventh nationally).

Nene Ndiaye (G) — Rutgers transfer ranked No. 95 by USA Today; averaged 14.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 41.6% from three.

Talexa Weeter (G) — Fort Hays State transfer; Named D-II Player of the Year in 2026; averaged 27.5 points per game (tops among D-II and second across all NCAA) while also grabbing 8.9 rebounds per game to finish with 10 double-doubles in 2025-26.

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The top ranked quarterbacks for the 2027 NFL Draft, per @espn:

1. Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State) 2. Darian Mensah (Miami) 3. Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) 4. Arch Manning (Texas) 5. Dante Moore (Oregon) 6. CJ Carr (Notre Dame) pic.twitter.com/fp2LrRPvUU — Evan Sidery (@esidery) October 1, 2026

• An OSU fan’s guide to week five of college football (PFB) • What the betting odds are telling us about OSU’s new trajectory for the season.

Oklahoma State’s projected win total has climbed to 7.5, with the over slightly favored. This summer, going over just 5.5 wins was already one of the conference’s strongest favorites. [PFB]

• How Drew Mestemaker is improving this season from the West Virginia game +  the scary part: he’s getting more comfortable in Eric Morris’ offense (PFB)

• How OSU’s Cinderella-story is like 1995 Northwestern (TulsaWorld)

• Whew, Brett bringing the truth here.

Oklahoma State has scored 17 offensive TDs thru 4 games this season Last year the Cowboys had 17 offensive TDs the entire season

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 1, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Framing the Manchester City violations in the Premier League

• What gratitude was never meant to do (faith-based)

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news. 

OSU Bullets

• A couple of ESPN analysts have Drew Mestemaker as their top quarterback prospect for the 2027 NFL draft (PFB)

The top ranked quarterbacks for the 2027 NFL Draft, per @espn:

1. Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State) 2. Darian Mensah (Miami) 3. Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) 4. Arch Manning (Texas) 5. Dante Moore (Oregon) 6. CJ Carr (Notre Dame) pic.twitter.com/fp2LrRPvUU — Evan Sidery (@esidery) October 1, 2026

• An OSU fan’s guide to week five of college football (PFB) • What the betting odds are telling us about OSU’s new trajectory for the season.

Oklahoma State’s projected win total has climbed to 7.5, with the over slightly favored. This summer, going over just 5.5 wins was already one of the conference’s strongest favorites. [PFB]

• How Drew Mestemaker is improving this season from the West Virginia game +  the scary part: he’s getting more comfortable in Eric Morris’ offense (PFB)

• How OSU’s Cinderella-story is like 1995 Northwestern (TulsaWorld)

• Whew, Brett bringing the truth here.

Oklahoma State has scored 17 offensive TDs thru 4 games this season Last year the Cowboys had 17 offensive TDs the entire season

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 1, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Framing the Manchester City violations in the Premier League

• What gratitude was never meant to do (faith-based)

STILLWATER — In May, Oklahoma State heavyweight wrestler Benji Mower was diagnosed with testicular cancer. In an interview from Stilly Boys, Mower makes it clear he’s going to give the sport everything he can while battling cancer.

“No better recovery for cancer than just wrestling really, really hard,” Mower said.

He will have to reluctantly step away from the sport for a bit following a major surgery last week. Just ahead of the surgery, Mower came to coach David Taylor with a request.

“This kind of explains Benji,” Taylor told reporters on Tuesday. “So he wrestled last Tuesday (no, it was) two Tuesdays ago, and he was getting ready to go into surgery the following week. And he’s like, ‘Coach, can we wrestle live one more time before I go to surgery?’ … He’s like, ‘I just really want to wrestle a little better.’”

Unlike most of the Cowboys roster, Mower didn’t step foot on campus expecting to hold a national title belt over his head. He told Stilly Boys that he started wrestling in the seventh grade. It didn’t take long before he decided to become a Cowboy even though he would need to walk on.

“I just knew I wanted to go where I could be the best,” Mower said. “Even if I went there for five years and never started, I wanted to go somewhere I could become the best wrestler possible. From there on, I always wanted to be a Cowboy.”

On Tuesday, Taylor said Mower’s surgery went well and that he was expected to get out of the hospital in a “couple days.”

Always in your corner, Benji 🧡 pic.twitter.com/6tIkVb1VIH

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) September 26, 2026

“He’s just awesome dude, and he’s so mentally, talking about mentally tough, like unbelievable perspective on life and how he approaches things,” Taylor said. “And he just loves the sport of wrestling, and all he could talk about was like he couldn’t wait to get back to wrestling practice when I went and saw him the other day. Which is just what wrestling can mean to somebody, which is pretty great.

“What he means to our program is pretty significant. So yeah, definitely thinking about him. We’re looking forward to getting him, you know, just back around us, and yeah, he’s an awesome dude.”

Mower’s positive attitude and commitment to wrestling have remained strong despite the fact that his cancer treatments coincided with the birth of his daughter Leia. At times, due to the chemo treatments, Mower told Stilly Boys he was forced to limit contact with her.

It’s easy to imagine all of this breaking most people, but not Mower.

“Life, it is live or die, wrestling, it is win or lose,” Mower said. “No matter what, I’m going to scrap. I’m going to fight.

“It is a pretty easy choice. It is a challenge. I’m just going to keep on fighting, keep on doing what I do. God knows I want a challenge, and he gave me a challenge. This is one of the hardest mentally and physically that I’ve gone through. But I see it as almost a privilege because the higher the mountain that you got to climb, the stronger your legs get afterwards once you have climbed it. … There is no harder scrap than the scrap for your life.”

Please click the link to watch the Stilly Boys video on Mower and his family here. The video is linked to a GoFundMe set up to support the Mowers with “treatment, medical bills, travel and lodging, and everyday expenses during this difficult time.”

There has been a wonder as to how long it will be until Drew Mestemaker is an NFL player.

After Oklahoma State’s Week 1 dud in Tulsa, the 2027 draft hype fell off a cliff. But oh, how quickly things change.

Since that inexplicable Saturday against the Golden Hurricane, Mestemaker has looked every bit the NFL prospect he was thought to be. Across games against Oregon, Murray State and West Virginia, he averaged 343.3 passing yards while completing 72% of his throws and was responsible for 11 touchdowns.

And thus, the draft talk has resumed.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Jordan Reid released his Top 50 prospects for the 2027 NFL Draft. Mestemaker was No. 11 — first among quarterbacks.

“Mestemaker is my top quarterback prospect despite this being only his second season as a starter in high school and college. He has an unconventional style, holding the ball at his waistline before ripping a fiery, three-quarters release. Mestemaker has the confidence to test the tightest of windows from various platforms, but that can get the best of him and lead to turnovers. Plus, he can be oblivious to underneath defenders. Mestemaker is bit of a streaky passer, though his hot streaks feature plenty of “wow” moments. And he is capable of being a running threat.” — Jordan Reid, ESPN

And Reid isn’t the only ESPN employee putting Mestemaker tops in the most heralded position in the sport.

Last week (before the West Virginia game), ESPN released an episode of “First Draft,” where Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates gave their thoughts on prospects.

Both draft analysts noted they didn’t enjoy putting a “top three” label on stuff this early in the season, but they were asked to give their top three projected quarterbacks.

Kiper went Dante Moore, Arch Manning, Drew Mestemaker.

Yates went Mestemaker, Manning, Moore.

“He has unique size, the arm strength is very good, the scrambling ability is very good,” Yates said. “You saw that on that 75-yard run against Oregon. He’s raw. He’s inexperienced. He’s still working on seeing coverage post-snap, is Drew Mestemaker, which has led to some carelessness with the football. But if you’re looking at upside, which is part of the exercise here, I will maintain I think he has as much upside as any quarterback in the class.”

Yates called Mestemaker’s outing against Oregon the best quarterback performance of the first three weeks. If you don’t recall, Mestemaker completed 61% of his passes for 317 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while running for another 109 yards and a score.

DREW MESTEMAKER, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!

Oklahoma State is back in front! pic.twitter.com/pZFt3elz3c

— ESPN (@espn) September 12, 2026

Kiper, as the ranking might suggest, sounded a tad more hesitant and noted he wasn’t a fan of some of the hits Mestemaker took (see above), but even with those reservations, he has OSU’s quarterback in his early top three.

“I like him,” Kiper said. “I wanna see that performance (against Oregon) moving forward. We didn’t see it Week 1 against Tulsa. Bad opponent this past week (Murray State), we don’t care. I agree with you, went on that field and looked better than Dante.”

There’s still a lot of football to be played this season, but the NFL is certainly well aware of Oklahoma State’s quarterback.

We’re getting more datapoints on these teams to know just how good they really are, but the chaos of college football leaves no prisoners.

Here’s a look at my Big 12 Power Rankings heading into the weekend.

1. Utah (+2)

Record: 4-0
Week 4 Result: W, 31-17 at Iowa State
Week 5 Matchup: Bye

After being up 24-3 at the half in Ames, Utah sorta downshifted and won 31-17, but with BYU being off and Texas Tech looking perhaps even more suspect at home to Sam Houston, I’m not going to punish the Utes for a controlled win in Jack Trice. But Iowa State fighting back shows that the Big 12 is ripe for chaos.

2. BYU (-1)

Record: 3-0
Week 4 Result: Bye
Week 5 Matchup: at TCU

The Cougars slide behind their Holy War rivals in an off week. With the Utes off this week, perhaps the Cougars do enough to yo-yo back in front.

3. Texas Tech (-1)

Record: 4-0
Week 4 Result: W, 49-14 vs. Sam Houston
Week 5 Matchup: at Colorado

So, Tech had a 21-14 halftime lead against Sam Houston, and two of those touchdowns were defensive.

The Red Raiders got right at halftime and were able to win in blowout fashion, but it’s another example of the Red Raiders not looking super clean in the early points of the year. Will Hammond has now thrown more interceptions than touchdowns.

4. Oklahoma State (+3)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: W, 41-24 at West Virginia 
Week 5 Matchup: Bye

One of my big dilemmas this week was OSU-Houston. Houston has the prettier loss, being on the road to a team above in these rankings. Then the Cougars did something OSU failed to do this weekend, go on the road and beat a Group of Six team.

But in the end, I give Oklahoma State the nod because the Cowboys now have two better wins than the Cougars. The more datapoints the Cowboys put between themselves and that Tulsa loss, the better they’ve looked.

5. Houston (-1)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: W, 42-28 at Georgia Southern
Week 5 Matchup: vs. UCF

For some reason, the Cougars went to Georgia Southern this weekend. Giving up 28 points to a Sun Belt team raises an eyebrow, but Conner Weigman completed 77% of his passes and threw four touchdowns.

Houston dropping has more to do with how good OSU has looked over recent weeks than what the Cougars have done.

6. Arizona (+3)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: W, 34-24 at Washington State
Week 5 Matchup: vs. Cincinnati

The Wildcats’ trip to Wazzu wasn’t an overly impressive result, but surviving and winning went a long way this week.

Consider me a little worried that, with preseason All-Big 12 QB Noah Fifita, Arizona’s offense ranks 11th in the Big 12 in scoring and 10th in total offense.

7. Arizona State (+1)

Record: 2-1
Week 4 Result: Bye
Week 5 Matchup: vs. Baylor

The Sun Devils had a week off after playing Kansas in London. This week’s game against Baylor is a big one.

8. Cincinnati (+3)

Record: 4-0
Week 4 Result: W, 31-26 vs. Kansas State
Week 5 Matchup: at Arizona

A week after struggling with Miami (OH), the Bearcats beat Kansas State to remain unbeaten. It feels a little disrespectful having one of the league’s four undefeated teams down in eighth, but we’ll learn a ton about how legit the Bearcats are over the coming weeks. Their next five games at: at Arizona, at West Virginia, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Utah, at Houston.

9. West Virginia (-4)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: L, 41-24 vs. Oklahoma State
Week 5 Matchup: at Iowa State

The Mountaineers are going to give plenty of teams trouble this season, but in the end, they were outmatched by the Cowboys. West Virginia’s trip to Ames ought to be a dogfight.

10. Kansas State (-4)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: L, 31-26 at Cincinnati
Week 5 Matchup: Bye

Woof, Kansas State’s hot start came to a screeching halt in Cincinnati. Maybe the Bearcats end up being a solid group, but for now, K-State takes a hit in these rankings.

11. Baylor (-1)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: W, 23-13 vs. Colorado
Week 5 Matchup: at Arizona State

The Bears took care of business against Colorado, and all things considered, their resume isn’t in too rough a shape with Baylor’s only loss being on a neutral field to Auburn.

Do the Bears have enough to compete with the perceived contenders in the league? We’ll find out this week.

12. UCF (+2)

Record: 3-1
Week 4 Result: W, 21-13 vs. TCU
Week 5 Matchup: at Houston

Without their starting quarterback, UCF beat TCU this past weekend. Similar to Cincinnati and Baylor, we’ll get a look at what UCF looks like against a team that everyone thinks is a contender this week to see just how legit the Knights are.

13. Iowa State

Record: 2-2
Week 4 Result: L, 31-17 vs. Utah
Week 5 Matchup: vs. West Virginia

Iowa State isn’t going to give up, we learned that this past weekend. Stingy is how I’d describe the Cyclones. Saturday’s game against West Virginia could have a combined 100 rush attempts, and I’m here for it.

14. Kansas (+1)

Record: 1-2
Week 4 Result: Bye
Week 5 Matchup: vs. Middle Tennessee State

Kansas was on a bye and has lost more games than they’ve won, and yet the Jayhawks climbed a spot this week? What happened?

15. TCU (-3)

Record: 2-2
Week 4 Result: L, 21-13 at UCF
Week 5 Matchup: vs. BYU

Oh, this is what happened. TCU going from making the national title game a few years ago to losing to UCF’s backup quarterback is certainly less than ideal for the Horned Frogs. But they could flip the season back on its head this week if they dare upset the Cougars.

16. Colorado

Record: 2-2
Week 4 Result: L, 23-13 at Baylor
Week 5 Matchup: vs. Texas Tech

Colorado’s past two weeks have seen the Buffaloes lose 41-7 at Northwestern, dismiss players from the team and then go lose 23-13 at Baylor. Not good.

Deion Sanders has made a quarterback change, as former Utah QB Isaac Wilson steps in for Julian Lewis. We’ll see if that provides the spark the Buffaloes need.

STILLWATER — Eric Morris’ strong start didn’t just impress the Loyal and True. It’s already begun shifting the conversation around Oklahoma State, with several prominent college football voices including the Cowboys in playoff predictions.

That might seem like an overly huge boost following a win over a West Virginia program that was also looking for its first winning season since 2023.

FanDuel doesn’t yet have the Cowboys on the shortlist for the CFP (OSU is 28th in terms of odds), but the oddsmaker has also dramatically changed its tune on OSU since the offseason.

Oklahoma State’s win total is now set at 7.5 with the OVER a slight favorite. At one point this summer, the Cowboys hitting OVER on 5.5 wins was one of the heaviest favorites in the conference.

If you follow the odds, that puts OSU as a slight favorite to finish fifth in total wins among Big 12 teams, with Arizona and Kansas State just behind the Pokes.

The Cowboys are fourth in line to make the Big 12 title game, but a distant fifth to win it. Here’s how FanDuel sees the top six teams in the conference sorted by odds of making that game.

FanDuel doesn’t view any other Big 12 team as remotely competitive to make the Big 12 title game. In the offseason, FanDuel had Oklahoma State ninth in the Big 12 with +2,500 odds of winning the title game, so the Cowboys more than doubled their chances based on FanDuel’s shift.

FanDuel is also booking several other bets that were either interesting or have insight into how the rest of the season might go for the Cowboys.

Users can bet on who will hold state bragging rights at the end of the season between Oklahoma State (3-1) and the Sooners (2-2). The Cowboys were a decent favorite at -250 to maintain their lead in wins, while OU is +390. A tie was +650.

OSU quarterback Drew Mestemaker ranked 12th for the Heisman with +3,500 odds. For context, he was not even close to the 18th spot this offseason, which had guys with +5,500 odds, and according to multiple reports, Mestemaker was listed at +10,000 odds, if not more, at some places for much of the offseason.

Oregon (+105) has the 11th-best odds of making the CFP just behind Texas Tech (-105).

Oklahoma State has a particularly soft stretch of schedule coming up next with teams that aren’t expected to celebrate many more times this season.

Here’s how things look for the rest of OSU’s schedule following the odds:

Home vs UCF, at MOST three more expected wins

At Houston, at LEAST six more expected wins

Home vs Colorado, at MOST two more wins

At Iowa State, at LEAST three more wins

At Kansas State, at MOST five more wins

Home vs Texas Tech, seven more wins (exact total could go either way)

At Arizona State, at LEAST five more wins

Home vs Kansas, three more wins (could go either way)

Although this might not be the best of slates from the offset, that’s usually when we get some crazy results. Here’s an Oklahoma State fan’s watch guide for Week 5.

Big 12 Schedule

Middle Tennessee (2-2) at Kansas (1-2) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPNU
UCF (3-1) at No. 20 Houston (3-1) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2
West Virginia (3-1) at Iowa State (2-2) — 11 a.m. Saturday on TNT
No. 10 BYU (3-0) at TCU (2-2) — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
No. 12 Texas Tech (4-0) at Colorado (2-2) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX
Baylor (3-1) at Arizona State (2-1) — 9:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
Cincinnati (4-0) at Arizona (3-1) — 10 p.m. Saturday on FOX

UCF-Houston: OSU’s next two opponents play each other this week, as the Knights head to Houston before their trip to Stillwater.

The Cougars boast the Big 12’s highest-scoring offense to this point, averaging 44.5 points a game. UCF will again be without starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III, but that didn’t stop the Knights from beating TCU last week.

West Virginia-Iowa State: The Mountaineers will have to try to rebound from their loss to the Cowboys in a trip to Ames to play an Iowa State team that has had more fight to it than I expected going into the year.

The Cyclones rank in the top five in the Big 12 in total defense, giving up just 272.5 yards a game. We’ll see how that holds up against West Virginia’s all-out rush attack.

Baylor-Arizona State: This game is more interesting now than it was at the beginning of the year. It feels like a Arizona State loss would be catastrophic and a Baylor win would be massive, but the Sun Devils are just 4.5-point favorites.

The Bears’ only loss was by a point to Auburn on a neutral field, but it’s still hard to know what to expect from the group. Arizona State’s loss is to Texas A&M, and the Sun Devils had to sweat it out in London to beat Kansas a few weeks back.

Cincy-Arizona: Can Cincinnati go back-to-back weeks in upsetting the Wildcats?

The Bearcats got the best of Kansas State last week and now travel to Tucson. Arizona’s loss was a tight game in Provo, which is respectable, but the Bearcats have proven they aren’t to be slept on.

Other Games to Watch

North Texas (2-2) at Tulsa (3-1) — 8 p.m. Thursday on ESPN
Pitt (4-0) at Virginia Tech (4-0) — 6 p.m. Friday on ESPN
Penn State (3-1) at Northwestern (2-1) — 7 p.m. Friday on ESPN
No. 7 Alabama (4-0) at No. 16 Mississippi State (4-0) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC
Michigan (3-1*) at Minnesota (3-1) — 11 a.m. Saturday on FOX
No. 5 Ohio State (3-1) at No. 14 Iowa (4-0) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS
No. 8 Florida (4-0) at No. 25 Missouri (3-1) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
Auburn (3-1) at No. 17 Tennessee (3-1) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
No. 24 Kentucky (3-1) at South Carolina (2-2) — 3:15 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network
No. 4 Miami (4-0) at Clemson (3-1) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Pitt-Hokies: SMU and Louisville now each have a conference loss, meaning the race to playing Miami in the ACC championship game is back on. Both of these teams have tough games remaining on their schedule, so both would likely need a win here to truly be a part of that race.

Alabama-Mississippi State: The country is catching a case of Kamario Taylor fever, as he has the Bulldogs undefeated. The Alabama offense has been stout to this point, averaging 48 points a game. Will Taylor have enough in him to keep up?

Ohio State-Iowa: I’m in the camp that the Buckeyes will win this thing comfortably, but Kirk Ferentz has made a career of dragging a team into the mud for a knock-down, drag-out. Just last week, Iowa was outgained by Michigan 429-285 but won. I think it would take a similar head-scratching result for the Hawkeyes to do the same to Ohio State.

Rumblings abound that OSU might still relieve Weiberg of his duties, perhaps sooner rather than later. OSU has become quite a dysfunctional place the last couple of years, with heavy regents involvement and palace intrigue from the president’s office and, of course, all the Mike Gundy drama the previous two seasons. [TulsaWorld]

• Pokes in the Pros – former Cowboy running backs are killing it (PFB)

• To swing back to the optimistic side – top-shelf offense is nostalgic for the Cowboy faithful.

I’m not going to lie, watching Oklahoma State’s offense on Saturday night in Morgantown brought back some memories. It felt like the days of Mason Rudolph throwing deep balls to James Washington. [HCS]

• Wyatt Young vs. Justin Blackmon vs. James Washington through four games (X)

• PFB looked at the “two deep” for Cowboy Wrestling (PFB)

• Not crazy – OSU has the third best win in college football according to these rankings:

an updated view of the best wins via Resume Quality

a reminder that this does not consider margin of victory. it considers win/loss, opponent rating, and location. https://t.co/YWr8zMtpRZ pic.twitter.com/MNiK1NOm4I — PEARatings (@PEARatings) September 29, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Reality only takes yes for an answer 

• Avoiding checklist sanctification (faith-based) Clever move to get fans in the stadium.

NEW: Tennessee has announced “Happy Hour” at Neyland Stadium for the rest of the season🍻 Gates will open three hours before kickoff, with concessions and beer half-priced for the first hour.https://t.co/pfJKyeRMGy pic.twitter.com/RSSWUwCQZJ

— On3 (@On3) September 30, 2026

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news. 

OSU Bullets

• News around OSU sports yesterday: athletic director Chad Weiberg apparently has a bit of a hot seat, though Eric Morris’ squad playing well certainly impacts the situation.

Rumblings abound that OSU might still relieve Weiberg of his duties, perhaps sooner rather than later. OSU has become quite a dysfunctional place the last couple of years, with heavy regents involvement and palace intrigue from the president’s office and, of course, all the Mike Gundy drama the previous two seasons. [TulsaWorld]

• Pokes in the Pros – former Cowboy running backs are killing it (PFB)

• To swing back to the optimistic side – top-shelf offense is nostalgic for the Cowboy faithful.

I’m not going to lie, watching Oklahoma State’s offense on Saturday night in Morgantown brought back some memories. It felt like the days of Mason Rudolph throwing deep balls to James Washington. [HCS]

• Wyatt Young vs. Justin Blackmon vs. James Washington through four games (X)

• PFB looked at the “two deep” for Cowboy Wrestling (PFB)

• Not crazy – OSU has the third best win in college football according to these rankings:

an updated view of the best wins via Resume Quality

a reminder that this does not consider margin of victory. it considers win/loss, opponent rating, and location. https://t.co/YWr8zMtpRZ pic.twitter.com/MNiK1NOm4I — PEARatings (@PEARatings) September 29, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Reality only takes yes for an answer 

• Avoiding checklist sanctification (faith-based) Clever move to get fans in the stadium.

NEW: Tennessee has announced “Happy Hour” at Neyland Stadium for the rest of the season🍻 Gates will open three hours before kickoff, with concessions and beer half-priced for the first hour.https://t.co/pfJKyeRMGy pic.twitter.com/RSSWUwCQZJ

— On3 (@On3) September 30, 2026

STILLWATER — A lot of the offseason talk surrounding Drew Mestemaker, and Oklahoma State overall, centered around the quarterback’s ability to handle the step up in competition.

Despite starting against Power Conference teams for the first time ever twice already, Mestemaker’s numbers look like he never left the American Conference.

He ranks third nationally in passing yards per game (318), seventh in touchdowns (seven), 28th in yards per attempt (9.01) and 47th in completion percentage (67%).

“I think I’ve been seeing the field a lot better this year than I did last year,” Mestemaker said Wednesday. “I think last year I was kind of just locked in on my receivers and like, progression-wise, I wasn’t really seeing the full picture.

“And I think I’ve been able to see the full picture of the defense and what the defense is trying to get to, and then also I feel like I’ve been more consistent down the field on my deeper passes this year, and I think you know just keeping that up throughout the season will be good.”

Currently, Mestemaker is on pace to finish 70 passing yards ahead of last season’s nation-leading number (assuming he plays 14 games once again, which requires some type of championship access).

His completion percentage has dipped only 1.5 points.

On Wednesday, Mestemaker referenced a 21-yard completion to receiver Wyatt Young on 3rd-and-9 in the second quarter against West Virginia as an example of how things have changed for him when it comes to seeing the entire field better this fall.

“They were trying to like mug the safety up on the left side, and then they dropped him all the way back to the deep middle and tried to bring two guys from the other side and like roll away from it,” Mestemaker said. “And so they were trying to like get me to see the safety off the left side and not see the blitz, and I felt the blitz and slid left and then hit Wyatt on a crosser, and I felt like, you know, that I felt I was really seeing the defense and safety rotation well last game.”

On that particular play, within one second (maybe less) of the snap, the WVU safety bails back just like Mestemaker describes. At the same time, two defenders on the opposite side begin coming up and do, in fact, blitz.

Plays like this gave Oklahoma State difficulty in the opener at Tulsa. In this instance, all the blitzers get picked up, including one of the latecomers by running back Caleb Hawkins.

Mestemaker’s “slide” to the left away from the defense is so slight you might miss it on rewatch. This too is another example of how he’s improved since last season.

“I think last year I was a little too quick to get out of the pocket sometimes,” Mestemaker said. “There’s a few times I was too quick getting through my reads and kind of skipped over something that could have been a big play, and so I think just really this offseason, I was doing everything I could to stay in there as long as I could and get through all my reads.”

If Eric Morris’ breakout pupils last year were Drew Mestemaker, Caleb Hawkins and Wyatt Young, his breakout pupil this year might be Skyler Cassity.

Cassity is Oklahoma State’s 31-year-old defensive coordinator. Despite being that young, this is actually Cassity’s fifth season coordinating a Division-I defense after starting at Abilene Christian in 2022.

Four games into his first Power Conference gig, and Cassity’s defense ranks in the Top 20 nationally on third down. His Cowboys are 3-1 having knocked off Oregon and West Virginia.

“Skyler, he’s a star in the making,” Morris said on Big 12 Today. “Obviously I’ve said this on record numerous times: the biggest difference in our football team at North Texas that last year was how good our defense was. Even though, you know, Drew and Wyatt and Caleb, they had a buncha numbers, so they’re the ones that get the media time. But that’s where all of our biggest improvements were made from the previous years.”

Cassity was with Morris at UNT for just one season before Morris packed him up and brought him to Stillwater. Here’s the instant impact he made:

Cassity’s most notable result thus far this season is when the Cowboys held Oregon to 281 total yards and a combined 5-for-17 on third and fourth down.

Although West Virginia had a good statistical day against OSU this past weekend, Morris praised Cassity’s halftime adjustments. He also noted the way Cassity held certain blitzes for big plays late in the game, as the Cowboys sacked Michael Hawkins Jr. three times in the second half en route to the win.

“He’s somebody that’s young but is so mature for his age,” Morris said. “Listen, I know. At some point, he has all the characteristics to be a great head coach, just not only the way he calls a football game, how he sees it and how smart he is, but the way he interacts with our kids. Our players absolutely always respond to him in the best ways.”

Morris and Cassity shared a staff at Texas Tech back in 2017 when Morris was the OC and Cassity was a graduate assistant.

When Cassity got his first DC job at Abilene Christian in 2022, Morris was familiar with the Southland Conference, having been the head coach at Incarnate Word. Morris said he knew Cassity wouldn’t have the most resources available, but Cassity was still able lower the Wildcats’ points and yards allowed per game in his first year.

Then Morris watched as Cassity got the job at Sam Houston in 2024, the Bearkats’ second season at the FBS level after jumping up from the FCS. Sam Houston went from giving up 26.2 points and 394.4 yards a game in the year before Cassity to giving up 20.5 points and 321.4 yards in his lone season with the program.

So, with a lack of resources at both of those spots, Morris knew Cassity was nailing evaluations.

Although Cassity might be young, he is fully in control of what the Cowboys do on that side of the ball.

“He has full autonomy over there,” Morris said. “There’s things that we talk about and we discuss and get on the board. He’ll ask me, ‘Hey, how would you handle this? How would you handle this?’ So there’s a bunch of conversation that happens, but that’s not my expertise in any sense or way, so I try to stay away.

“I like to be really confident when I’m able to present information, and what I have a PhD in is finding ways to get first downs that hopefully end up being touchdowns. So, yeah, he has full autonomy on that side as far as what we’re doing schematically and how we’re calling it. But there is a lot of conversation just trying to sharpen each other’s brains on what the other side of the ball is thinking in certain situations.”