Joshua Lane, Class of 2027, announced an Oklahoma State offer this week. A 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive lineman, Lane committed to his hometown Memphis Tigers in June and also has offers to USF, Ole Miss and others.

After a great conversation with @CoachMikeOG i’m blessed to receive an offer from Oklahoma State @CoachGRichDL @coach_ikeDL @CowboyFB @OSUAthletics@_COACHMORRIS #OKSTATE#GoPokes @WMajorWright @LetsGo_Bo5 @ClarenceTK74@Lee_Wilbanks @BlakePVincent @RGibsonMSU @CoachMathies pic.twitter.com/8KJiSPe7AW

— Joshua lane (@thejoshualane77) September 10, 2026

Lane preps at Memphis Central. His high school team is off to a 3-0 start in 2026. In that stretch, Lane has made 15 tackles, five tackle for loss and a pair of sacks. That came after a junior season in which Lane made 69 tackles.

Lane is a three-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite system, which lists him as the No. 1,833 player in the 2027 class and a Top 70 player from Tennessee. ESPN lists Lane as the No. 50 player in Tennessee.

The Cowboys have a dozen players committed in their 2027 class. One is an edge rusher in Baton Rouge Catholic standout Jayden Vessell. A few weeks ago, the Cowboys also offered 2027 edge rusher Nasir Braxton (Decatur, Georgia), and OSU has recently extended offers to junior college edge rushers LaDarius Jemes and Eddie Robinson.

OSU’s class ranks 14th in the Big 12, but a lot of that has to do with the class’ size, as OSU, Arizona State and Baylor are tied for the fewest commitments with a dozen apiece, while schools like Kansas State (27 commits), West Virginia (24), Iowa State (24), Colorado (20) and Utah (20) occupy the top half of the standings.

OSU’s 2027 Commits

After a major letdown in Tulsa last weekend, Eric Morris said he hasn’t been able to put much thought into what it’ll be like running into Boone Pickens Stadium as the Cowboys’ coach for the first time.

“First and foremost, after a week like last week and being obviously so disappointed, it’s been something I just haven’t even thought about, to be honest,” said Morris on his radio show with Dave Hunziker. “… The excitement and the build and then the letdown, obviously when you’re in charge of something is something that — I think our players felt it. And there were so many great learning lessons that will come out of this. …

“Now, I think once I am actually in the moment, and we run out of the tunnel for the first time, I think this is a game where you’ll be able to feel the excitement in the building and to actually hear the Paddle People the first time, the band play, the crowd cheer, all those different things. But also I know we gotta give this crowd something to be excited about, and we gotta create some excitement in this game. At some point, we gotta capture some momentum against this team.”

Depending on how big of an optimist you are, this week provides either the ultimate bounce-back opportunity or a less-than-ideal one.

Oklahoma State hosts No. 6 Oregon in the Cowboys’ home-opener. The Ducks have perhaps the best defensive line in college football and also boast quarterback Dante Moore, who might be the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.

This game will be well-watched by quarterback gurus, as Moore is pinned up against OSU’s Drew Mestemaker. After leading the nation in passing as a redshirt freshman last season, Mestemaker struggled in his opening game as a Cowboy, throwing for 241 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the loss.

“I think first of all, just making all the layups,” Mestemaker told Hunziker of where he needs to improve. “There were two or three throws that I want back, honestly. There were guys wide open, and I didn’t hit them. Whether that’s being decisive and pulling the trigger or just giving my guy a chance, there’s definitely two or three throws that I wish I had back.

“Also, just not turning the ball over. I think toward the end of the game, I was just really trying to press and make a play. If you’re gonna do that, you gotta make the play. … Those are my two big things — I gotta make the layups and I can’t turn the ball over.”

Mestemaker said he took also leadership lessons from the Cowboys’ season-opening loss, saying he could’ve stepped up more on the sideline in trying to light a fire under the team.

Hunziker asked Morris if managing these types of situations is different in the modern portal movement/NIL era. Morris noted that he mistakenly once thought it was different.

“I’ve totally reset and gone back to some old-school thinking on this just because as you build the culture, and then as you play the game to win, there were some things that were inexcusable that happened in that game,” Morris said. “So, I owe it to our whole entire university to be able to put our best foot forward and continue to build this thing. Now, when I took this job, I knew it’s not something easy, right. I’ve done this twice before, and I’ve taken over programs that were in bad spots and neither one of those did we start off on a good foot. It took time to get us built back up to championship-caliber football, and we’ll do the same thing here.”

Morris is right about his previous tenures not exactly starting ideally. His first head job at Incarnate Word started with back-to-back losses to New Mexico and North Texas, losing by a combined score of 120-46. Incarnate Word would finish that season with a share of the Southland Conference title. Then at North Texas, Morris started 0-2 with losses to Cal and FIU by a combined score of 104-60 before building that program within a game of making it to the College Football Playoff last season.

Morris didn’t exactly get into what “old-school thinking” meant in reference to building a culture, but he did compare his current predicament to a spot he watched Mike Leach navigate.

Leach took the Washington State job in 2012 and hired Morris to his first full-time position as the Cougars’ inside receivers coach. Leach went 3-9 in that first season but eventually had a four-year stretch when the Cougars went 37-15.

“We won one (conference) game that year,” Morris said. “I continually watched him set the tone, week-in, week-out, in building something for the future. He did a lot of things at that time that I thought were crazy. We got rid of so many players that wouldn’t buy in to what we were preaching, and ultimately knowing we were gonna play a worse player after that because he thought it was important for the future and being able to build the culture the right way inside.

“It was such a great learning lesson for me. I was the receivers coach. He cut my best three receivers in Week 2 after he did some stuff. All of a sudden your best three players are going, you’re not very good at that point anyways, and you’re thinking as a coach, like, ‘What am I gonna do now?’ But hindsight and having conversations with him and seeing what kinda happened down the road and the way he was able to flip that program.”

Morris, again, harped on the Cowboys’ need to be better in key situations after the Pokes went 5-for-16 on third downs, 2-for-6 on fourth downs and 2-for-4 in the red zone against the Golden Hurricane.

Mestemaker noted how it’s hard to replicate game reps in practice, and while he’s excited to play in Boone Pickens Stadium for the first time, he’s also just excited to right some wrongs from the Tulsa game.

“I’m definitely excited to get in front of our fans,” Mestemaker said. “I’m excited to feel the energy in Boone Pickens Stadium. It gets talked about as soon as you step in Stillwater, it seems like, and just all the stories about being in Boone Pickens and all the big wins. Obviously I’m excited for that.

“And I’m just excited to get our there with the guys again and really show what this team really is. I don’t think last week — I mean, that just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I’m just excited for another opportunity.”

In the offseason, this game carried some hype to it, but after a rough Week 1 for the Pokes, much of the talk has dropped to wondering how close the Cowboys can keep it.

Oklahoma State hosts Oregon on Saturday. Here’s a look at how to watch, betting info, stats and more for OSU’s game against the Ducks.

Viewing Info

Time: 11 a.m. Saturday
Location: Boone Pickens Stadium
Watch: ESPN (Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and Taylor McGregor)

Betting Info (via FanDuel)

Spread: Oregon -23.5
Over/under: 54.5
OSU money line: +1,060

Team Stats

Statistical Leaders

Passing:
OSU — Drew Mestemaker — 29-for-49 (59%)/241 yards/1 touchdown/2 interceptions
Oregon — Dante Moore — 28-for-37 (76%)/378  yards/3 touchdowns/0 interceptions

Rushing:
OSU — Caleb Hawkins — 18 carries/79 yards/0 touchdowns
Oregon — Jordon Davison — 12 carries/90 yards/1 touchdown

Receiving:
OSU — Wyatt Young — 8 catches/84 yards/0 touchdowns
Oregon — Jeremiah McClellan — 6 catches/150 yards/1 touchdown

Tackling:
OSU — Tate Romney and Ethan Wesloski — 7 total tackles each
Oregon — Koi Perich — 11 total tackles

Sacks:
OSU — N/A
Oregon — Bear Alexander, Matavo Uiagalelei, Teitum Tuiot — 1 sack each

Series History (Oregon Leads 2-0)

Further Reading

Dan Lanning breaks down OSU, Mestemaker
OSU updates depth chart for Week 2
Jacob Sexton is out for the year
What went wrong for Mestemaker in Tulsa
‘As bas as it gets’: Morris reflects on Tulsa loss
OSU’s RB2 spot ‘completely open’
Three things to know about OSU-Oregon
Four things Dan Lanning said ahead of his trip to Stillwater
What Oregon’s players said about Oklahoma State
Resetting expectations following OSU’s Week 1 loss
What success looks like against Dante Moore
‘Respect everyone, fear no one’
Uniform reveal
Predicting OSU-Oregon

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The Cowboys had won the offseason, but that didn’t matter on a hot September Saturday in Tulsa.

Oklahoma State lost the first game of the Eric Morris Era 24-10 after months of Cowboy fans imaging their new offense setting the world ablaze. A few more days removed from Saturday’s disappointing result, Morris met with Dave Hunziker on OSU’s Inside Oklahoma State Athletics.

“It’s been a humbling experience for I think the whole entire department, and hopefully they felt that,” Morris said. “So, we’ve been super transparent with our players this week. I’ve been transparent with our coaches this week. Obviously, that was not a performance that we’re proud of by any stretch of the imagination, but now we need to see the steps of us getting better week by week.”

Enter No. 6 Oregon.

The Cowboys’ bounce-back opportunity comes against a team that seemingly has few weaknesses and brings with it a defensive line that might be the best in the country after OSU struggled up front against the Golden Hurricane.

“One of our mottos has been respect everyone, fear no one,” Morris said. “And I don’t think that we respected Tulsa like we should’ve. Hats off to them. They came out, and they executed better than us. So we’ll see how far along — I think our practice have been super spirited this week, which I’m proud of the guys. We’ve challenged them in a lot of different ways. So, excited to get back out there and get this taste out of our mouth.”

Much of Morris’ chat with Hunziker had to do with leadership. Before the season had started, Morris had noted multiple times that it’s easy to lead when things are going well.

In a team made up of 90+ newcomers, it sounds as if Morris is still seeking a higher level of leadership.

“The teams that are really, really special are led (from) within, and the accountability is at such a high level,” Morris said. “We’re not there yet.

“I think two, there’s this moment as you’re trying to establish things is we have all these people that we see in this sport as alphas as we got through practice, and then sometimes that alpha doesn’t produce that on tape and all of a sudden he’s looked at a different way by his peers and teammates. So, that’s always an interesting psychological thing in my opinion when all of a sudden, you had this big, bad, tough kid and the tape doesn’t show that when you come in the meeting room the first time. And you have to reset and encourage. There’s a part of telling these kids the truth and break them down, and you gotta build them back up with encouragement.”

When running down the list of things that need to be different in Game 2 than they were in Game 1, Morris noted the Cowboys need to play fast, not just physically but mentally. He said OSU needs to stack routine plays, something he felt the Cowboys didn’t do a good job of outside of the first drive against Tulsa. And he said they need to be better situationally — third downs (5-for-16), fourth downs (2-for-6) and in the red zone (2-for-4). Lastly, Morris noted the need to grab some momentum.

“And then, like, we gotta grab some momentum at some point during this game,” Morris said. “… We gotta create some excitement in that stadium by what we do on the field, right. And that’s creating some of those moments, some of those plays in key situations to give these fans something to cheer about.”

After we all picked Oklahoma State to win comfortably last week, we’ve picked ourselves up by our bootstraps and come ready to guess again.

Oklahoma State hosts No. 6 Oregon at 11 a.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. Here is how we see the game shaking out.

(These uniform picks came in before OSU did its early drop. If you don’t believe that I guessed it 100% correctly, it’s on video).

Marshall Scott

Uniform: White (Patriot Pete) — Orange — White (NAILED IT)

Drew Mestemaker over/under 250 passing yards: Over

Tulsa’s gameplan was to slow the game down. On top of that, left tackle Jacob Sexton went down just six plays and and the offensive line seemingly never recovered. With a week to work without Sexton and the fact that I think there will be more possessions in this game, I think Mestemaker hits the over here even with the jump up in competition.

OSU’s Second-Leading Rusher: Tre Page III

There are few things coaches hate more than a running back putting the ball on the turf. That’s what happened to Tre Page early in Tulsa, and he didn’t get another shot. With Morris challenging the Cowboys’ running back depth this week, I think Page regains ahold on his spot and the football.

Score: Oregon 38, Oklahoma State 21

I have to believe this would feel like a notable improvement from last week, though hosting Oregon isn’t exactly the ideal bounce-back opportunity. Had the Cowboy offense not been stuffed on four fourth downs, OSU might’ve won in Tulsa but it would’ve at the very least looked a lot less ugly. I say, notable improvement but that doesn’t exactly put the Cowboys in the same class as the Ducks.

Kyle Cox

Uniform: Black (Pete) — Orange — Black

Drew Mestemaker over/under 250 passing yards: Over

I’ll go over to be optimistic. I still hold out some hope that some of the bugs will get worked out and/or OSU hits on a big play or two.

OSU’s Second-Leading Rusher: Ayo Adeyi

I guess I’ll go with Ayo Adeyi. I wonder just how sparing Morris and Co. can be with Caleb Hawkins this week when they badly need to sustain drives. So I think, at least early, it’s going to be heavy on Hawkins until and unless it gets out of hand. Then give me Adeyi to get the carries next.

Score: Oregon 45, Oklahoma State 21

OSU Bullets

• Previewing the 2026-27 NFL season and looking at the Cowboys playing in it (OKState.com)

• Weekend watch guide for college football (PFB)

• What a “win” looks like for Oklahoma State against Oregon (NewsOK $$$)

• Liked the take here Kyle Cox (PFB) had during a recent roundtable – expectations have to be reset. 

From the expectation standpoint, I think a reset of what is a successful season is needed. I think a bowl game would be a win.

Which, like I’ll go back to, is more on par with a complete roster reset and new staff. [PFB]

• Oregon Ducks that could be missing for this week’s game (SI)

• Who will backup Caleb Hawkins? (PFB)

• Haven’t fact-checked this but wild if true – explains part of why we all have such great whiplash.  

Try to wrap your heads around these two facts.

• The only XII football program to make the conference championship game twice in the last 5 seasons is Oklahoma State.

• Oklahoma State is 0-19 in their last 19 conference games. #MakeItMakeSense pic.twitter.com/73Rxj7k5Ia

— Nick The Geek (@n_squared614) September 10, 2026

• Biggest non-conference opponent at BPS since Georgia in 2009?

Ducks flying south to Stillwater 🤠 pic.twitter.com/gbiv74BGR1

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

Non-OSU Bullets

• How to raise a boring young man 

• How to fight anxiety (faith-based)

This Nate Bargatze bit is hilarious: 

What a game what was the single best moment of this match for you.😍😍 pic.twitter.com/HRH3ZppH1W

— Pop Waves (@popwavesx) September 9, 2026

In a rare early release, Oklahoma State announced that the Cowboys will wear white-orange-white against the Ducks on Saturday with on the Patriot Pete helmet.

Uni drop pic.twitter.com/UxVNLbs9nc

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 11, 2026

It matches up nicely with the green-white-green of Oregon.

Move quick.
Uni combo for Game 2. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/RPD6xmPlLd

— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) September 10, 2026

Not to toot my own horn (entirely to toot my own horn), I nailed the uniform prediction on The Reload.

The Cowboys rocked the classic color combo twice last season, going 1-1. The win was … well, OSU’s only win, against UT-Martin. The loss actually came on the road, as Arizona wore special white uniforms in its 41-13 win against the Pokes in Tucson.

Since the start of 2011, OSU is 16-3 in white-orange-white.

The last time the Cowboys wore this color-combo and helmet decal was in their season-opening win against Tulsa in 2020.

Oklahoma State and the Ducks do battle at 11 a.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.

STILLWATER — Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was a somewhat surprising returner over the offseason considering what draft analysts thought of him.

The Athletic and ESPN have both listed him as the second overall pick or higher. Now he leads the No. 6 Ducks to Stillwater.

“This guy is super talented, right?” coach Eric Morris said. “Projected top-10 pick, if you just sit back there and give him a ton of time to go through reads, he’s probably going to do a pretty good job getting the ball to where it needs to go.

“So being able to get him off of his spot at some point, and that’s easier said than done. They’re pretty good up front and have a good running game and a balanced attack, so coach (Skyler) Cassity will have to do the same thing and keep them off balance at times and be able to mix up the picture for him. Any good quarterback, if you keep the picture the same, they’re going to go through and pick you apart a little bit.”

With the lack of competitiveness when these teams met last year, Moore might as well have been playing a video game on freshman difficulty while OSU appeared to be playing on Heisman.

The opener didn’t give a lot of reason to believe the result will be different this time around, but it’s possible the Cowboys can at least make Moore work for it this year.

“He’s got a big arm, so I mean he can launch that thing,” OSU nickel Christian Bodnar said. “So that’s the number one thing. And I said he makes quick and smart decisions with the football. So that is gonna be one thing to see for sure. But we’re gonna get the ball off him.”

Moore completed 3-of-5 deep passes (20-plus yards) for 99 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. He completed 3-of-4 in the 10-19 yard range for 124 yards and another touchdown.

Last season, PFF graded him as the best deep-ball thrower in the country with an overall grade of 98.5. Mestemaker finished 50th among players with at least 15 such attempts, with a grade of 88.8.

Moore completed 55% of his 55 serious attempts for 962 yards, 15 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Oklahoma State allowed 2-of-4 deep shots against TU, but corner LaDainian Fields did come up with one interception and nearly got a second.

OSU also held TU to 1-of-4 in the medium range (10-19 yards), so there’s a case to be made that the secondary can at least force Moore to work for it when he looks downfield.

Morris praised Moore’s ability to get the ball out quickly and accurately. Linebacker Tate Romney seemed to pick up where the Cowboys coach left off when he walked into the press conference a few minutes later.

“He’s very accurate, and obviously he’s a guy with experience now,” Romney said. “Just, he’s able to go through his progressions and put the ball where he wants it to.”

Moore finished last season fourth among qualified quarterbacks, completing 71.6% of his passes while throwing only 10 interceptions on 412 attempts. Only first overall pick Fernando Mendoza (6 INTs on 382 attempts) and Moore’s current backup Dylan Raoila (6 INTs on 251 attempts at Nebraska) had a higher completion percentage and fewer interceptions while still dropping back at least 250 times.

Bodnar only played a handful of defensive snaps in the Fiesta Bowl when then-No. 8 Oregon demolished Liberty in the 2023 postseason. The names have changed quite a bit since then, as Oregon was led by Bo Nix, but the OSU defensive back said he sees a lot of similarities when it comes to the type of players suiting up for the Ducks.

On Tuesday, he was asked how the Cowboys can counter Oregon’s speed.

“You just kind of have to play top down on a lot of stuff,” Bodnar said. “You know, kind of take the speed off of them by, you know, touching them up a little bit, getting some hands on, and just forcing them to take the easy way, the easy throws.”

Before the Week 2 schedule gets rolling, here’s an updated look at my power rankings for the league.

1. Texas Tech

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 33-10 vs. Abilene Christian
Week 2 Matchup: at Oregon State (-26.5)

Compared to other more-gaudy results around the league, Tech’s 33-10 win against Abilene Christian was somewhat pedestrian.

Will Hammond threw for 298 yards, a touchdown and an INT in his season debut. Hammond wasn’t sacked, but Abilene Christian finished with as many tackles for loss (six) as Tech did.

So, there are things to clean up, but for now, the Red Raiders maintain my top spot.

2. BYU

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 63-7 vs. Utah Tech
Week 2 Matchup: vs. Arizona (-7.5)

BYU was one of many FCS pummelers the Big 12 had in the opening weekend. Without having any idea how good Utah Tech is, it’s hard to know what all to take from that game, but Bear Bachmeier had three passing touchdowns and only four incompletions, so the Cougars will also maintain their spot in the rankings.

We should have a much better idea about BYU after this weekend with the Cougars taking on another top-half Big 12 team.

3. Utah (+1)

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 66-14 vs. Idaho
Week 2 Matchup: vs. Arkansas (-12.5)

Another FCS bully, the Utes threw for five touchdowns and ran for four against Idaho.

Utah has an excellent opportunity this week with a lesser-thought-about SEC foe going to Salt Lake City. Even if Arkansas ends up stinking, that’s not a bad pelt for the mantle (ask 2024 OSU).

4. Arizona State (+3)

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 70-7 vs Morgan State
Week 2 Matchup: at Texas Tech (+14.5)

Morgan State already had a win on its schedule when it headed out to Tempe this past weekend, but boy, the Bears weren’t close to getting another.

It was an awesome Sun Devil debut for Kentucky transfer QB Cutter Boley, who threw for 387 yards and six touchdowns. Meanwhile the Sun Devil D held Morgan State to 188 total yards.

We’ll find a lot more out about Boley and the Sun Devils this week when they head to Kyle Field for a game against a Top 10 Texas A&M team.

5. Kansas State (+3)

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 71-3 vs. Nicholls
Week 2 Matchup: vs. Washington State (-17.5)

Opening week of the Collin Klien Era went as smooth as you could ask, with the Wildcats outgaining Nicholls 559-122. Former Cowboy Rodney Fields Jr. ran for 101 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, while the K-State defense allowed just 30 total passing yards.

Washington State should provide a solid test this week.

6. Houston (-2)

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 33-20 vs. Oregon State
Week 2 Matchup: vs. Southern (-49.5)

Was it fair to drop the Cougars after a win against a team that was in a Power Conference a few short years ago? Perhaps not. But it’s hard to look at two teams that scored in the 70s and not bump them up a little.

Houston didn’t cover in its Week 1 win, but the Cougars were up 26-7 with a minute left in the third quarter before the Beavers made it a little more interesting.

The Cougs will have their shot at a big FCS blowout this week with Southern coming to town.

7. Arizona (-2)

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 35-7 vs. Northern Arizona
Week 2 Matchup: at BYU (+7.5)

With so few data points, Arizona drops a few spots because the Wildcats didn’t hang 70 on its FCS opponent like some others did.

But worry not, Wildcat fans. Win this week, and you’ll be flying up this ranking.

8. Cincinnati (+4)

Record: 1-0 
Week 1 Result: W, 34-15 vs. Boston College
Week 2 Matchup: vs. Western Carolina (-36.5)

One of the biggest risers in my rankings, Cincy straight up took it to ACC Boston College last weekend. The Bearcats were up 24-0 and 34-8 in this game. It wasn’t close.

Cincy did all that despite throwing for just 85 yards, as the Bearcats ran for 254 yards and made eight tackles for loss and four sacks.

9. UCF (+1)

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 73-6 vs. Bethune-Cookman
Week 2 Matchup: at Pitt (+7.5)

The Knights joined the “beat the crud out of an FCS team” party, holding Bethune-Cookman to just 181 yards of total offensive while hanging 73 on the Wildcats. UCF had nine tackles for loss and Duke Watson ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.

I’m really intrigued to see how Scott Frost’s bunch handles this road test up to Pittsburgh.

10. Colorado (+4)

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 14-13 at Georgia Tech
Week 2 Matchup: vs. Weber State (-34.5)

It wasn’t pretty at all, but the Buffaloes beat an ACC team and join Cincinnati as my biggest risers of Week 1. Julian Lewis’ 20-yard TD pass to Charlie Williams with 37 seconds to play got Colorado the W.

It was an impressive performance from the CU defensive front, getting eight tackles for loss and three sacks.

11. Baylor (-2)

Record: 0-1
Week 1 Result: L, 17-16 vs. Auburn (in Atlanta)
Week 2 Matchup: vs. Prairie View A&M (-38.5)

Even in a loss, the Bears showed some fight, which means they won’t drop too far.

It came down to an unsuccessful 2-point try that saw the Bears come just a few inches short of beating Auburn to start the year. DJ Lagway threw for 333 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. Former Cowboy Gavin Freeman might’ve been the best player on the field, catching a dozen balls for 154 yards and a touchdown. But alas, it wasn’t enough.

If it comes to be that Auburn also stinks, Baylor will stop getting credit for this close loss, but for the time being, not too shabby, Bears, not too shabby.

12. Kansas (+3)

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 51-6 vs. Long Island
Week 2 Matchup: vs. Missouri (+4.5)

The Jayhawks sort of took a bit to get rolling, but once they did, they steamrolled Long Island for a Week 1 W.

First-year starting QB Isaiah Marshall went 14-for-19 for 246 yards and two TDs, while KU outgained the Sharks 613-111. While playing a ridiculous amount of guys, the KU defense made 11 tackles for loss and sacked the QB three times.

What an opportunity for the Jayhawks this week with a ranked SEC foe coming to town for a little Border War.

13. West Virginia (-2)

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 31-24 vs. Coastal Carolina
Week 2 Matchup: vs. UT-Martin (-40.5)

The Mountaineers didn’t come close to covering the three touchdowns against Coastal, but they won, which (ask OSU) is the most important deal.

Cam Cook ran for 142 yards and two TDs on 30 carries in his WVU debut, while OU transfer quarterback Michael Hawkins threw for 132 yards and ran for another 103. The WVU defense got five sacks.

14. TCU (-1)

Record: 0-1
Week 1 Result: BYE
Week 2 Matchup: vs. Grambling (-43.5)

I dropped the Horned Frogs a spot while they sat idle after their Week 0 loss to North Carolina in Ireland.

The good news for the Horned Frogs is they have a shot to look really good this week considering they’re favored by more than six touchdowns against Grambling.

15. Iowa State (+1)

Record: 1-0
Week 1 Result: W, 38-10 vs. SEMO
Week 2 Matchup: at Iowa (+13.5)

The Cyclones didn’t outright steamroll FCS SEMO, but for a team that isn’t expected to do a ton in 2026, winning by four touchdowns is a solid start to the Jimmy Rogers Era.

The concern you have is that Iowa State managed 303 yards of total offense, and Jaylen Raynor competed just 50% of his attempts for 184 yards and two scores. But Rogers’ defense made a dozen tackles for loss and six sacks.

Iowa State has won the past two Cy-Hawk games, but it would take a fairly decent upset to make that three wins in a row.

16. Oklahoma State (-10)

Record: 0-1
Week 1 Result: L, 24-10 at Tulsa
Week 2 Matchup: vs. Oregon (+22.5)

No matter how much I try to slather lipstick on this pig, there’s no way I can justifiably put a team that lost to a Group of 6 school in Week 1 anywhere but the bottom of this list.

Do I think OSU is the worst team in this league? No. But can I prove anything otherwise at this point? Also no.

This weekend’s Big 12 slate is outstanding, with one conference game getting going and another six Big 12 teams taking on a team from another Power Conference.

Here’s a breakdown of games worth keeping an eye on this weekend.

Big 12 Schedule

No. 23 Missouri (1-0) at Kansas (1-0) — 7 p.m. Friday on FOX
No. 6 Oregon (1-0) at Oklahoma State (0-1) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN
Arizona State (1-0) at No. 10 Texas A&M (1-0) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC
Washington State (0-1) at Kansas State (1-0) — 11 a.m. Saturday on TNT
UT-Martin (1-1) at West Virginia (1-0) — Noon Saturday on ESPN+
Arizona (1-0) at No. 15 BYU (1-0) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX
Weber State (1-1) at Colorado (1-0) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
UCF (1-0) at Pitt (1-0) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2
Southern (1-1) at No. 22 Houston (1-0) — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Western Carolina (1-1) at Cincinnati (1-0) — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
No. 13 Texas Tech (1-0) at Oregon State (0-1) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS
Iowa State (1-0) at No. 21 Iowa (1-0) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC
Prairie View A&M (1-1) at Baylor (0-1) — 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Grambling (2-0) at TCU (0-1) — 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Arkansas (1-0) at No. 20 Utah (1-0) — 9:15 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Border War: An old Big Eight rivalry takes the stage Friday night as a ranked Missouri team heads to Lawrence.

The Jayhawks handled Long Island 51-6 last week, with first-year starter Isaiah Marshall throwing for 246 yards and two touchdowns while running for another 49 yards. Look out for receiver Nik McMillan, who caught six passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in Week 1.

Mizzou started the year with a 54-14 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, with quarterback Austin Simmons throwing for 252 yards and four TDs with just two incompletions.

Arizona State-Texas A&M: A new Big 12 team vs. an old Big 12 team.

The Aggies enter this one as two-touchdown favorites after beating Missouri State 50-0 to start the year.

The Sun Devils hung 70 on Morgan State, with QB Cutter Boley throwing for 387 yards and six touchdowns. Three different ASU receivers hit the century mark:

Reed Harris — six catches, 137 yards, two touchdowns
Grayson Rigdon — two catches, 110 yards, two touchdowns
Omarion Miller — eight catches 102 yards, one touchdown

It would be huge for the Big 12 if Arizona State could go to Kyle Field and get the job done.

Arizona-BYU: Hello, Week 2 conference action.

The Cougars are a touchdown favorite against an Arizona team that brings in one of the league’s more experienced quarterbacks.

Noah Fifita threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 35-7 win against Northern Arizona in Week 1.

BYU steamrolled Utah Tech 63-7 with Bear Bachmeier completing 80% of his attempts for 198 yards and three scores.

UCF-Pitt: This game might not catch as many eyeballs as the others we’ve mentioned to this point, but it could still be a big deal in the battle in solidifying the third-best conference in college football between the Big 12 and ACC.

The Knights blasted Bethune-Cookman 73-6 in Week 1, running for 360 yards on 9.5 yards a carry. It wasn’t a super dominant game from a passing standpoint, with Alonza Barnett III going 11-for-18 for 158 yards, a TD and an INT, but it’s hard to nitpick a 73-6 win too hard.

Pitt opened with a 59-14 win against Miami (OH) in which Panther QB Mason Heintschel threw for 453 yards and seven touchdowns.

Cy-Hawk: In perhaps the gnarliest in-state rivalry of them all, Iowa State has won two in a row against the Hawkeyes, but this will be the first Cy-Hawk with Jimmy Rogers leading Iowa State onto the field.

Iowa bucked its reputation and put up 40 points in a Week 1 win against Northern Illinois. Receiver Tony Diaz has made some noise with his seven-catch, 84-yard performance.

The Cyclones beat SEMO 38-10 in Rogers’ debut in a game where the Iowa State defense made a dozen tackles for loss and six sacks.

Arkansas-Utah: The Big 12 has to take advantage of when a team perceived to be at the top of its league takes on a perceived bottom-tier team from one of the two big leagues.

The Utes rolled through Idaho 66-14 last week, gaining 633 yards of total offense while throwing for five touchdowns and running for four more.

Ryan Silverfield’s Arkansas debut came in a 31-14 win against North Alabama.

Other Games to Watch

No. 11 Oklahoma (1-0) at Michigan (1-0*)
No. 12 Alabama (1-0) at Kentucky (1-0)
Memphis (2-0) at Boise State (0-1)
No. 1 Ohio State (1-0) vs. No. 4 Texas (1-0)

OU-Michigan: This game had some hype going into the year, but after Michigan’s controversial win* against Western Michigan last week, the thought now is can Michigan even keep it close? This might not be a very good game, but it’ll be a highly talked about contest.

Alabama-Kentucky: These teams get the SEC slate going.

The Crimson Tide is a 10.5-point favorite at the time of writing, following a 48-10 win against East Carolina. Sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell threw for 256 yards and ran for 86 yards in that game.

Kentucky thumped Youngstown State 45-13, with QB Kenny Minchey throwing for 301 yards and four TDs.

Memphis-Boise State: There isn’t a game this weekend that has more College Football Playoff implications than this one. With it being likely that only one Group of 6 school gets in, Memphis and Boise State are two front runners at this point.

Memphis has already dispatched one of those other contenders in UNLV before the Tigers beat Arkansas State 42-24 last week.

Boise State went to Eugene and gave the Ducks all they wanted in a 34-27 Oregon win.

Ohio State-Texas: All the storylines — No. 1 ranking on the line, Arch Manning vs. Julian Sayin, two coaches who seats are seemingly always a little warm.

Both took care of business against lesser competition in Week 1, but now two of the nation’s most talented rosters will get together and see who is better.

With Oklahoma State losing its season opener to the Golden Hurricane last week and now welcoming a Top 10 Oregon squad to town, we’ve gotten back together and reset our expectations for the Cowboys’ 2026 season.

Marshall Scott: Now that some time has past, where are you guys at with this team?

It was obviously a massive letdown, but I think it hit the fanbase particularly hard because the past two seasons when the Cowboys started to lose, it felt terminal — like it wasn’t going to get better. I don’t think that’s the case with this team. I think they’ll win some games, but losing to Tulsa definitely reset/lowered expectations for the group.

Kyle Cox: You said it. Definitely knocked them off a bit of a pedestal that I think we all had put them on. I think the key to remember is that this is Year 1 and it’s a new team and coaching staff.

And it is a different team than the one that went 1-11 last year. It also doesn’t help that they’ve got to follow up that loss with a visit from a Top 10 Oregon team that embarrassed OSU last year.

Kinda need to get through it this week, hopefully keeping it closer than 66 points.

Tyler Waldrep: I think Morris is a good coach still. The offense was a lot more interesting, harder to defend that what we’ve seen in the last two years. Now most of that is probably because of the talent at QB.

I still think Drew is a good, probably great QB, from a physical standpoint. He definitely has NFL traits. I’ve always said I need to see how he plays mentally at this level. For the most part, I thought he did average in that regard in Game 1 given the pressure the OL allowed. That’s where I’m worried. I’m not confident the line will get much better. It totally could, but we saw poor offensive line play absolutely since 2024 and it played a big role in 2025’s failures as well.

I guess I think this team will win a few games, but hard to say how many or when.

Marshall: Going into the year, I thought games against Houston, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Arizona State would determine OSU’s season. It now feels like games against West Virginia, UCF, Colorado, Iowa State and Kansas will determine the season.

Tyler: I think I agree with that. I’m now worried about every Big 12 game instead of just the really tough road ones and Texas Tech.

Kyle: From the expectation standpoint, I think a reset of what is a successful season is needed. I think a bowl game would be a win. Which, like I’ll go back to, is more on par with a complete roster reset and new staff.

Marshall: I don’t know that many will pick the Pokes to beat the Ducks this weekend. To Kyle’s point, this isn’t the preferred get-right spot. But what could we see in this game that would sooth some concerns you have for the Cowboys?

Kyle: I think Tyler touched on it. The offense needs pay off some of those drives with touchdowns. Oregon’s defensive front is really good so I’m not super confident. But a flash of some of the playmaking ability would really help, I think. Maybe that means getting more creative with the playbook.

But that is where this team is now. They’re going to be underdogs until they prove otherwise, especially this weekend, so why not chuck the kitchen sink?

Tyler: I think I need to see three things.

1. At least one truly awesome longer completion from Drew (like 15ish or longer yards).
2. The offensive line provide more consistent protection (even if they still give up sacks to a pretty good DL)
3. I’d like to see the defense still remain competitive. I actually really liked how they played TU. Fourth-down failures and turnovers put them in a bad position last week. Yeah, they gave up big plays, but I’m OK with that especially in Game 1 under those circumstances. I’m sure Oregon will expose this group a lot, but if the defense can still win high-leverage plays like third down and mostly be in the right spot I’ll probably feel OK regardless of the final score.

Marshall: Yeah, I think I’m in a similar boat to you guys in that the offense needs to show some signs of life through points or big plays. That was perhaps the most-surprising part about the actual game in Tulsa is that OSU had virtually no big chunk plays that resembled the No. 1 offense from North Texas a year ago. If you can hit on a couple of those against the Ducks and keep the score around the spread (+22.5), I think you take that on the chin and get ready for the next week.

Kyle: I’m really interested to see how this team responds. Do they come out swinging? Do they embrace the underdog role? Morris even mentioned a need to let them know they hadn’t won anything during camp. Did they come in riding too much hype against Tulsa?

Tyler: Either we will never fully know what undid this team at Tulsa … or we will watch this team lose a lot like last year’s and realize in a month that somehow these guys just aren’t good. I’m hoping TU just stands out as this really weird anomaly when we look back on this year.

Marshall: Yeah, I’m leaving room for the world that the Tulsa game was just a wacky, Week 1 upset, but the past two seasons also have me on my toes in thinking maybe we were all just dead wrong about this group.

The past three seasons have showed OSU what the floor and the ceiling are for losing to a Group of 6 team. In 2023, the Cowboys lost to South Alabama and made the Big 12 title game. In 2025, the Cowboys lost to Tulsa and were basically dead from that point on.

I’m not sure either extreme is realized this year, but those are the waters the Cowboys are swimming in.

Tyler: Besides OL (which I assume we agree on), what’s the weak link for this team?

Kyle: I’m not sure I have one. I’m not ready to point to any one spot on the offense based on the OL and a short sample size. Maybe RB depth? But that feels to early to say.

Like you said, I thought the defense played OK in Week 1. I know that’s a non-committal answer.

Marshall: It was all so meh, that I’m not really sure I know.

Felt like Clint Eastwood was watching that Tulsa game

Tyler: From a position point, I think it’s TE, which to be fair to both OSU, the guys we saw Saturday were probably supposed to be third options at best. So from that standpoint, they probably excelled, but it felt like they were a slightly worse than needed to be as blockers and definitely not good enough receivers.

I was a bit worried about the “super deep and awesome and strong and fast and did I mention awesome DE” spot not producing much at Tulsa. Feels like if you can’t get to Tulsa’s QB who will you get to?

Marshall: Yeah, I’m perhaps wondering if the depth of the edge rushers might’ve said more about the offensive line in camp than it did about the edge rushers. I’m trying to not be too over reactionary to the O-line considering Sexton’s injury threw a wrench into things, but muting those feelings is difficult.

You can also find this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

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OSU Bullets

• All the Oregon intel – what Oregon players said, what Oregon’s head coach said, plus three more things to know (PFB)

• A non-biased Big 12 writer predicting the OSU-Oregon game (HCS)

• Looking at Eric Morris and his former American Athletic conference peers that took Power Four jobs –  this statement appears to be proving out regarding roster construction:

Continuity buys a coach a head start on terminology. It doesn’t make him a better player than the one lining up across from him. Three athletic directors spent the winter betting it did, but it didn’t quite work out in their debuts. [CBS Sports]

• No sight of the Cowboys in ESPN’s bottom-ten of college football (ESPN)

• Pokes join a solid slate of games this week – OU/Michigan, Ohio State/Texas, and Iowa State/Iowa (without Matt Campbell) will draw eyes:

College Football Week 2 TV schedule pic.twitter.com/QFx53E2IKW

— Top Tier (@TopTierStateX) September 9, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• See Lewis & Clark’s journey on Google Earth

• Ten things to hate about college football (for those of us who love college football) Can’t tell if this would solve analysis paralysis or create more – I think it’s the former.

There is always more than one way to do something. Write down as many ways as you can think of to achieve your desired outcome. Then, rank them based on how much time they take, how much money they cost, and how effective you expect them to be. Choose the best.

— James Clear (@JamesClear) September 9, 2026

After failing what many viewed as a practice test, the Cowboys are being thrown into the final.

Oklahoma State hosts a talented Oregon squad at 11 a.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. After beating Boise State 34-27 on Saturday, the Ducks actually dropped from No. 2 to No. 6 in the AP Poll.

When these teams met last season in Eugene, it wasn’t competitive. Oregon stormed to a 69-3 win in a game where the OSU offense mustered just 144 yards of total offense. A few weeks later, Mike Gundy was out and the Cowboys’ roster evaporated over the coming months, leading to this big reset with new coach Eric Morris.

When the Oregon players met with the media on Tuesday, it didn’t sound as if they were leaning on last year’s result.

“It’s a whole different team,” running back Jordon Davison said. “Whole new roster. I believe they have like 90 new players, so we’re not in that mindset of, ‘Oh, this is gonna be like last year.’ We’re in a mindset of we’re playing a really good team and a really good coach.”

Despite the closer-than-anticipated score, the Ducks’ offense had a nice day against Boise State, gaining 497 yards from scrimmage — 378 through the air and 119 on the ground.

Ziyare Addison is Oregon’s left tackle. Only a redshirt freshman, Addison was a four-star recruit in the 2025 recruiting class, taking visits to UCLA, Georgia and Florida before committed to the Ducks.

“They kind of remind me of Boise State, with the stems and the pops they have,” Addison said of OSU’s defense. “I feel like this offensive line group is really special, and (offensive line) coach (A’lique) Terry and coach (Dan) Lanning are always gonna put us in position to win, so I’m just trusting in the game plan that they have, and I feel like we’re gonna execute like we did against Boise State.”

Before the results of last weekend, the college football world at large was excited to see how Oregon’s stout defense would handle the high-powered attack of Morris and quarterback Drew Mestemaker. But after the Cowboys scored just 10 points against Tulsa, a lot of that hype has dwindled.

The Cowboys narrowly outgained Tulsa, totaling 368 yards. In 49 attempts, Mestemaker threw for 241 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. The OSU ground attack managed 127 yards on 37 carries, with running back Caleb Hawkins providing 79 of those yards on 18 totes.

“I feel like that just comes down to doing my job, making sure my eyes are on point, I’m aligned, looking at my keys and just doing my job,” linebacker Dylan Williams said. “Respectable running back, for sure. He’s a bigger-bodied power back, so like I said, coming from corrections from last game, our defense feels like we really need to fix up tackling, so we’ve been working on that every single week, just to make sure we’re nitpicking our tackling.”

Coaleon Johnson announced announced an Oklahoma State offer on Wednesday. The Cowboys join the likes of SMU, Kansas State and others that have extended offers to the 6-foot-4, 180-pound corner.

Blessed to receive an offer from Oklahoma State University! 🧡🏈 Thank you to Coach and the entire Oklahoma State staff for believing in me. Go Pokes! 🤠#GoPokes #Big12 #RecruitMe #Blessed pic.twitter.com/XprPeqObaV

— 3⭐️Coaleon Johnson (@CjSauceJohnson) September 9, 2026

Johnson plays at Iowa Western. He’s coming off a two interception game against Coffeyville this past weekend, and through two games this season, Johnson has also made five tackles.

He’s out of Chicago and played his freshman year at Rochester Community and Technical College. In 10 games there, Johnson intercepted six passes, recovered three fumbles and made 55 total tackles. That was enough for Johnson to be named an NCJAA First Team All-American.

So that means that through a dozen games at the junior college level, Johnson has intercepted eight passes.

Per his X account, Johnson is set to graduate in December.

The Cowboys have a pair of defensive backs committed in their 2027 recruiting class in high school seniors Bryson Brown (Broken Arrow) and Chayce Davis (Euless, Texas).

OSU’s new staff hasn’t been shy about taking guys from lower levels of college football, including the junior college ranks. OSU added safety Bobby Deal Jr. this offseason from Coffeyville, and linebacker Taurean Davis joined from Mississippi Gulf Coast.

STILLWATER — Eric Morris was hired to rebuild Oklahoma State into a Big 12 title contender the same way the Pokes usually got there — with a high-scoring offense.

That clearly didn’t happen in the opener, but the Cowboys’ defense looked more than competent for most of the loss against Tulsa.

In fact, the defense ranks seventh in the nation on third down after holding TU to 1-of-11.

“If we’re able to dominate on third down, we should be able to dominate on second down and fourth down,” nickel Christian Bodnar said. “… If we can have like a same mindset that we have on third down that they’re not going to get to the sticks, then if we do that every down, I mean, it will be a hard defense to stop.”

Both Bodnar and linebacker Tate Romney said they take a lot of confidence from OSU’s performance on third down even if they were disappointed with some of the other plays on Saturday.

When asked what was different in those moments, Romney made it sound simple.

“I mean, it’s just doing your job,” he said. “You know, when everybody on defense does their job, good things happen.”

Although much better than the Cowboys, No. 6 Oregon’s offense struggled on third down as well, converting only 33% of the time, which currently ranks 96th in the nation.

“We were very great on third down,” Bodnar said. “It was just a lot of plays where we just didn’t align right, or maybe just didn’t do our job. As maybe one person didn’t do the job, and it can create explosive play just by one person not being in the right spot. So I think we showed that we can be a great defense, but we just had to have competitive stamina to do it for a full game.”

Those explosive plays proved to be the defense’s undoing on Saturday as Tulsa picked up 58% of its offensive yards on seven plays of at least 15 yards or more. That doesn’t bode well considering the Ducks rank 29th in the country in yards per play (7.89) despite their struggles on third down.

In fairness to Oklahoma State, 47 of those yards almost went away when cornerback LaDainian Fields came what felt like centimeters away from an interception on a nearly simultaneous catch that went Tulsa’s way when he hit the ground first.

“Best thing I can say is you got to have strong hands,” Bodnar said of the near pick. “Especially since he was, you know, in front. … It was just a great play by both.”

That set Tulsa up for seven points. In fact, all four of TU’s scoring drives included at least one big play. It would be the understatement of the year to say those kinds of plays were an issue for Oklahoma State last year against the Ducks.

It’s possible this group is much more well-equipped to hang with the Ducks on the ground, at least. One of the only things Morris chose to praise during his press conference on Tuesday was the defensive front.

“A really bright spot for us was I thought our interior D line played good,” he said. “I thought they were physical and rolled in and out of there. I really liked what they were able to put on tape.”

The offensive-minded coach often praised OSU’s defensive ends as the deepest position on the team. That depth struggled to live up to those compliments for most of Saturday as only Jaleel Johnson and James Williams recorded a single pressure in the loss.

When asked what the defense did well last week, Romney echoed his head coach when it came to the defensive line.

“I think our defensive line played really well,” he said. “I think they did a great job stopping the run, especially interior run. I think we did a really good job handling the interior run. Obviously, they had some perimeter runs late in the game that broke through, but I think that was really the main thing we did well. I think we did good playing together as a unit, pretty good too.”

Romney and fellow linebacker Ethan Wesloski finished tied for the team lead in tackles with seven each. Wesloski finished as the team’s second-highest graded defender (69.1 on PFF) behind only Williams (70.5).

Wesloski paced the team with five stops, defined by PFF as tackles that constitute offensive failures. That puts OSU’s defensive leader in a tie for 23rd in stops per game nationally.

“Everything works together,” Morris said. “I think when your interior D-line sticks out, your linebackers usually are getting off, and they’re making plays. … But Ethan played well. He was fast, he saw it. He ran the alley, made some great plays in space.”

We’ve made it to Wednesday, and thus far there haven’t been any funding-based shots flying between Stillwater and Eugene to add any more tension to Saturday’s game like there was last season.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning was rather complimentary of Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris and quarterback Drew Mestemaker ahead of OSU’s game against Oregon at 11 a.m. Saturday in Stillwater.

Here are four other things Lanning hit on this week to preview the game.

1. Skyler Cassity’s Defense

Lanning is one of the premier defensive minds in college football.

A former linebacker himself, Lanning climbed the coaching ranks on the defensive side of the ball, eventually coordinating Georgia’s defense from 2019 to 2021. The Bulldogs won a national title that last year.

So, Lanning knows what he’s talking about when it comes to good defense, and he seems to be a fan of what OSU defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity brings to the table.

“Skyler Cassity does a really good job there,” Lanning said. “Again, presents a lot of different looks. They’re primarily a four-down team, but they do a lot of stuff ultimately, and they can do it in a lot of different ways. They utilize nickel personnel. They can play bracket quarters. They can bring a lot of simulated pressures that you have to be prepared for. But yeah, just the fact that they’re adaptable and adjustable, I think you can see that. They travel the nickel to the boundary sometimes, they don’t sometimes. It’s a combination of both, so it’s a lot of different pictures that they can present.

“They get to go against tempo every single day. I think that’s one of the biggest things that obviously they present on offense. Their ability to line up — we had some successful plays on Saturday because we were able to line up fast and get the ball out before the defense was lined up. I don’t know that you can anticipate that happening in this game because they get to face that quite a bit.”

2. The Stillwater Heat

The heat has been a big talking point in the southern half of the United States to start this football season.

Turf temperatures reached north of 160 degrees in OSU’s game against Tulsa this past weekend.

For now, the forecast actually predicts it to be about 86 degrees with about 65% humidity when Saturday’s game kicks off, which is much more mild than it has been. But the other side of that coin is that it’ll be about 56 degrees in Eugene when this game kicks off in Stillwater.

Along with the increased temperatures, it’ll also feel like it’s 9 a.m. to the West Coast Ducks when the game kicks off at 11 a.m. Central on Saturday. Lanning said because of that early kick, his team is actually traveling on Thursday, a day earlier than normal.

“Just a little bit different,” Lanning said. “We’re playing this game at 9 a.m. our time. I think the heat will be something that we have to adapt to relatively quick. It hasn’t been hot up here, and it’s obviously gonna be really warm on the turf there. So, just traveling, how you hydrate, how you make sure that you’re fresh when you get down there, all those things will contribute, and we have to handle it really well.”

3. Responding from a Closer-Than-Expected Week 1

Both of this games’ coaches were asked a decent amount about response going into this game.

For Oklahoma State, that need to respond is obvious given the Cowboys’ loss in Tulsa. For Oregon, it’s just a matter that the Ducks’ 34-27 win against Boise State was closer than the experts might’ve thought.

The stats show a more controlled game than the score might. Oregon outgained the Broncos 497-274. But the kicker is that Oregon went 0-for-3 on fourth down, a similar issue that plagued the Cowboys in Tulsa, which kept Boise in the game.

“I thought the guys responded well,” Lanning said. “You see a result like that for us, ultimately there were some things that we did that were really good in the game, and then there were some things that we didn’t do well in the game, as well. And there’s individual performances that were really positive and then some that weren’t, but ultimately just came out slow.

“And give credit to a good team, too, in Boise. Boise is a good team. They always play us tough, but I thought our guys responded today, attacked what they needed to attack.”

4. Injury Updates on Two Receivers

Throwing the ball wasn’t a big issue for the Ducks against Boise State.

Quarterback Dante Moore threw for 378 and three touchdowns while completing 76% of his attempts. Then three Ducks had at least 70 receiving yards in Jeremiah McClellan (six catches for 150 yards and a touchdown), Dakorien Moore (six catches for 93 yards and a touchdown) and Evan Stewart (eight catches for 72 yards).

But Lanning was asked Monday about two receivers who didn’t suite up in UAB transfer Iverson Hooks and five-star freshman Jalen Lott.

The OSU staff will be familiar with Hooks, as he had six catches for 58 yards in North Texas’ win against UAB last season. He finished the year with 72 catches for 927 yards and seven touchdowns. When Hooks hit the portal, OSU reportedly reached out.

Lott was the No. 19 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking for the 2026 recruiting class. Out of Frisco, Texas, Lott chose Oregon over offers from LSU, Georgia, USC, Texas, Ohio State, Alabama and others.

“Jalen will be down just for a little bit,” Lanning said. “Had a minor corrective surgery on his hand. Iverson kind of tweaked his hamstring in the middle of last week, so just wasn’t able to go full strength. Think we’ll have him back this week.”

Let’s take a look at three things to know about this weekend’s matchup as we brace for Saturday.

1. A Dangerous Defensive Front

The Cowboys’ offensive line had a hard time handling Tulsa’s defensive front on Saturday. Now it has to try to hold back maybe the best defensive line in college football.

Defensive tackle A’Mauri Washington is a projected first-round pick who racked up 33 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss last season. From the interior of the line, he had 1.5 sacks and eight pass breakups. And his fellow defensive tackle Bear Alexander had 50 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss.

On the edge, the Cowboys will have to deal with sack-leader Tetium Tuitoti (9.5 plus 16 TFLs) and Mayao Uiagalelei (six sacks and 9.5 TFLs). And that’s just the first wave of a defensive line that rotates

It’s going to be even tougher given that starting left tackle Jacob Sexton is out for the year after going down early in Week 1.

It’s hard to know exactly how big of a factor that loss was since we didn’t really get to see the line gel for an entire series with him in there, but the group wasn’t able to keep Drew Mestemaker’s jersey clean or make running lanes consistently against a defensive front that, let’s face it, isn’t littered with projected draft picks coming off a big year.

2. Oregon Also Had a Disappointing Debut

OK, on the spectrum of disappointing season openers, the Cowboys and Ducks aren’t even in the same universe. The Ducks won, obviously.

But a team that came in ranked No. 2 in the nation, had to see some late-game heroics and a career outing by its quarterback just to come out with the win. The Ducks scored with 19 seconds in the second just to pull within 17-14 to Boise. They trailed at halftime and didn’t go up for good until deep into the fourth quarter.

That’s when Dante Moore found Dakorien Moore for a 62-yard touchdown with just under eight minutes to go that finally let Oregon take the lead. Yes, the same Dakorien Moore that scored a 65-yard touchdown on the Cowboys last season.

That leads us to the last point, and it ain’t pretty.

3. Watch Out for Chunk Plays

The Ducks can hit home run plays, and the Pokes can give them up.

Dakorien Moore is not the only Duck who can fly away from a defense. Against Boise State, Jeremiah McClellan had catches of 50, 51 and 23 yards. The Ducks had seven passing plays of over 20 yards in Week 1, plus a 40-yard rushing play by Jordon Davison. And we remember the number of haymakers last year’s Cowboys took in Eugene.

And though it’s a small sample size, this year’s Cowboy defense has shown to propensity to get beat.

Tulsa receivers logged plays of 56, 47 and 59 yards, and Damari Alston hit them with a 29-yard rushing TD. All in all, that’s six plays down the field of at least 20 yards given up. Somehow that only resulted in 24 Tulsa points. The Ducks have a lot more firepower.

If the Cowboys want to stay within striking distance, they’ll need to limit to big plays, but that’s easier said than done.

OSU Bullets

• Couple of nuggets from Eric Morris’ press conference yesterday – running back two gig is wide open + Jacob Sexton was ruled out for the rest of the year (PFB)

• ESPN’s SP+ projects the Pokes to lose 37-16 to Oregon (X)

• Eric Morris pointed out you can’t get where you want to be if you don’t know where you are.

“But the only thing is, I’m excited because I know exactly where we’re at right now as a program, as a team, where we did OK, where we were just awful and you start making a checklist of things you got to improve on, right? And can you do that all in one day? Absolutely not. I know exactly where we’re at. There are things that obviously were not good.” [PFB]

• The short history of competing between OSU and Oregon (PFB)

• We’ll see if it was a bad game, responding poorly to pressure, or just where he’s at – but Drew Mestemaker has some growth ahead of him.

The amount of easy *day one* throws missed by DM was pretty eye opening, I counted atleast 7. Maybe the team stinks 🤷🏻‍♂️, but have to think this won’t happen this much again. If so, can safely delay any NFL talk. pic.twitter.com/l4fqKCdL6v

— Adam Lunt (@AdamLunt817) September 9, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• LIV Golf has reportedly filed bankruptcy

• Daily vigilance for lifelong productivity (faith-based) So much football to look forward to:

Here is what your Quad Box should look like during each TV window on Saturday. We’ve got a loaded Saturday coming up. pic.twitter.com/vgiU8KIQ0f

— BoxScore (@BoxScore_FB) September 8, 2026

Let’s take a look at the short history between the two schools but first, here are the particulars.

Capsule

Overall record: UO leads 0-2
Neutral site meetings: UO leads 0-1
Meetings in Stillwater: N/A
Meetings in Eugene: UO leads 0-1
Past 10 meetings: UO leads 0-2
First meeting (2008): Oregon won 42-31 (Pacific Life Holiday Bowl)
Most recent meeting (2025): Oregon beat OSU 69-3

I’m going to assume that most of us are pretty familiar with last year’s game. To touch on it briefly, the Cowboys got embarrassed by the Ducks to the tune of a LOT to a little. Oregon started with a 59-yard touchdown run by Noah Whittingham followed less than a minute later with a 65-yard touchdown connection between quarterback Dante Moore and receiver Dakorien Moore. The Ducks didn’t look back. Chunk play after chunk play decimated the Pokes’ defense and sent the scoreboard up into absurdity. I think I just kind of blacked at some point in the first quarter.

It was the worst loss in Mike Gundy’s career at OSU and the largest deficit at OSU in over a century. A week later, the Cowboys lost to Tulsa at home and then they fired their head coach.

Holiday Bowl (2008)

The first time OSU and Oregon met, the Cowboys were just getting going under Gundy. It was the Cowboys’ third straight bowl game in Gundy’s fourth season, a streak which would last 18 years. Unfortunately, it was also his first postseason loss.

It was Dez Bryant’s breakout year, and Zac Robinson was at the height of his powers, which made the ending of this one so disappointing for OSU fans.

Coming in the Cowboys, who had been ranked as high as No. 8 had dropped to No. 13 after losing three of their last four games. Those were to No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Texas Tech, and No. 3 Oklahoma, respectively. They also beat No. 3 Missouri earlier in the season.

Oregon came in as the slight underdog, ranked 15th in the nation after winning their last three including a Top 20 matchup with in-state rival Oregon State.

Byrant and Kendall Hunter each crossed the goal line in the first quarter to help the Cowboys take a 17-7 lead which they retained into the second half. But a pair of interceptions by Robinson and an absolute beatdown on the ground, allowed the Ducks to outscore the Cowboys 35-14 in the second half.

Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli threw for 258 yards, a touchdown and a pick, but he also rushed for 106 yards and three more scores. Ducks running back Jeremiah Johnson added 119 yards and a rushing score.

Hunter had another TD and Robinson rushed for one to take the lead back at 31-28 early in the fourth, but the Cowboys next three drives went: punt, punt, turnover on downs while the Ducks scored consecutive touchdowns to put it away.

STILLWATER — Caleb Hawkins’ backup was one of the more intriguing position battles of the offseason, but that intrigue took a new meaning this past weekend in Tulsa.

No one took ahold of Oklahoma State’s RB2 slot in the Cowboys’ 24-10 loss to the Golden Hurricane. So much so, that — despite Tre Page III being listed on the depth chart — OSU coach Eric Morris said the spot is up for grabs.

“Yeah, completely open,” Morris said Tuesday. “Completely open. So, may the best man win.”

Page and Ayo Adeyi were the only backs outside of Hawkins to play offensive snaps against Tulsa.

A James Madison transfer who was at North Texas under Morris in 2023, Adeyi carried six times and gained 24 yards. A Tarleton State transfer, Page carried seven times and gained 19 yards.

Both Adeyi and Page failed to convert a 4th-and-1, with Page fumbling on his try, which led him to not get any more carries from midway through the second quarter.

Morris was asked if Adeyi will continue to get carries against Oregon.

“It depends how he practices this week,” Morris said bluntly.

The Cowboy running backs forced two missed tackles Saturday, per PFF, both via Hawkins. They ran for five first downs — four from Hawkins and one from Adeyi. They were targeted 11 times in the passing game and made seven catches — six from Hawkins and the other from Adeyi. Needless to say, Hawkins needs some help.

UCO transfer William Mason got in for three offensive snaps on Saturday, but didn’t touch the ball. Mason also played five special teams snaps, where he picked up a personal foul penalty while blocking on a kick return.

North Texas transfer Dennis Moody III also played three special teams snaps, two on kick coverage and one on punt coverage.

The other running backs on the roster are freshmen KD Jones and Javen Hall.

If the OSU fanbase had a vote in the matter, Jones would get some run. In the new five-for-five eligibility model, there isn’t redshirting, so OSU wouldn’t need to protect him from that.

Jones is, though, slighter of frame than most of the running back room while he develops his body as a college football player. Still, he’s Jenks’ all-time leader in rushing yards (4,742), all-purpose yards (5,798) and rushing touchdowns (67).

Who steps up as Hawkins’ backup doesn’t seem as important as long as someone steps up to give the Cowboys’ hard-nosed rusher an occasional breather.

STILLWATER — The offseason was filled with people from all over the country wondering just how good the Cowboys could be with the roster first-year coach Eric Morris assembled.

And then the first game came and muffled all of that excitement.

Oklahoma State is now a few days removed from its 24-10 season-opening loss to Tulsa. On Tuesday, Morris met with reporters for the first time since that loss. It wasn’t the ideal debut by any means, but it sounds like that first sample size of live bullets gave the Cowboys’ coach a direction.

“That’s as bad as it gets, what we faced starting off the way that we started off with so much hype and whatever,” Morris said. “And, as crazy as it sounds, people are saying, ‘Oh, he’s just saying that.’ I just told our team this. I’m happy in a way — not happy at all that we lost — we spend way too much time, resources, too many people over here that pour their heart and soul into this to want to go out there and have a performance like that. 

“But the only thing is, I’m excited because I know exactly where we’re at right now as a program, as a team, where we did OK, where we were just awful and you start making a checklist of things you got to improve on, right? And can you do that all in one day? Absolutely not. I know exactly where we’re at. There are things that obviously were not good.”

Among the checklist of negatives that Morris pointed out Tuesday included: the Cowboys were off early, Drew Mestemaker missed some early throws, the O-line allowed pressure, there were busts on offense and defense, the Cowboys got beat at the point of attack and various other examples of poor execution. He also noted some positives, pointing to the interior of the Cowboys’ defensive line as a group that played well.

Morris said he didn’t like the conditioning shape his team showed Saturday, citing body language and players throwing up. Morris gave a somewhat similar quote following the Cowboys’ first practice of fall camp, noting it looked like the heat got to some guys.

“All these things are self-reflection,” Morris said. “The mind is, all night, can’t sleep and you just replay everything in your mind. You take notes. Obviously, there’s people that have been around it and there’s a bunch of science involved. So we’ll get a bunch of smart people in a room and try to figure out the best way to solve it.”

Working through the team’s deficiencies is one thing. But the Cowboys are starting that process while awaiting one of the nation’s top teams, as Oregon is set to travel to Stillwater this weekend.

On a few occasions since taking over as the Cowboys’ head coach, Morris has noted the importance of momentum. Going into this past Saturday, the Cowboys seemingly had the wind at their back. That was stopped abruptly.

“You have all of this momentum, and then when you have it, you want to keep it,” Morris said. “When you don’t got it, you’ve got to go get it. Almost like leverage in life. And there’s a bunch of people obviously disappointed, and then we have a bunch of people reading press clippings and social media saying how bad we are and what a disgrace we are and all that stuff. Like, are we mentally tough enough to block that out?

“And we have another opportunity, like a great opportunity. Obviously when you see, you build something up to where you want to play the best. This is a team that is up there in the conversation to being one of the best in the nation this year, and rightfully so. It’s something we’ve got to go out there, and we’ve got to get one game better. There needs to be a ton of growth from Game 1 to Game 2 for our program.”

How does that growth start, with a firm look in the mirror … or the film.

Morris said the team film session Monday was uncomfortable, but it was important for his team to face the truth.

“We tell the truth to our players,” Morris said. “We sat up here yesterday morning, in the first team meeting, and we had some hard discussions, and we watched it together. Football is one of those things, it’s the greatest team sport in the world. One person not doing their job exposes everybody in this program. That happened in a variety of different ways. …

“There’s a bunch of issues. I’m not discounting that. I know that probably more than anybody. And there’s things that we got to start addressing and we got to start building the program. This is the way that I’ve done it in the past and I have full confidence in the way we’re going to do it here again. Is that acceptable and OK? Absolutely not. But that’s the spot. That’s our starting point. Not a great one, and off we go.”

STILLWATER — On Saturday, Oklahoma State did its best impression of Charlie Brown kicking the football when it came to 4th-and-1.

The Cowboys converted the first one, then failed to convert on the next four, including the final fourth-and-short opportunity, which came when OSU trailed by only seven points halfway through the fourth quarter on the Cowboys’ 34-yard line.

“Fourth down-and-1 are ‘GOs,’” Morris said. “Going back and look at it, don’t hate the calls. Obviously, hate the execution piece of it and what the outcome was. But I’ve always been aggressive in those situations.

“But obviously, if this becomes a trend, I gotta be smart enough to say, let’s punt the ball away and let our defense play good defense and try to get it back.”

Morris has been on both ends of the fourth-down spectrum, coaching the nation’s seventh-most efficient fourth-down offense last season after his UNT team ranked 91st in 2024.

Morris gave three running backs a chance to carry the football on 4th-and-1. Hawkins, who rushed for 3 yards on the first 4th-and-1, was stuffed at the TU 3-yard line, which Oregon coach Dan Lanning took notice of during his press conference on Monday.

“I don’t put a ton of stock that they didn’t win the game. … They also had some really tough situations throughout the game,” Lanning said. “Down at the goal line they are about to punch it in for the score and they don’t get it. Some costly turnovers that happened throughout the game, so the score could be completely different given a couple of situations. Just like our score could have been completely different based on a couple of situations.”

Then Tre Page, who was the clear-cut No. 2 back before this play, lost a fumble on his shot. Fellow back Ayo Adeyi found himself stalled out at the line of scrimmage on his opportunity, then Morris turned to the air where receiver Miles Coleman lacked enough push to break through when the Cowboys threw a quick screen his way.

“Really liked the first one, the call that we had down there,” Morris said of Hawkins’ play on the 3. “Got out-executed. The second one, we fumbled. Not very good. We put the ball on the ground. Third one, we misidentified the front and went to the wrong people up front.

“So, there’s so many problems in so many different things. We’ve got to address those, and we’ve got to be tough, like, ‘Are we mentally tough enough more in key moments to focus on what your job is and communicate it and get it done?’ Obviously, the answer was no for last game, and that’s an area that we’ve got to grow.”

Overall, Saturday’s offensive output was largely an improvement from last season, but it fell well short of the expectations that come with an up-and-comer in Morris and a high-profile transfer quarterback in Drew Mestemaker.

Morris described Saturday’s performance on fourth down, third down and in the red zone as “atrocious.” Hawkins seemed to share his feelings when asked about the issues on fourth down.

“It was hard,” he said. “Going to the sideline, maybe a little bit of anger coming out of it. Those situations, we already knew that coach Morris is aggressive and he likes to go for it on fourth down. We needed to capitalize on those things and do our job in every shape and form.”

It sounds like Morris isn’t ready to give up on fourth down just yet, so the Cowboys will get another chance to prove they can win in high-leverage spots.

Center Tyler Mercer has thought a lot about those missed chances over the last several days and the responsibility the offensive line has in turning those plays into wins for the offense.

“That’s kind of the weight that comes on the O-line, those fourth-and-shorts, third-and-shorts,” Mercer said. “So, like watching the film, those are tough pills to swallow, seeing where we fell short on those. There are obviously plays you wish you got back, but that’s the game of football, and you don’t get those back. So, learning off the film and putting in the work to fix it for the next time.”

STILLWATER — On Saturday, quarterback Drew Mestemaker took ownership of “the most embarrassing offensive performance he’s ever been a part of.”

It sounds like he showed up with a similar mindset this week.

Running back Caleb Hawkins said Mestemaker was “Super vocal, he came back on Monday at practice and told us straight up: ‘Hey, that’s unacceptable. We’re not gonna have a performance like that again. We’re gonna pass the ball better, we’re gonna run the ball better and we’re just gonna get everything in harmony again.’”

Most won’t need, or want, a reminder, but Mestemaker completed 59% of his passes for 241 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

It looked rough in every sense of the word, and the graders at Pro Football Focus agreed, giving him an overall offensive score of 50.9, which marks a new career low.

“I thought we were a little off early and maybe we’re extra excited right?” Morris said of Saturday’s game. “We missed some early throws early in the game, and then pressure got to us at certain points where we didn’t protect very well, and some of those throws weren’t Drew’s problem. We had some busts on both sides of the football. That happens everywhere in America, but those are things that exposed us in the game right?”

PFF agreed with Morris, and PFB’s rewatch where pass protection was concerned. PFF charted that Mestemaker was under pressure for 17 of his 54 dropbacks. He completed 4-of-13 passes (31%) for 52 yards and both interceptions. His receivers were also credited with one drop on these plays. The OSU QB’s grade under pressure plummeted to 36.2.

During the other 69% of his dropbacks, Mestemaker graded out at 61.7, and PFF had him completing 25-of-36 attempts (69%) for 189 yards and a touchdown. Plus, his receivers are credited with two drops that would have bumped his adjusted completion percentage up to 77%.

For context, Mestemaker was under pressure on 26% of his dropbacks last season and completed 49% of his attempts but threw only five touchdowns while also tossing five interceptions. Considering he only threw nine picks all of last season, it’s fair to wonder if he could be especially vulnerable to poor decisions in these moments.

That could be another problem again this week, as Oregon edge rushers Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti were the first thing that stood out to Morris when discussing the Ducks’ defense.

“I mean, you got two guys that have played that much football, long and aggressive and can get after the passer, set the edges in the run game,” Morris said. “They have so much experience up front in their starting four guys. … Obviously (the defense) they’re fast, they react, they tackle well, they create a bunch of issues, and so for us to stay in front of the chains and not be in predicaments down and distance getting in third-and-longs is going to be something key.”

PFF ranked that duo 62nd in the nation, incredibly they tied among pass rushers with more than 100 attempts last season. They combined for 11 total pressures in No. 6 Oregon’s opening win over Boise State.

Morris also expressed some disappointment with OSU’s ability to hit big plays through the air. Mestemaker finished 1-of-3 on throws 20-plus yards downfield. It had to be extra frustrating for Mestemaker considering he spent the offseason talking up both his play and willingness when it came to looking deep.

“Maybe a little antsy early and missed a couple,” Morris said of Mestemaker. “He’s just so accurate, especially intermediate (passes). I probably would have liked to have gotten a couple shots. They really put an umbrella on the defense.”

Mestemaker completed 39% of his deep shots last season, which resulted in eight touchdowns and only one interception. Arguably, the best area of the field for him to attack was between 10-19 yards away, as Mestemaker completed 65% of those throws, averaged 12.2 yards per attempt, and tossed nine touchdowns compared to only three interceptions.

On Saturday against Tulsa, Mestemaker completed 4-of-10 such throws for 63 yards, his lone touchdown and two interceptions.

Despite the healthy amount of criticism Morris has tossed his quarterback’s way since the end of Saturday’s loss, the OSU head coach isn’t concerned about Mestemaker’s response to tough coaching.

“Phenomenal, he’s someone that’s going to take it first,” Morris said. “And I think that just great competitors have that built in them, right? And Drew is exactly the same, and he’s never been one that’s going to point a finger. And so yeah, I think he took it really well.”

His teammates expressed similar sentiments throughout the last several days.

“He’s a baller,” OSU center Tyler Mercer said. “I think he’s gonna respond in the right way. He’s kept his cool. He’s kept level-headed. He’s a mature player, a mature quarterback, so he’s been in situations like this. We’ve seen him do well and pass for a lot. So, I believe in him. The whole team still has faith in him. The whole team has faith in the team itself. Yes, it was a rough weekend last weekend, but I don’t think that’s a good representation in any of (our) play.”

STILLWATER — What many feared but probably knew was true was confirmed on Tuesday: Cowboy left tackle Jacob Sexton is out for the year with a leg injury.

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris provided that news Tuesday after Sexton went down with an apparent leg injury just six plays into Oklahoma State’s surprising 24-10 loss to Tulsa this past weekend.

The only change on OSU’s updated depth chart was at left tackle, where North Texas transfer Desmond Magiya and Portland State transfer Shaun Torgeson shared an OR after those two rotated following Sexton’s injury.

Torgeson played the most snaps among OSU tackles in Tulsa, taking part in 69. Of those, 48 came at right tackle, where he was already set to rotate with Michigan State transfer Ashton Lepo as the two battled for that spot. But then with Sexton going down, Torgeson filled in with 21 snaps on the left side.

Magiya was second in tackle snaps, with all 64 of his Saturday snaps coming on the left side of the line of scrimmage, while all 43 of Lepo’s snaps came on the right side.

“Whoever practices the best this week,” said Morris of how the tackle spots will get worked out. “So, we’ll see who gives us the best chance to win.”

Six plays into the season, and the Cowboys were essentially down two left tackle options, as Braydon Nelson, who played 1,190 snaps at the position across the past two seasons for Morris at North Texas, missed fall camp with an injury. Morris said after Saturday’s game that Nelson has recently returned to offensive line drills but hadn’t started working into team drills quite yet.

The offensive line was put under a microscope in the fallout of that Tulsa loss with the Cowboys’ offense having a tough time keeping quarterback Drew Mestemaker clean and failing to convert four fourth-and-short opportunities. Now the Cowboys have to focus on corrections as Oregon, one of the top defenses in the country, heads to Stillwater this weekend.

“Definitely hard with Jacob, but also just motivated,” said center Tyler Mercer of the mood of the O-line room. “Just asking for broader shoulders and realizing that we’ve gotta take another step, evidently, with this unit coming up this weekend. Obviously that’s gonna be a challenge. Kind of just motivated to take that next step and have a good challenge.”

The interior of the Cowboys’ line played every snap against the Golden Hurricane, with Mercer, left guard Johnny Dickson and right guard Joseph Hanson joining Mestemaker as the only offensive players to participate in all 91 of the Cowboys’ snaps.

Mercer played 565 snaps for Morris at UNT in 2024 but was at Kansas last season, where he redshirted while playing only 44 snaps total. So, Saturday acted as a reintroduction to the field of play for him. That center spot is a little extra important, as Mercer also plays a roll in setting protections.

“I think we didn’t give Drew much time,” Mercer said. “I think that’s what we saw on film a lot. That’s a collective effort, keeping him up, giving him time. We have elite skill guys and quarterback, so kind of just focusing on that and getting communication right and playing fast and protecting him.”

Oklahoma State plays the Ducks at 11 a.m. Saturday in what will be the first home game of the Eric Morris Era.

The only change on this one from the first one is at left tackle following Jacob Sexton’s first-quarter injury. That spot is listed at Desmond Magiya or Shaun Torgeson, who rotated at the spot after Sexton’s injury.

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)

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: Desmond Magiya (R-Jr., 6-4, 333, 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 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: Saadiq Clements (R-Jr., 6-4, 310, North Texas) OR Jerry Lawson (Sr., 6-1, 312, Louisville)
NT2: 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

FS1: Evan Jackson (Sr., 5-11, 188, North Texas)
FS2: Markeith Williams (R-Sr., 6-2, 175, Miami)

BS1: Quinton Hammonds (Jr., 6-1, 206, North Texas)
BS2: Mose Phillips III (Sr., 6-2, 196, Missouri)

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)

OSU Bullets

 I’m going to assume OSU still improves drastically over last season’s awfulness (the Cowboys were 1-11 and 121st in SP+), but the offense, and especially the O-line, is a major work in progress. [ESPN]

The reality is that Oklahoma State has 91 new players on its roster this season. It was unrealistic to expect Morris to immediately turn a program riding a now-21-game losing streak to FBS teams into a conference contender while replacing 90% of the roster. It’s the Cignettification of college football that produced those expectations. [Open for Business]

Colorado State’s QB made an impressive catch through pass interference Yes – you read that right pic.twitter.com/ehYR5gzb7b

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 5, 2026

I charted all 91 offensive snaps from Oklahoma State’s loss at Tulsa to see how much of the North Texas offense Eric Morris actually brought to Stillwater.

Most of it made the trip. The results did not. (Thread continues below) — Feels Like 45 Podcast (@FeelsLike45Pod) September 7, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

“Opportunities shrink or expand in proportion to your enthusiasm.” James Clear

It doesn’t sound as if Dan Lanning is overlooking the Cowboys because of his first run-in against Eric Morris.

Back on Sept. 24, 2022, Lanning found himself in a dogfight with Washington State, where Morris was the offensive coordinator with Cam Ward at quarterback.

The Cougars scored a touchdown with 6:42 to play to go up 34-22, but the Ducks stormed back and won 44-41.

“The first time that we bumped into him was one of my early games here when he was at Washington State,” Lanning said Monday night. “He was the offensive coordinator there, and we were down in a crazy environment there, kind of similar in a lot of ways to the game we just played against Boise State — even more so. I think we were down 12 points in that game, and Cam Ward was playing for him at that point.

“(Morris) does a lot of stuff that’s disruptive on offense, that’s tough. He can create explosive plays. They thrive off him. They throw the ball extremely well. He’s even improved in the performance when it comes to the run game and what they will create in the run game now. But I always thought he’s done a good job from that perspective.”

Ward finished having thrown for 375 yards and two touchdowns while being sacked five times and also throwing two picks.

Morris’ first go at showing the world his Oklahoma State offense didn’t go to plan. Highly touted quarterback Drew Mestemaker threw for 241 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions this past weekend, as the Cowboys scored just 10 points and lost to Tulsa for a second straight season.

Oregon was reportedly (per Drew Mestemaker) was in contact with Mestemaker when he entered the portal this offseason. Lanning said he wasn’t involved in that but heaped plenty of praise on OSU’s QB.

“I was never talking to Drew,” Lanning said. “That doesn’t mean that people didn’t communicate or were aware that he was in the portal. I’m sure any good player, we’re aware of that’s in the portal, but I think that it was pretty quick that he was gonna be going, following his coach there.

“I will say this: Drew is an unbelievable player. You see his arm strength show up. He’s a guy that can stand flat-footed and throw a 60-yard bomb, so he’s got a really strong arm. They have a really strong passing attack. There’s a reason they were the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation last year at North Texas. That shows up, and he’s obviously a guy that makes that tick for them.”

Oregon are heavy favorites coming to Stillwater on Saturday. Per FanDuel, the Ducks are 22.5-point favorites with an over/under of 57.5, meaning the sportsbook expects this game to end something like 40-18 in the Ducks’ favor.

Had the Cowboys beaten Tulsa, Oregon would still almost certainly be the favorite, but going into the season, people were wondering how close the Cowboys could keep this game. Although the Cowboys lost to the Golden Hurricane, it doesn’t sound as if Lanning is skimming over the Pokes.

“I don’t necessarily put a ton of stock into they didn’t win the game,” Lanning said. “You look at the scheme, and it’s been effective everywhere he’s been, whether its Incarnate Word, whether it’s Washington State, whether it’s North Texas, and now at Oklahoma State. They’ve created a lot of points wherever they’ve been. It’s a first team. When you have 91 new players, I imagine that’s tough to get that figured out in a short amount of time, especially when you don’t see what it looks like until you really get on the game field.

“They also had some really tough situations throughout the game. They had the ball down at the goal line. They were about to punch it in to have a score, and they don’t get it. They had some costly turnovers that happened throughout the game. The score could be completely different given a couple different situations.”

The Oklahoma State staff is eying the junior college ranks for a pair of edge rushers.

LaDarius Jemes and Eddie Robinson each took to X to announce OSU offers on Monday afternoon. Here are breakdowns of each guy.

LaDarius Jemes

Listed at 6-foot-3, 239 pounds, Jemes plays at Hutchinson in Kansas.

He’s set to graduate in December, which is a big deal because it means he could get to his next destination for spring ball.

Blessed to receive an offer from Oklahoma State @JayScar954 @coachroberson42 #AGTG pic.twitter.com/vfRa0zZkiq

— LaDarius Jemes (@iam_ladarius1) September 7, 2026

Jemes is a redshirt freshman from Huntsville, Alabama. Through two games this season, Jemes has made 11 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack.

In Hutchinson’s opener against Cisco, Jemes made a pair of tackles. One was five yards behind the line of scrimmage, and he also recovered a fumble.

Then against Ellsworth in Game 2, Jemes made nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and his half-sack.

Jemes signed with Troy out of high school, but he wasn’t on the Trojans’ roster last season. He was a three-star high school prospect, per 247Sports, and signed with Troy over offers from Memphis, UAB and others.

As a senior at Huntsville High, Jemes finished with 40 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and five sacks.

Eddie Robinson

Another edge rusher set to graduate in December, Robinson plays at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas.

He’s a sophomore listed at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds from Manor, Texas. TVCC is two games into its season but doesn’t have any stats submitted.

As a freshman last season, Robinson made 21 total tackles, including three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.

247Sports considers Robinson the No. 12 player in junior college football. He also has offers to Baylor, UTSA and others.

National podcasts far and wide made note of Oklahoma State’s surprising 24-10 loss to Tulsa. It wasn’t one of the major headlines, with those mostly being Michigan’s controversial win, LSU battering Clemson, Auburn’s 2-point denial of Baylor and Oregon’s closer-than-expected clash with Boise State. But, the Cowboys’ season-opening L led off just about every “in other news” segment.

Josh Pate

Josh Pate was particularly shocked by the result, as he included Oklahoma State covering the 13.5 the Cowboys were favored by in his ‘Ramen Noodle Express‘ for Week 1. That, obviously, did not hit.

“Tulsa really made me angry yesterday,” Pate said. “Well, I shouldn’t be angry at Tulsa. I should be angry at myself. I believed in Oklahoma State. They were favored by 13.5. They lost by 14, and your boy went down with the ship.

“So, it was very disappointing for me. Doubting Coach Lamb out there in Tulsa is not a fun label to wear. They’ve done them this way two years in a row now. Not good.”

Pate concluded by saying it turns out the Indiana trajectory is perhaps more difficult than the Hoosiers made it look.

Cover 3

Tom Fornelli brought the game up on the Cover 3 Podcast, calling back to his ‘Week 1 Anxiety Rankings,’ where he listed Oklahoma State fans at No. 4.

“But what if it comes out and you lose again to Tulsa, just like you lost to Tulsa last year — What does that do?” Fornelli said. “That’s exactly what happened. They came out, and they scored 10 points. And Drew Mestemaker did not look particularly impressive. No part of the team really looked all that impressive. And you lost to a Tulsa team that went, what 4-8 last year?”

Bud Elliott then noted that Tulsa is getting better and could be in the fight to win the American this season, but like to many, the result was rather surprising.

“I did not expect them to lose to Tulsa,” Elliott said. “They lose the left tackle (Jacob Sexton) really early in the game. He went off with an air cast on a leg, so that’s obviously a ding. But I thought their defense would be really, probably suspect. I don’t know that I love their transfer class on defense, but offensively, that was shocking that they were not better than that.”

Brandon Walker

Drew Mestemaker had a fun chat with Liam Blutman in the offseason. Blutman is a host of Barstool’s Brandon Walker College Football Show.

Walker referenced how all the people he talked to throughout the offseason were high on the Cowboys, which led to the hype and Saturday’s letdown.

“I’ve kind of just gone along with it and agreed with it because, yeah, sounds about right, sounds pretty good,” Walker said. “Absolutely garbage debut. … You wanted more than that from Eric Morris. You wanted more than that from Mestemaker, and I know their offensive line was just getting gashed all day, just wasn’t there. One of the more disappointing results in Week 1 at Oklahoma State.”

Blutman said he watched every play of the Cowboys’ loss, and as he’s about to put rather bluntly, he wasn’t impressed with OSU’s O-line.

“It can’t go understated, Mestemaker was not good,” Blutman said. “Held on to the ball too long, throws too high, wasn’t in sync with his guys — That offensive line looked like they wouldn’t be good enough to play on SUNY Cortland.”

So, it wasn’t just those in the greater Stillwater area who were shocked by the result, it went nationwide.

It wasn’t the greatest of weekends for the current Cowboys, but how did future Cowboys do?

Here’s a roundup of how Oklahoma State commits performed in their high school games this past weekend, with highlights and stats included when available.

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

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

Ake O’Neal was a big-play machine in Argyle’s 55-27 win against Terrell this past weekend.

The Cowboy receiver commit brought in eight passes for 138 yards and a touchdown and also had a 27-yard kick return.

O’Neal’s Argyle Eagles play Somerset Academy Lossee (Nevada) this weekend.

Cooper Hooker / WR / Pryor (1-1) / Oklahoma

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

Pryor was in a good, old-fashioned shootout with Coweta but fell 45-43.

Hooker had a big game, and that started early as he scored on a 41-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage.

Looking for a bounce-back, Pryor travels to Fort Smith-Southside (Arkansas) this weekend.

Carson White / QB / Hightower (0-2) / Texas

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

Carson White’s squad fell in overtime to Cypress Springs 33-30.

White completed a dozen passes for 259 yards, a touchdown and an inception and also had 17 rushing yards in the game.

Hightower hosts Foster (1-1) this weekend.

Israel Hammons / LB / Choctaw (0-2) / Oklahoma

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

The Choctaw Yellowjackets fell to 0-2 this weekend, dropping a game to Moore 28-21.

MaxPreps didn’t have stats for Choctaw, but Hammons shared a highlight of a 20-yard run (because the throw was a lateral).

In search of their first win, the Yellowjackets travel to Union (0-2) this weekend.

TJ Lewis / RB / Bolingbrook (2-1) / Illinois

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

Lewis’ Bolingbrook Raiders beat Yorkville 20-7.

MaxPreps didn’t have stats, but Lewis shared a highlight reel from the game, showing some nice cuts and hard runs.

Bolingbrook hosts Oswego (3-0) this weekend.

Jake Baker / OL / Ensworth (2-1) / Tennessee

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

Baker’s Ensworth Tigers got rolled by what looks to be a rather good Briarcrest squad 42-17.

Baker took to Hudl and uploaded a highlight reel of his first three games.

Ensworth travels to McCallie (3-0) this weekend.

Sonny Mullen / OL / Troy (2-0) / Texas

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

Sonny Mullen’s Troy Trojans remained unbeaten with a 45-28 win against Mexia.

Behind Mullen, Troy threw for 213 yards and ran for 191. Mullen was credited with four pancakes, bringing his two-game total up to a nice, even 10.

Troy takes on Groesbeck (2-0) this weekend.

Bryson Brown / DB / Broken Arrow (2-0) / Oklahoma

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

Broken Arrow took it to Union this weekend, winning 41-14. That’s the largest margin of victory for Broken Arrow in the Tulsa-based rivalry.

Broken Arrow has a big game against Owasso next week.

Chayce Davis / DB / Trinity (1-1) / Texas

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

Trinity fell to the always solid Westlake 35-10 to drop to 1-1 on the season.

Trinity hosts Aledo (0-2) this weekend.

Odaefe Oruru / OL / Jenks (0-1) / Oklahoma

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

Jenks had the weekend off but return to action at Bixby this weekend.

Talan Scott / TE / ALA-Queen Creek (0-2) / Arizona

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

Scott’s squad fell to Lehi (Utah) 27-12.

ALA-Queen Creek travels to Saguaro (0-1) this weekend.

Jayden Vessell / EDGE / Baton Rouge Catholic (0-1) / Louisiana

Height: 6-2
Weight: 230
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 1,339

Baton Rouge Catholic opened its season with a 61-27 loss to Carrollton (Georgia).

The Bears host Dunham (1-0) this week.

Man…

Rewatching this game was supposed to be fun. Instead, it was a mind-numbing chore and one we at PFB do not recommend undertaking.

Instead of celebrating new faces as we planned back in July, let’s figure out exactly how much we should panic about. There’s plenty of obvious concerns, starting with an offensive line that looks all too familiar, but what about the things OSU did well? Can we trust anything anymore?

• Was the defense’s success on third down a mirage or more of a repeatable accomplishment?
• Is Caleb Hawkins providing false hope for the ground game?
• Player grades and insights with emphasis on who we expect to see the field more and less when the Ducks come to town

But first let’s talk about what happened to the quarterback who was supposed to save the program.

Drew Mestemaker Breakdown

I threw out the first six offensive plays when the offensive line was healthy and the final OSU drive when the football game was basically decided. In that stretch in between, when I was desperately trying to convince myself I wasn’t in some weird Groundhog Day-esque time loop where OSU football was concerned, Mestemaker went 24-of-40 for 193 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also took two sacks and lost a fumble in this stretch.

• Shaun Torgeson, who spent time at both tackle spots, allowed pressure or contact four times.
• Left guard Johnny Dickson allowed pressure or contact twice, including the end zone interception.
• Left tackle Desmond Magiya allowed pressure or contact three times, including the sack-fumble.
• Right tackle Ashton Lepo allowed pressure or contact once.
• Running back Caleb Hawkins appeared to miss a delayed rusher on Mestemaker’s other sack, though there’s a small chance he just tried to save the play.
• Running back William Mason missed a block, and a second rusher came free on the right side completely unblocked at the same time, presumably the fault of the right tackle at the time.

There’s some overlap on these plays where multiple guys got beat. Together, these missed or failed blocks account for eight incompletions, including the pick and both of Mestemaker’s sacks.

• Receiver Chris Barnes appears to run a completely wrong route, based on how coaches addressed him after the play.
• The defender makes a nice play on the ball to break it up.
• Running back Ayo Adeyi is overthrown, but it might be intentional as it is late in the play and he’s the third or fourth read.
• Receiver Justin Bowick is overthrown.
• Receiver Terrence Lewis is just missed.
• Receiver Miles Coleman is hit high in the hands, but unable to bring it down. It felt like a worse throw, but maybe it could have been caught.
• A risky throw 35 yards downfield to Hawkins is broken up.
• A throw to receiver Wyatt Young was possibly dropped (hard to tell on film), but it felt like the defense was so well positioned that maybe it shouldn’t have even been thrown.

There’s no question that Mestemaker’s internal clock was racing due to issues the offensive line had holding up. That’s not a good enough excuse for a guy who hopes to go in the first round at some point.

Plus, even great offensive lines will get beat sometimes. As for the other incompletions, the Barnes miss isn’t on Mestemaker. Maybe ignore one or two other incompletions due to either excellent defensive play or an intentionally uncatchable ball from Mestemaker.

For now, I’m lowering my expectations of the second-year starter, but I’m not selling my stock on Mestemaker’s future just yet. If the offensive line can improve, which feels like a big if right now, then it seems like the OSU QB could cut out at least six of those incompletions and maybe both turnovers.

If he even completed 30-of-40 passes for even 230ish yards with a touchdown or two during the middle 90% of the game, then the Cowboys might have pulled off a comeback. Oregon doesn’t make for a great bounce-back opponent, so it’s likely we won’t know for sure what to make of QB1 until he faces West Virginia on Sept. 26, but for now I’m going to wait and see before reaching any big, definitive conclusions.

Result: Don’t panic, but also don’t relax. Continue to cover your eyes and white-knuckle the armrest, bench seat or couch cushion.

Was the Defense’s Success on Third Down a Mirage?

Let’s briefly compare Mestemaker’s opening week against Oregon’s Dante Moore, who’s coming off a solid start.

It’s unfortunate the way things went in Tulsa. A solid showing and (most importantly) a win for Mestemaker would have made this a must-watch for NFL Draft enthusiasts.

Moore occupies that top tier of QBs that will probably hear his name called early on draft night. Mestemaker came into this season squarely in that next tier with some outlets even predicting he’d also be a Day 1 pick.

But still, one off game doesn’t wipe away everything that Morris and Mestemaker did last season, and if you like the underdog and you’ve got any shred of hope still left (if you follow this site, you probably do), you couldn’t draft a more dramatic set up for a bounce-back game for Meste.

As far as Moore is concerned, the Ducks offense started slow by their standards in Week 1. They went scoreless in the first and trailed Boise State most of the first half. But Moore was cool and collected and efficient. He only had back-to-back incompletions once all game and led the Ducks on four-straight scoring drives in the second half on the way to a 34-27 win.

Although most of the Cowboys on the roster weren’t there, OSU fans are well aware of what Moore can do. He threw three TDs on the Pokes in just over two quarters last year on the way to a 69-3 route.

But due to the blowout, OSU fans missed out on Moore’s most desirable trait. He’s got the size, strength and deep-ball acumen to put him in the conversation as a first-round pick, but it’s the intangibles that have GMs salivating.

Moore gets better as the game goes on, and he has a short memory after mistakes. He’s as polished a passer and as good a QB prospect as there is in college football this season. But he didn’t start off that way.

If we can allow ourselves to think back to Mike Gundy and his thoughts on quarterbacks. He believed a QB wasn’t fully formed until he’d played about 15 games or so (I’m paraphrasing).

As a freshman at UCLA, Moore barely completed half his pass attempts and threw nearly as many picks (nine) as TDs (11). Before his breakout season a year ago, Moore had played just 14 games at two schools. Then he set the world (and the Cowboys’ secondary) ablaze. Now he’s a Heisman favorite.

Mestemaker broke out last season with just five games under his belt, so he’s ahead of the curve. He played below his abilities on Saturday whilst running for his life. Am I predicting Mestemaker leads OSU to an upset win? I couldn’t. But do I think that one loss means he doesn’t end up in the same category as guys like Dante Moore? I don’t.

OSU Bullets

• Looking over more thoughts from Saturday – three more takeaways + most shocking were the fourth-and-ones the Pokes couldn’t get (PFB)

• The good, the bad, and the ugly from Saturday’s loss + OSU made the “ugly” for this Big 12 article recapping week one (PFB + HCS) 

• This math was the most confounding detail of Saturday: 

North Texas and Tulsa didn’t play last season, but North Texas went 7-1 in the American Conference and Tulsa went 1-7. Shouldn’t OSU be at least North Texas good? In swapping green for orange, Morris and most of his best players appeared to have lost their powers. [NewsOK]

• Stop me if you’ve heard – OSU’s offensive line struggled (PFB)

• Happy Labor Day Cowboy fans.

pic.twitter.com/8wzF0gLrXY

— Andrew Schlecht (@AndrewKSchlecht) September 5, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• This is your zone of genius • Beware, Wendell Berry can change you (faith-based)

You can also find this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

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The Cowboys loss to Tulsa wasn’t any prettier the second time.

After rewatching Oklahoma State’s 24-10 loss to the Golden Hurricane, here are three more things that stood out after I got over the initial shock of what I had witnessed.

1. Round 1 of the Corner Battle

The most-contested spot on OSU’s initial depth chart came at corner, where five guys were listed with ORs between them.

Four of those guys played Saturday, with Vanderbilt transfer Trudell Berry not logging any defensive snaps.

As for the others, there were ups and downs.

In terms of PFF grades, LaDainian Fields scored the highest with a (66.5) — narrowly ahead of Texas Tech transfer Mo Horn (66.3). Then Kollin Lewis (53.4) and Kobi Foreman (51.1) were also rather close in scores.

In terms of snaps, Fields played the most with 40. In order behind him was Foreman (31), Horn (26) and Lewis (24).

Fields had the big play with the second half interception. It was textbook, as he turned back to track the ball before batting it with one hand and securing it.

He nearly had another earlier in the game when he undercut a deep route, but Tulsa receiver Jimmy Calloway made an excellent play, coming over the top and ripping the ball from Fields as the two crashed to the turf.

You’d prefer Fields finish that play, but he was again in position. And after Fields intercepted a pair of passes in fairly limited work last year, that type of positioning no longer feels like a coincidence.

The only other super notable play was made against Lewis. After the Cowboy offense got stuffed on fourth down the first of many times, Tulsa took over on its own 3-yard line. From there, Baylor Hayes threw a beauty of a go route to Oran Singleton, good for 56 yards with Lewis in coverage.

2. Hawkins Touching the Ball Made a Difference in Drives

Morris made note at OSU’s Media Day last month that he wanted to lighten Caleb Hawkins’ load to keep him healthy, especially because of his physical running style.

That’s a noble thought from the head coach, but Saturday’s sample size shows that the Cowboys’ offense was much better when the bruising back was involved.

Hawkins’ first game as a Cowboy saw him carry 18 times for 79 yards and catch six passes for another 29 yards.

OSU had a 11 drives Saturday (actually 12, but I’m not counting the end of half drive). Hawkins had at least three touches in just two of those drives, and those drives garnered 70 yards and 75 yards (plus a touchdown) for the Cowboys.

In the four drives where Hawkins had exactly two touches, the OSU offense averaged 42.8 yards.

In drives were Hawkins had one or fewer touches, the Cowboy offense averaged 17.4 yards.

So, the more Hawkins touched it, the further the OSU offense went.

3. The Curious Case of Justin Bowick

It seemed like if a pass went in Justin Bowick’s direction on Saturday, it either went really well or rather poorly.

Officially, OSU’s 6-foot-5, Illinois transfer receiver had two catches for 22 yards and a touchdown on five targets. But it wasn’t exactly that straight forward.

Mestemaker to Bowick for six 🤠 pic.twitter.com/5jSawvsGYf

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 5, 2026

Bowick also drew two pass interference penalties, which together netted 27 yards.

But then he was also the intended target on both of Drew Mestemaker’s interceptions.

I don’t know what to make of all that, I just found it interesting. When the ball is headed Bowick’s way, something is gonna happen.

Oklahoma State is 0-1 in the Eric Morris era and is heading into the toughest game on its schedule without the slightest bit of momentum. There is plenty for Morris and his staff to coach up from the mess that happened in Tulsa, but let’s put a bow on that thing from our point of view.

Here is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from OSU’s loss at Tulsa. Yes, there was some good. It just wasn’t sustained for very long.

The Good: When They Were Able to Run the Ball

When we put out our (misguided) predictions last week, I did make a point that in order to compete with the big boys coming up on their schedule, the Cowboys needed to be able to dominate Tulsa on the ground. It’s obvious that I was also not giving a Tulsa’s defense enough credit, but the point remains. Oh yeah, this is the “good” section.

The closest thing to good was the start of the Cowboys’ third drive. Caleb Hawkins got things going with a 14-yard run up the middle that set up consecutive chunk plays between Drew Mestemaker and Wyatt Young before he added a 13-yard run. That drive stalled and resulted in the Pokes’ lone made field goal, but it at least showed what this offense can look like when it gets going.

The injury to Jacob Sexton looms as a concern, but more concerning is that OSU can’t handle losing one offensive lineman and still pass protect for the nation’s leading passer last year or make a hole big enough for the nation’s leading rushing freshman in 2025. (This was supposed to be the good point.)

The (also) Good: Third-Down Defense

I realize I’m cherry-picking a bit here, but it’s a doom-gloom weekend for OSU fans, so why not try?

The Cowboys held the Golden Hurricane to 1-of-11 on third down attempts. Tulsa did convert its lone fourth-down attempt. OSU also forced two three-and-outs.

What really killed OSU were the chunk yardage plays. When Baylor Hayes is ripping passes of 56 and 47 yards, it’s hard to keep him out of the end zone, but there were some good things to work from defensively.

The Bad: Red Zone Failures

There’s been enough said about the fourth-down failures. To me, it’s worse that the Cowboys just couldn’t get across the goal line when they had the opportunities. In four red zone trips, OSU scored 10 points. The Cowboys also had two other drives end in Tulsa territory: one by interception and one by turnover on downs.

This comes down to offensive line issues, as discussed before, but also to execution/playcalling. Mestemaker is still a young quarterback and there is apparently still more of a learning curve that needs to be accounted for. But these are all learning opportunities and, whether it feels like it or not, the season isn’t actually over after one week.

But…

The Ugly: A Long Week into a Long Season

Maybe the most unfortunate thing about the loss is where it sets the Cowboys up moving forward. For a fanbase that’s dealt with a lot over the last two years, an offseason’s worth of hype evaporated in one balmy afternoon. And when you look ahead to BPS welcoming a team that some are picking to win it all this year in Oregon, it might be tough to trudge forward.

The question is how much of the sentiment exists inside the program.

Morris has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in a short amount of time, but he didn’t go full world-beater in Year 1 in either of his previous stops, so expecting that while also moving up to the Power Four level, was probably not reasonable. The question now is how he keeps his players engaged and getting them prepared to face probably the best team on their schedule this year.

The word “culture” is thrown around a lot when it comes to college sports and probably too much when it came to OSU football over the last two decades, for good and bad. But that’s one thing we don’t know about Morris. How quickly can his team rebound? Can he keep a long week from turning into a long season?

Big 12 teams went 13-2 in Week 1 of the 2026 season, with the only losses being to an SEC team in Atlanta and … hmmm, can’t seem to remember the other loss.

Anyway, here’s a quick look around the league.

Colorado Swipes One from Georgia Tech Late

Deion Sanders’ 2026 debut wasn’t exactly pretty, but the Buffaloes did enough to get the job done.

Julian Lewis hit Charlie Williams for a 20-yard touchdown with 37 seconds left to win 14-13.

🥶🥶@CharlieW_8 x @JulianLewis10 pic.twitter.com/B71t61lauw

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) September 5, 2026

Baylor Learns the Heartbreak of a Goal-Line Stop

The Bears had one of the more premier games of the weekend against Auburn, but Baylor felt a heartbreak it provided Oklahoma State a few years back.

Baylor (by way of former Cowboy Gavin Freeman) scored with nine seconds to play but rather than trying to tie the game at 17 with a PAT, Baylor went for 2 and the win … and didn’t get it.

BAYLOR FALLS JUST SHORT OF THE GOAL LINE 😲

Auburn wins in the final seconds with a CLUTCH tackle ‼️ pic.twitter.com/JCgjTS1fC6

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 5, 2026

Freeman was the Bears’ best player, as the former Poke caught a dozen passes for 154 yards and that touchdown.

In his Baylor debut, Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway threw for 333 yards, two touchdowns and a pick while completing 27 of his 54 attempts.

Cincy Gives the Big 12 More Bragging Rights Against the ACC

TCU’s loss to North Carolina in Week 0 wasn’t ideal for the Big 12’s standing as the third-best conference in college football, but Colorado and Cincinnati picked up the slack.

The Bearcats beat Boston College 34-15 on Saturday in Cincy.

Cincinnati powered to a 24-0 lead before the Eagles got on the board late in the third quarter.

The Bearcats won this game despite throwing for just 85 yards because they ran for 254 yards on 5.5 yards a carry.

Some Gaudy Numbers Were Put Up

It was a bad weekend to be an FCS team playing a Big 12 squad:

Utah 66, Idaho 14
UCF 73, Bethune-Cookman 6
Kansas 51, Long Island 6
Texas Tech 33, Abilene Christian 10
BYU 63, Utah Tech 7
Iowa State 38, SEMO 10
Kansas State 71, Nicholls 3
Arizona 35, Northern Arizona 7
Arizona State 70, Morgan State 7

Who would’ve thought among Big 12 teams playing FCS teams in Week 1 that Texas Tech would have the closest game?

In Manhattan, Game 1 of the Collin Klein Era nearly killed Willie the Wildcat:

if you didn’t know – Willie the Wildcat does pushups everytime the Cats score.

Tonight, he did 394 total pushups in K-State’s 71-3 win over Nicholls. #Math https://t.co/1FraX0phgl

— McKenzie Nelson (@McKenzieMNelson) September 6, 2026

Then in Tempe, Arizona State beat up Morgan State so bad they trimmed time off the game.

Kenny Dillingham explained shortening the 4th quarter to 10 minutes in ASU’s 70-7 win over Morgan State

“I said yeah of course whatever he wants, we’ll do. I’ve never been a part of a game like that. Didn’t know that was legal. I learned something today.”@SunDevilSource pic.twitter.com/sIICvMjBSa

— Jakob Brooks (@Jakobrooks) September 6, 2026

Full Results

Utah 66, Idaho 14
UCF 73, Bethune-Cookman 6
Colorado 14, Georgia Tech 13
Kansas 51, Long Island 6
Tulsa 24, Oklahoma State 10
Texas Tech 33, Abilene Christian 10
BYU 63, Utah Tech 7
Houston 33, Oregon State 20
West Virginia 31, Coastal Carolina 24
Iowa State 38, SEMO 10
Auburn 17, 16
Cincinnati 34, Boston College 15
Kansas State 71, Nicholls 3
Arizona 35, Northern Arizona 7
Arizona State 70, Morgan State 7

Next Weekend’s Schedule

Missouri at Kansas — 7 p.m. Friday on FOX
Oregon at Oklahoma State — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN
Arizona State at Texas A&M — 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC
Washington State at Kansas State — 11 a.m. Saturday on TNT
UT-Martin at West Virginia — Noon Saturday on ESPN+
Arizona at BYU — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX
Weber State at Colorado — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
UCF at Pitt — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2
Southern at Houston — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Western Carolina at Cincinnati — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Texas Tech at Oregon State — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS
Iowa State at Iowa — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC
Prairie View A&M at Baylor — 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Grambling at TCU — 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Arkansas at Utah — 9:15 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Embarrassing is an apt word for what happened at H.A. Chapman Stadium on Saturday.

And it was embarrassing for a lot of people.

“(Eric Morris) shoots it straight up,” Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker said. “He’s not going to sugarcoat anything and be like, ‘Alright, it’s OK.’ He sat in there and said straight up that’s the most embarrassing offensive performance he’s ever been a part of. And I agree. I mean, I’d say the same for me. That’s just not how we play offense specifically. Defense, honestly, was the only reason we were in that game.”

It was embarrassing for Morris, who in his first game as a Power Four football coach lost to a team that finished 1-7 in a conference Morris’ North Texas squad nearly won last season.

It was embarrassing for Mestemaker in his big debut as a Power Four quarterback after an offseason of people singing his praises.

It was embarrassing for the fanbase that got its hopes up after two dismal years of football just to watch what’s viewed as a lesser in-state school beat the Cowboys for a second year in a row — the first time that’s happened since Harry Truman was in office.

Heck, it was embarrassing for us media folk who clearly drank the OSU Kool-Aid this offseason just for the Cowboys to go out and lay an egg.

Having slept on it, I’m not mad at the fourth-down attempts. I’m more frustrated with OSU’s inability to gain a single yard against Tulsa.

The failed attempts were:

4th-and-1 from the Tulsa 3
4th-and-1 from the OSU 32
4th-and-1 from the Tulsa 41
4th-and-1 from the OSU 34

I could certainly hear an argument that the ones in OSU territory perhaps shouldn’t have happened, but again, it comes down to getting enough of a push to move one yard forward … against Tulsa. So, I think what I’m saying is my concern lays most heavily on the offensive line.

“I put that in the turnover category,” said Morris of the failed fourth downs. “And you put the fourth down turnover stops in it and it adds up probably six or seven turnovers, and you’re not going to win against anybody when you turn the football over.”

If you include failed fourth-down tries as turnovers, OSU had seven turnovers Saturday.  The Tre Page III fumble goes down as a failed fourth-down attempt, but that was all the same play. So, it counts as one.

Regardless, if you give the other team the ball back seven times, it’s not a winning recipe. Tulsa scored 17 points off those turnovers.

If you’re looking for some glimmer of hope, it’s that, surely, OSU won’t have seven turnovers in another game this season. Given that, I still think this team will win a few games in 2026. But it no longer looks like the Big 12 dark horse many predicted, and for that to be evident after one game in Tulsa was one of the bigger shocks I’ve had in my time covering the Cowboys.

OSU Bullets

• Let’s start this somber postmortem with Marshall’s 10 Thoughts on the mess in Tulsa. [PFB] • Eric Morris called the loss “embarrassing,” Drew Mestemaker took responsibility for his part.

“The first thing is everyone knows I need to play better,” Mestemaker said. “I’m not the one to point fingers. I need to play better and that’ll help the offense play better. I think it’s just being straight up with guys: That’s not us. We need to play better and it’s just on to next week.” [PFB]

• Is the sky falling?

Oklahoma State 2023 season reminder. Prime example that it can take a few games to figure things out. In my eyes, we have 3 weeks to figure out who we are and how this season will go. pic.twitter.com/Hvt88OuKk9

— Jake (@JakeWayneSports) September 6, 2026

• Grades, as you might expect, weren’t pretty. [Tulsa World]

• Past mistakes come back to haunt Drew Mestemaker in debut loss to Tulsa. [PFB]

• Yeah, it got dark on the OSU interwebs.  

Ah well, there’s always next we…. There’s always the week after next week. pic.twitter.com/crScBqfBVo

— Tom Hutton (@tomhutton25) September 6, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Former Poke getting a shot (taking some shots). Hejny threw for five TDs in the Rams’ win over Wyoming.

I do enjoy watching Hauss Hejny sling the pill pic.twitter.com/dVfseHnIi2

— T.J. Randall (@TJ_Randall12) September 6, 2026

• Felt.

5 years later Baylor gets a taste of what it’s like losing on the 1 inch line pic.twitter.com/Qr8xQAwdys

— Gino Fornaro (@ginoliciousboss) September 5, 2026

TULSA — There were plenty of things to be concerned about for the Cowboys on Saturday, but the top of that list is probably the offensive line.

As part of Oklahoma State’s 24-10 loss to Tulsa on Saturday, quarterback Drew Mestemaker was sacked twice and hurried 10 times. Meanwhile, the Cowboys struggled to run the ball outside of Caleb Hawkins, as everyone else combined to run 19 times for 48 yards (2.5 yards a carry).

“Yeah, seems like a lot, just thinking back on it, looking at the iPad during it,” said first-year coach Eric Morris on how much of Tulsa’s advantage came up front. “And there’s some times our pullers, pulling guards, they were more physical, we got pushed back and that destroys any kind of gap scheme running that you’re doing. I thought they did a really nice job handling it. They moved their front a ton, and we didn’t handle that movement very well up front on the offensive line.”

The Cowboys’ starting offensive line read:

LT — Jacob Sexton
LG — Johnny Dickson III
C — Tyler Mercer
RG — Joseph Hanson
RT — Ashton Lepo

But those starters managed just six plays before Sexton went down with what looked to be a serious leg injury, an extra sad ordeal given his injury history.

From there, the Cowboys rotated Desmond Magiya and Shaun Torgeson at left tackle, while Torgeson was also rotating some at right tackle with Lepo.

Losing Sexton was no doubt a big deal, but he is only one-fifth of the line. The six-play sample size is too small to draw anything from, but the Cowboys were moving the ball fairly smoothly in those six plays. Then after Sexton went down, the Cowboys got stuffed on a fourth down inside Tulsa’s 5-yard line.

“Heart goes out to Jacob, a guy who has definitely been our best offensive lineman since we’ve been here,” Morris said. “Somebody that’s worked so hard this offseason to get himself back into shape. He’s been plagued by injuries his whole entire career. … So obviously losing him, and then I didn’t think we had a great answer on the edge.

“(Magiya) got beat a number of times around the edge, got a holding penalty at a crucial time in the game. So I think Sexton, obviously you lose a really good player at left tackle, that’s not what you want, but that’s not an excuse. They took it to us in so many different areas.”

If Sexton isn’t going to be back this year, which — given he was put in an air cast and carted off — would be surprising if he did make it back, there is some still some hope reinforcements could be on the way.

Morris said that junior Braydon Nelson recently returned to practice after missing fall camp with injury. Nelson started all of North Texas’ games at tackle last season.

“He’s week by week,” Morris said. “He finally started practicing, and so week by week right now. We’ll make sure that we get him all the way healthy. He’s back in some (individual) drills. Hasn’t done anything team-wise yet, but these next couple weeks, hopefully, you know, we’ll have a ramp up period, try to get his strength up, and at the same time, you know, we need that kid to be healthy before stick him out there.”

The Cowboys’ offensive line doesn’t have long to figure things out, with Oregon coming to Stillwater next week.

Last season, the Ducks had two sacks and 10 hurries against the Cowboys — eerily the same stats Tulsa put up against OSU on Saturday.

“Just grade them, see where they’re at,” said Morris on what’s next for the O-line. “You know, some of them I thought got tired and weren’t very good as they got tired in the game, and some of them did OK. So we’ll have to really go back, and we’ll be detailed on grading those guys to figure out who’s going to give this team the best chance to win.”

TULSA — Last season Eric Morris and Drew Mestemaker guided the No. 7 offense in the country on fourth down. It seems that mojo got lost somewhere in the move from Denton to Stillwater this offseason.

“I feel like I called some really bad plays on fourth-and-short,” Morris said.

Officially, Oklahoma State’s offense finished 2-of-6 on fourth down on Saturday in the 24-10 loss at Tulsa, though there was a seventh that resulted in an OSU first down due to defensive pass interference.

“We’ve always been aggressive on fourth down, and if we get them, no one is talking about it,” Mestemaker said. “I like those fourth-down tries. We just have to execute.”

Mestemaker spent most of the day watching running backs slam into a brick wall on the pivotal down as Tulsa won the matchup three times when OSU ran on 4th-and-1.

Running back Caleb Hawkins masked some of the issues early when he converted the first fourth-down attempt, breaking a 3-yard run when the Pokes only needed 1 at Tulsa’s 15-yard line.

Perhaps emboldened by that success, Morris called another run by Hawkins when OSU faced 4th-and-1 at the TU 3-yard line. This time Tulsa slammed the door shut.

Things didn’t get any better from there, as the next fourth down went so poorly that it seemingly opened up a competition for OSU’s second-string running back after Tre Page picked up the 1 yard he needed but fumbled on the play, which resulted in an OSU turnover.

“We gotta figure out who’s his backup,” Morris said of Hawkins. “We gotta figure out if Ayo (Adeyi) can do it. I don’t know. Did some decent things today. Gotta figure out.”

Adeyi’s carry on 4th-and-1 went better in the sense that he held onto the football, but he failed to pick up any yards on the play.

Morris spent a fair amount of time in his postgame press conference criticizing his own play-calling on fourth down.

“It’s something that you know, do we get Drew out of the pocket, and do we do something to utilize his arm more in those situations?” Morris said.

The Cowboys had a brief reprieve when Mestemaker hit receiver Justin Bowick for a 16-yard touchdown on fourth down, but things didn’t work out when OSU left the ball in Mestemaker’s hands on the next fourth-down attempt.

Facing yet another 4th-and-1, this time on OSU’s 34-yard line, Mestemaker hit Miles Coleman behind the line of scrimmage. The slot receiver failed to gain the needed yard.

“They were all fourth-and-shorts besides the one we got,” Morris said. “And so you know that’s where you know for me, and I got to go back and look schematically. … I thought they did a nice job at being able to take away gaps and put some pressure on us. And at the same time, you know, we had some third-down-and-mediums we threw the ball, and we got pressure throwing the football on those too.

“And so everybody’s always going to come back and look at some of those key plays on fourth down, and I’m going to take all those. I just told the kids in there right now, those are on me. I’m the play caller, and I didn’t think the scheme was where it needs to be. Got out-coached in those situations.”

TULSA — Eric Morris said starting Saturday night there will be some “long meetings” about things that need to be addressed with the Cowboys’ loss to Tulsa.

After an offseason of hype, the Cowboys fell flat in a 24-10 season-opening loss to the Golden Hurricane on Saturday at H.A. Chapman Stadium. The Cowboys’ leaders didn’t sugarcoat much in the fallout of the loss.

“I could sit here all night and talk about how disappointed I am for our fanbase, our administration, all the people that put so much into this,” Morris said. “And we got a lot of problems to fix, obviously. We got the number, I don’t know what they’ll be one two or three in the nation coming into town next week and boy I tell you if they watch that film they’ll be licking their chops.”

The Cowboys outgained Tulsa, had more time of possession that Tulsa and held the Golden Hurricane to 1-for-11 on third down, but in spite of all that, four turnovers and four more turnovers on downs meant Tulsa was in control for much of the contest.

In his first game as a Cowboy, quarterback Drew Mestemaker threw for 241 yards, a touchdown and two picks.

“I got to be better first of all,” Mestemaker said. “I definitely didn’t play my best game. We just got to go to watch the film and figure it out. That’s not us, and that was honestly embarrassing. We just got to figure it out, get back to the drawing board and bounce back next week.”

This loss comes after an offseason where people — even those outside of the Stillwater city limits — wondered whether the Cowboys could be on a similar trajectory to Indiana when the Hoosiers hired Curt Cignetti. 

That won’t be the talk entering OSU’s Week 2 matchup with Oregon. The talk will likely rather be whether the Cowboys are in for another doomed season considering they just lost to Tulsa for the second time in as many years.

“For a second year in a row, Tulsa, they reigned supreme on us right now on the football field,” Morris said. “And that’s a fact. I’m a fact guy, and I’m always gonna tell you guys the way I feel. There’s no way that we don’t leave this thing right now and feel all of that momentum come to a screeching halt. We gotta do something to fix that.

“And two, it’s gonna be really, really important, I’ve always believed, and I’ve done this numerous places — it’s easy to lead when things are going well and things are good. It’s hard to lead when things aren’t going well and you get punched in the mouth like that. That’s on me to be able to get us back together collectively and regroup and start fixing these problems one at a time.”

Morris and Mestemaker talked about the importance of Mestemaker growing as a leader in his redshirt sophomore season. And Morris said even before a shocking loss to Tulsa that he’s ready to see how his team responds to adversity. Well, now Mestemaker’s leadership and the team’s response will be tested.

“The first thing is everyone knows I need to play better,” Mestemaker said. “I’m not the one to point fingers. I need to play better and that’ll help the offense play better. I think it’s just being straight up with guys: That’s not us. We need to play better and it’s just on to next week.”

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TULSA — For the last nine months, the conversation surrounding quarterback Drew Mestemaker centered around his potential to grow into one of the sport’s next great quarterbacks.

Instead, when it mattered most on Saturday, coach Eric Morris saw a young quarterback who hadn’t learned from one of his rare bad outings last season.

“It happened twice last year too,” Morris said, breaking down Mestemaker’s interception in the end zone at Tulsa. “In our conference championship game against Tulane. I mean, there’s two where we’re down there, and we’re trying to get in. They’re playing, you know, heavy, heavy drop eight zone at that time. You know, which they should be, right? I mean, they’re trying to defend the end zone.”

Then Morris began breaking down the play that all but sealed Tulsa’s 24-10 win on Saturday.

“And to begin with, our protection was terrible on that,” Morris said. “He (Mestemaker) gets pressured, he spins out, makes one miss. There’s a lot of things going on. I mean, he needs to run and get what he can and get down, or you know, but throwing across your body with so many people back as you’re scrambling, usually bad things happen back there.

“And so, yeah. I mean, I think that’s definitely something that he’s shown in the past that he’s done, it has hurt us, and it hurts again tonight.”

It has to hurt a little more, considering Tulsa safety Zach Williams snatched that pass either right off receiver Justin Bowick’s fingertips or grabbed it inches before he made contact.

On the play, Mestemaker started looking right, then spun around to avoid a sack from a defender coming from directly in front of him. He had to survive a little contact with the defender, who made a swipe at his thigh before hurling the ball roughly 30 yards into the end zone where Bowick was waiting for the touchdown that would make it a one-score game with 4:13 to play.

“It was kind of just a bad ball,” Mestemaker said. “I was off platform, it didn’t come out right, and that safety made a great play.”

Time definitely wasn’t on the Cowboys’ side at that point, but the chains were considering it was only first down.

As Morris alluded to, Mestemaker found himself in a similar situation last season against Tulane in the conference championship when he tossed an interception on first-and-goal at Tulane’s 2-yard line before tossing another on third-and-goal only 6 yards out. UNT trailed by 24 in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth quarter on those two plays.​

So, it is safe to say Mestemaker probably found himself in a similar mindset to where he was at Tulsa on Saturday.

“I felt like I tried my best throughout the game trying to get the ball down whenever I got moved off my spot,” Mestemaker said of the pivotal play at Tulsa. “But at that point in the game, we were down, and I was honestly just trying to make a play. And if I’m going to try to make the play, I have to make it.

Mestemaker finished the game 24-of-49 for 241 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions and one lost fumble.

Despite rough moments, the day still felt salvageable for Mestemaker entering the final quarter when he was 20-of-30 for 157 yards and fresh off a fourth-down touchdown to Bowick.

“He sat in there and said straight up that’s the most embarrassing offensive performance he’s ever been a part of,” Mestemaker said, quoting his head coach. “And I agree. I mean, I’d say the same for me. That’s just not how we play offense specifically. Defense, honestly, was the only reason we were in that game.”

All of the offensive issues on Saturday weren’t Mestemaker’s fault. The offensive line struggled often after starting left tackle Jacob Sexton had to be carted off after suffering an injury on the sixth offensive snap.

“You can’t let that rattle you and then go out and try to do something too much,” Mestemaker said. “Which I feel like I did. I just have to take it with a grain of salt. You know sometimes something happens, and someone gets through. We just have to go to the next play and stick to our process.”

Mestemaker and Morris both claimed credit for Saturday’s dismal offensive showing, which goes down as the QB’s worst touchdown-interception ratio, fourth-worst completion percentage and fifth-lowest passing yard total.

“The first thing is everyone knows I need to play better,” Mestemaker said. “I’m not the one to point fingers. I need to play better, and that’ll help the offense play better. I think it’s just being straight up with guys: ‘That’s not us. We need to play better, and it’s just on to next week.’”

TULSA — I have to be honest, I didn’t see that one coming — at all.

Oklahoma State lost to Tulsa 24-10 to start the Eric Morris Era of Cowboy football. Here are 10 Thoughts on the game.

1. OSU’s Offense Scored 10 Points

All offseason we’ve talked about how the Cowboys essentially imported the No. 1 offense in the country.

Sure, that offense played in the American, but against an American team on Saturday, that offense scored 10 points.

Is this Squinky’s price for OSU winning two of the final three Bedlams? Or is OSU simply incapable of competing the this new era of college football? Perhaps it was just the fact that this is a roster of 90+ new players, but those are the questions I’m pondering after having witnessed this game and the past two seasons.

2. The Fourth Downs

I made note after my rewatch of North Texas’ 2025 season that Eric Morris isn’t afraid to go for it on fourth down. Well, that seemed to really bite the Pokes in Game 1.

OSU finished 2-for-6 on fourth down.

The Cowboys got their first attempt, when Caleb Hawkins ran for three yards on 4th-and-1 on OSU’s first drive. Later in that same drive, though, Hawkins was stuffed on another 4th-and-1 attempt from the Tulsa 3-yard line.

OSU’s other three failed attempts were from a yard or less away. Tre Page III fumbled after seemingly getting the yard needed. Then Ayo Adeyi got stuffed on a 4th-and-1 in the third quarter. Mestemaker ripped an RPO pass to Miles Coleman in the fourth quarter on a 4th-and-1, but Coleman was also stood up on the line.

After converting that first fourth down, the only one the Cowboys would get came on 4th-and-7 when Mestemaker completed a pass to Justin Bowick for a 16-yard touchdown, the Cowboys’ lone touchdown of their season debut.

The failed fourth downs resulted in 17 of Tulsa’s points, scoring two touchdowns and a field goal after OSU gave the ball back.

3. Sexton Goes Down, O-Line Struggles

I feel awful for Jacob Sexton.

After making it six snaps into last season before missing the remainder of the year with injury, I think he made it the same number of snaps Saturday before going down with what appeared to be a rather significant leg injury. Eric Morris didn’t have an update after the game.

From that point on, OSU’s O-line had a rough day, often rotating Ashton Lepo, Shaun Torgeson and Desmond Magiya through at the tackle spots. We’ll have to wait and see the PFF update for pressure numbers, but I imagine they’re quite high, as it felt as if Drew Mestemaker was constantly having to navigate a busy pocket. As far as standard statistics go, Mestemaker was sacked twice and hurried 10 times.

Those struggles were apparent in the run game as well, as Cowboy rushers averaged 3.4 yards a carry.

I don’t see Sexton being back any time soon, but Morris did note that Braydon Nelson has recently returned to practice. Nelson started all of North Texas’ games at tackle last season. It doesn’t sound as if he’ll be ready next week, but that he should be good to go at some point this season.

Regardless of which guys run out on the offensive line over the coming weeks, something needs to be figured out. That much is clear.

4. Consider Me Concerned About Running Backs Not Named Caleb Hawkins

OSU’s RB2 spot has been a discussion all offseason, and it looks like that will continue going into Week 2.

Cowboy running backs not named Caleb Hawkins carried 13 times for 43 yards — about 3.3 yards a carry. Those carries were split between Tarleton State transfer Tre Page and James Madison (by way of North Texas) transfer Ayo Adeyi.

Page was the RB2 on the depth chart and that held true Saturday, but he didn’t take another handoff after that aforementioned fourth-down fumble in the first half.

Adeyi had a slightly better statistical day, but six carries for 24 yards isn’t exactly anything to write home about.

Some of this is offensive-line related, but even with that, Hawkins looked alright. Someone else is going to have to step up to spell him occasionally.

5. Just a Meh Debut for Drew Mestemaker

Mestemaker’s first stat line as a Cowboy: 29-for-49 (59%), 241 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions.

It’s not outstanding, but OSU eclipsed that yardage number just twice last season, so it’s an improvement. But a marginal improvement from a team that went 1-11 last season wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.

I’m not too worried about his picks. The first was in the back of the end zone, which isn’t an ideal spot to throw a pick, but he was trying to make a play while being moved from the pocket. Then the second one came with 11 second left, and OSU was just needing to get the ball down the field as quickly as possible.

I thought he missed some throws and made some others, but I leave this game much more worried about what’s going on in front of him than I did about his play.

6. The Defense Actually Played Alright

If you would’ve told me before this game started that Tulsa was going to win, I would have assumed it would’ve been a crazy 45-42 thriller.

Instead, it was the Cowboy defense trying with all its might to keep the Cowboys in the game while the offense kept tripping over itself.

OSU actually outgained and had more time of possession than Tulsa, and the Cowboy D held the Golden Hurricane to 1-for-11 on third down. It wasn’t until late when things started to break down and Tulsa started to rip off a few big runs.

I would have never guessed I would come out of this game feeling better about the OSU defense than the OSU offense — simply wasn’t on my bingo card.

7. Can’t Have that Jaleel Johnson Penalty

If there was one play the Cowboy defensive would collectively want back, though, it was likely that Jaleel Johnson unnecessary roughness call after the Cowboys fended off a third down deep in their own territory.

Johnson gave a shove to Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes late, giving the Golden Hurricane a first down from OSU’s 5-yard line, and two plays later, Tulsa scored its first touchdown of the game to go up 10-3.

Can’t have it.

In total, OSU have up six penalties for 59 yards — another area they actually bettered Tulsa in. The Golden Hurricane was flagged nine times for 102 yards.

8. Lack of Big Plays

Another thing I just wouldn’t believe going into this game is that Tulsa had more big plays than the Cowboys.

OSU had four passes of at least 15 yards, gaining 80 combined yards off those throws.

Tulsa had eight passes of at least 15 yards and gained 259 yards off those throws.

Some of those were excellent plays. Hayes hit Oran Singleton for a 56-yard gain early in what was honestly a beaut of a throw.

Then a bit later, Hayes hit Jimmy Calloway for a 47-yard gain down to the OSU 1-yard line. Calloway ripped that ball away from LaDainian Fields as the two crashed to the ground, a play you just sort of have to tip your cap to Calloway for.

OSU’s biggest pass play was a 27-yard connection between Mestemaker and Wyatt Young. Tulsa had three completions of at least 45 yards.

9. First Time Since When?

This is the first time Tulsa has beaten Oklahoma State in back-to-back games since 1951 and 1952.

Before this two-game losing streak, the Cowboys had won 10 in a row in the series.

This goes back to my first point in that this just feels like some sort of weird nightmare for the program.

10. It Feels More Fixable Than Last Year (For Whatever That’s Worth)

If this year’s OSU team played last year’s team, I think this year’s team wins. But I was just expecting much, much more than that.

Last year’s team just felt absolutely hapless. This year’s team just couldn’t quit turning the ball over whether that be on downs, fumbles or interceptions.

Tulsa had no one turnover (I forgot about Fields’ INT) and converted its only fourth-down try, meaning the Golden Hurricane essentially won the turnover battle 8-1. The Cowboys won’t win a ton of games doing that, but that at least feels more correctable than having a receiver play quarterback like the Cowboys were forced to do last year.

Oklahoma State stumbled out of the gate, falling to Tulsa 24-10 in an ugly first outing. While there will be plenty for Morris and staff to coach up this week in game film, let’s see what former players and fans had to say.

I had a feeling this game might temper some expectations, but this is closer to a full blown reality check on how much we overhyped this team.

— Southwell (@JustinSouthwell) September 5, 2026

😳

— Kenyatta Wright (@KWright_7) September 5, 2026

I liked the offseason better

— Cade Webb (@cadewebb) September 5, 2026

#OkState in a nutshell. pic.twitter.com/ZrF2hIEg6K

— GunnerPoke (@RockyMtnGunners) September 5, 2026

Everyone needs to shut up and calm down. Did the last two years teach yall nothing? We just overturned an entire coaching staff and roster. It takes time and reps. Expecting 2015-2017 Osu type of win out the gate is your own dumbass fault #okstate #pokes #oSu pic.twitter.com/FOd7xzPds1

— Pokelahoma (@PokelahomaState) September 5, 2026

And several of college football’s talking heads chimed in.

Let this be the death of “the next Indiana” offseason stuff. pic.twitter.com/ZYL4lz9hNB

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) September 5, 2026

You may proceed pic.twitter.com/H8hnrojM97

— Carson Cunningham (@Carson_OKC) September 5, 2026

The Eric Morris honeymoon phase was short

— Bryan Keating (@KOCOKeating) September 5, 2026

I think @CoachTreLamb9 gets an honorary membership at Karsten Creek now. He gets to play everyday.

— Eddie Radosevich (@Eddie_Rado) September 5, 2026

Oklahoma State’s record vs. Oklahoma teams in last 4 years:

OU 1-0
Tulsa 1-2

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 5, 2026

The Ducks did come up on top, but only beat Boise State by a touchdown.

Oregon focused on Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State focused on Oregon

— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) September 5, 2026

Here are some of his best photos from the game. You can check out the full album here.

The Cowboys hit the ground stumbling to start the Eric Morris era.

With 91 new players and a completely new staff, an adjustment period was to be expected. But it was an end-to-end ugly outing in Tulsa.

Oklahoma State dropped its season opener at Tulsa 24-10. The Cowboys were outgained by the Golden Hurricane, lost the turnover battle and were stopped on four fourth-down attempts. It doesn’t get much uglier than that.

There’s missing opportunities, and then there’s shooting yourself in the foot. The Cowboys did both early and often.

Each of Cowboys’ first two possessions went for 13 plays and over five minutes, but both resulted in zero points. The first drive ended with back-to-back rushes that were stood up for no gain at the Tulsa 3-yard line. The next drive ended with a punt. On the Cowboys’ third drive, Tre Page III fumbled on a fourth-down attempt.

Late in the second quarter, senior defensive end Jaleel Johnson got flagged for a late hit on Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes seconds after an incomplete pass on 4th-and-11. So instead of getting a red zone stop, OSU gave Tulsa a fresh set of downs at the 5-yard line. Two plays later, the Golden Hurricane had its first touchdown and would take a 10-3 lead into the half.

The nation’s leading passer last year had just 81 passing yards at halftime. Drew Mestemaker would finish 29-for-49 for 241 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Tulsa defenders spent a lot of time in the backfield with Mestemaker, but there were several missed throws and instances of apparent miscommunication with receivers.

In an early sad scene, first-year starting left tackle Jacob Sexton went down with an apparent lower leg injury and was carted off the field. Tulsa sacked Mestemaker twice and logged nine QB hurries.

Mestemaker’s counterpart Baylor Hayes is now 2-0 against the Cowboys. He went 17-for-24 for 227 yards, a TD and a pick. He also rushed for 28 yards.

It wasn’t pretty for either team. Tulsa kicker Marlon Hauck went 1-for-3 on field goals with misses from 31 and 40 yards. Tulsa also had its own share of drive-shaping penalties, getting flagged for four holding penalties on offense and three defensive pass interference penalties. There is an only slightly different alternative universe in which the Cowboys were down three or four touchdowns in the third quarter.

But Tulsa’s defense showed up holding OSU to just 368 total yards and 4.3 yards per play. The Cowboys were shut four times on fourth down and turned it over four times.

After falling behind two scores, there was a slight momentum shift felt by those orange-clad in H.A. Chapman Stadium.

The Cowboys finally found the end zone with just under two minutes left in the third. Mestemaker found Justin Bowick for a 16-yard touchdown on 4th-and-10 to pull within 17-10. On the next possession, LaDainian Fields picked off Baylor Hayes on a play that would have put Tulsa deep in the red zone. But the Cowboys continued firing pistols into their own cleats and couldn’t capitalize on the momentum.

OSU’s four fourth quarter drives ended by way of: punt, fourth-down failure, interception and interception.

Caleb Hawkins led the Cowboys with 76 rushing yards on 17 attempts. He also caught six passes for 29 receiving yards. Wyatt Young led the Pokes with eight catches for 84 yards. Mestemaker did spread it around, with seven Cowboys catching passes. Bowick had the Cowboys’ lone touchdown.

Tate Romney and Ethan Wesloski led the way with seven tackles each, and Fields had two tackles to go along with his third career interception.

Next up, the Cowboys will host No. 2 Oregon at 11 a.m. next Saturday in Stillwater.

Oklahoma State will don an all-white uniform combination for their season opener at Tulsa. It’s a classic look with the orange brand on the helmet and the orange and white stripe.

Iced out for the season opener 🧊 pic.twitter.com/mvoNaa9QQe

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 5, 2026

This should clash nicely against Tulsa’s home blue and gold getups.

Blue & Gold on Tulsa’s Turf for Week 1!#ReignCane pic.twitter.com/bbSNm7riGs

— Tulsa Football (@TulsaFootball) September 2, 2026

The Cowboys are 8-6 in all-white duds since the start of the 2011 season with the most recent win coming at Baylor in 2022.

David Taylor’s newest wrestling commit is already a four-time state champion, and he still has a year of high school left.

Gage Lohr announced his commitment to Oklahoma State on Friday. Lohr won his fourth South Dakota state title last school year at 157 pounds.

Per Flo, Lohr is 262-15 as a high schooler. That included a 32-2 record as a junior this past season in which 94% of his bouts ended with bonus points.

Lohr stormed his way through his state bracket, going pin, tech, tech and a 10-5 decision in the final. Lohr’s state title as a sophomore came down at 138 pounds, where he went pin, pin, decision, major.

Between those two state titles, Lohr wrestled at the U17 U.S. Open in 2025, where he went 3-2. At Fargo in the summer of 2025, Lohr went 7-1 at 138 pounds in the 16U division, taking third with four tech falls and a pin. Then he wrestled up at 144 pounds for Super 32, where Lohr went 4-2.

Before committing to the Cowboys, Lohr took visits to Nebraska, Minnesota and South Dakota State and also at one point last summer had a Top 10 list of Missouri, OU, Wyoming, Cornell, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota State and North Carolina.

Lohr joins what looks to be another solid class for Taylor and Co. That class also includes Ignacio Villasenor (No. 10 on Flo’s Big Board), Michael Romero (No. 17), Ladd Holman (No. 31) and Tanner Hodgins (No. 43).

Three Thoughts

• Letting this reality set in – today we finally get some answers.

The Cowboys are two touchdown favorite as they head to nearby Tulsa. But the real story here is the major overhaul that Oklahoma State has gone through with new head coach Eric Morris. Now we get to see what Drew Mestemaker and this projected high flying offense looks like. [HCS]

• TV info, players to watch, everything else you need to know about today’s game against Tulsa – also, if you’re watching at home and want to peek ahead, Oregon is playing Boise State at 2:30pm on CBS (PFB)

• Awesome Drew Mestemaker comparison from a CBS writer:

When I watched Drew Mestemaker for the first time last year at North Texas, it was the same feeling I had watching Drake Maye in his first year starting at North Carolina. From the big frame to the effortless arm talent to the legit wheels they keep under wraps until needed, there are a lot of physical similarities. It’s the way they play the position, though, that really jumped out to me. Both are feel quarterbacks while still being technically sound. They are not robots playing the position but athletes who find answers that suit each unique situation. [CBS Sports]

Two Quotes

• Cowboys – a lot, Sooners – not very much.

Oh how we’ve missed this #gopokes | #okstatehockey pic.twitter.com/wWIKQDfCdZ

— OSU Cowboy Hockey (@okstatehockey) September 4, 2026

• Props to Hauss Hejny for winning the job at Colorado State: 

Colorado State is expected to start Oklahoma State transfer Hauss Hejny at quarterback, sources tell @CBSSports.

Former four-star recruit who was Oklahoma State’s starting QB last year prior to suffering a season-ending injury. pic.twitter.com/VKvWp2roaQ

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) September 4, 2026

One Question

• Is Eric Morris the best quarterback identifier/developer to ever be at OSU? 

Non-OSU Bullets

• America needs it’s boys to play football – great defense of the concept

• Are you a lover of good? (faith-based)

Super interesting map here – Oklahoma = Croatia.

I forget how big the United States is sometimes. pic.twitter.com/YKEaNgCu3w

— Josh Barzon (@JoshuaBarzon) September 3, 2026

STILLWATER — It would certainly be difficult for the Cowboys to be any worse than they were last season. In fact, much of the offseason talk was about just how good this group made up of 90+ newcomers could be.

Few are questioning how good Oklahoma State’s offense is with Eric Morris and Drew Mestemaker running the show, but what could take OSU’s season from solid to good (or perhaps from good to great) is the Cowboys’ defense.

There isn’t much of an expectation on OSU’s defense entering the year. Not that they’re expected to be bad, it’s just hard to know what to expect. But star linebacker Ethan Wesloski says the group can be as good as it wants to be.

“We gotta go play after play and just execute,” Wesloski said Tuesday. “We can go back through scrimmage tape and practice tape where it’s the one offense against the one defense. Everyone knows how good that offense is over there. There’s days when we execute where they can’t gain a yard on the run, we’re defending passes.

“Really, we’re as good as we want to be. There’s plays where all we have to do is line up, get vertical in our gaps and play fast. I believe there’s nobody we can’t play with in this country.”

It’s been a rocky road for Oklahoma State defenses since Jim Knowles left Stillwater after the Cowboys’ magical 2021 season.

Including 2021, OSU has now had six defensive coordinators in six seasons: Knowles (2021), Derek Mason (2022), Bryan Nardo (2023-24), Todd Grantham (2025), Clint Bowen (2025), Skyler Cassity (2026).

That stretch has included perhaps the best (2021) and worst (2024) defenses in program history.

Given not only the change in staff, but also the drastic change in personnel, it’s unfair to associate the defensive struggles of the past few seasons with this current group. But if you were to be concerned about something, it’d probably be that many of the key cogs in Cassity’s defense haven’t done it at the Big 12 level before.

There were 17 players listed as starters on OSU’s first depth chart (including ORs). Of those, six were on Group of Five teams last season, including Wesloski at linebacker and all three starting safeties. Just because they haven’t played Power Conference football to this point doesn’t mean they can’t, but it is an unknown.

It sounds like Wesloski, who made 233 tackles across the past three seasons, welcomes that challenge.

“Obviously you’re excited to play football again,” Wesloski said. “I’m excited to play against Tulsa, being that they’re a good football team. Got a lot of good matchups in front of us, but I’m excited for this season personally because it’s gonna test my abilities. It’s gonna show me how good at football I really am. Just every day, show up and keep working.”

STILLWATER — Eric Morris recently hosted a scout from the Baltimore Ravens who gave him some unsolicited career advice.

“He said, ‘Yeah, you should get out of coaching and start selling some kind of recruiting service for quarterback play at some point.’ … It’s all a process that we’ve come up with over the course of the years,” Morris said on Thursday. “And I think the biggest thing is how we prepare these quarterbacks, and actually what we do in the meeting room is what I think sets us apart.”

Morris said how they instruct them and the “extremely different” way they build film cutups plays a huge role in the success his quarterbacks have demonstrated in the past.

Host for the radio show, Dave Hunziker, didn’t let Morris leave the subject quite so humbly. Not without referencing the head coach’s experience developing Cam Ward (2025 first overall pick), Baker Mayfield (2018 first overall pick) and Patrick Mahomes (two-time NFL MVP and a top 10 pick in 2017).

“I think it’s just putting our ego as coaches aside,” Morris said in response to those name drops. “And you really have to dig in, and you got to study and find what their skill set is, and what they do well, and then build your plan around that. And so, they’re the guys that touch the ball every single play, right? And so, I think it’s just interesting, even the things that you don’t see, but just minimizing their mistakes out there are something that’s huge.”

Of course that scout wasn’t in Stillwater to see Morris. He came for the coach’s latest prodigy, quarterback Drew Mestemaker.

The Cowboys’ QB1 seems to be well-positioned to play his way into the 2027 First Round conversation, and Morris made it clear on Thursday that he will give Mestemaker every opportunity to impress NFL scouts.

“We give the quarterbacks a ton of freedom,” Morris said. “You know, you’ll see Drew throwing hand signals during the course of this year, and that’s him actually changing the whole entire play over there. So he has full ability at any point. And I think just avoiding negative plays is something that’s huge. And we got a quarterback that can process information fast and can get us into the right plays and out of the bad ones that we ultimately call. I think it’s going to set us up for success.”

We’ve just about made it to another football season.

Oklahoma State kicks off the Eric Morris Era on Saturday in Tulsa. Here’s a look at how to watch, betting info, players to watch and more.

Viewing Info

Time: 2:45 p.m. Saturday
Location: H.A. Chapman Stadium in Tulsa
Watch: ESPNU (Mike Corey and Barrett Brooks)

Betting Info (via FanDuel)

Spread: Oklahoma State -13.5
Over/under: 59.5
OSU money line: -550

2025 Team Stats

Players to Watch

Drew Mestemaker (OSU QB) — Mestemaker led the nation in passing as a redshirt freshman at North Texas last season, completing 69% of his 463 attempts for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns.

Baylor Hayes (Tulsa QB) — Hayes took Tulsa to Boone Pickens Stadium as a redshirt freshman last season and won. He finished his first year as a college starter with 2,158 passing yards, 190 rushing yards and accounted for 15 TDs.

Caleb Hawkins (OSU RB) — As a true freshman at North Texas in 2025, Hawkins led the nation in touchdowns scored, and he wasn’t getting regular playing time the first few weeks of the season. He ran for 1,434 yards, had 370 receiving yards and scored 29 times.

Damari Alston (Tulsa RB) — A four-star prospect coming out of high school, Alston spent the first four years of his college career at Auburn, where he took 162 handoffs for 809 yards and six touchdowns.

Jaleel Johnson (OSU DE) — Eric Morris tabbed Johnson as OSU’s most disruptive player of spring ball, as he looks to have a breakout senior season. Johnson has played 26 games as a Cowboy, having made 49 tackles, six tackles for loss and three sacks.

Kyran Duhon (Tulsa DE) — Duhon went from OSU to Tulsa this offseason. With the Cowboys in 2025, Duhon played in 11 games and made 16 tackles and two tackles for loss. Before that, he was at UTEP as a freshman, where he went off to the tune of 43 tackles and seven sacks.

Series History (OSU Leads 45-28-5)

Further Reading

Learn OSU’s roster
OSU names captains for 2026
2026 season predictions
Tre Lamb talks up Drew Mestemaker
OSU releases first depth chart of 2026
Four things Tulsa coach Tre Lamb said
Jaleel Johnson’s “revenge tour”
Breaking down the OSU-Tulsa series history
“Best I’ve felt in five years” — Jacob Sexton
Comparing Mestemaker and Hayes
Mestemaker reflects in his unique journey 
Eric Morris not chasing stats
Morris’ plans for OSU’s tight ends
Quinton Hammonds journey from receiver to safety
Similarities between Morris and Lamb
Three things to know entering OSU-Tulsa
OSU-Tulsa predictions

We are one sleep away from Cowboy football.

Oklahoma State opens its 2026 season and the Eric Morris Era with a game against Tulsa at 2:45 p.m. Saturday at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

Earlier this week, we laid out some season predictions, but here are our predictions for the Tulsa game.

We’re going to keep track of points for predictions this year. Ex — five points are available for the uniform: helmet color, helmet decal, jersey color, jersey number color (for away games), pants color. We’ll keep a running tally throughout the year that hopefully provides some alternate entertainment.

Anyways, without further ado, here are our picks.

Marshall Scott

Uniform: White (Cursive Cowboys)-White (Orange Numbers)-Orange

Leading Receiver: Chris Barnes

I’ve collected Chris Barnes stock all offseason, so I can’t stop now. From the spring game and the little bit of practice I’ve gotten to watch, Barnes is electric. He’s the type that can take one little quick pass all the way to the house, and I think he gets loose a couple times in Tulsa.

Player of the Game: Chris Barnes

All my eggs are in this basket, and after this game, I’ll adjust accordingly. It can sometimes be tough for a receiver to be named player of the game because the quarterback is often getting those yards attributed to him as well, but I think Barnes does enough to pop. This prediction could be locked up if he makes a big play in the return game.

Score: Oklahoma state 52, Tulsa 21

That might seem like a rather large number, but North Texas scored in the 50s seven times. I think Eric Morris and Co. make a statement that gets the fanbase fired up for the Ducks’ trip to Stillwater next weekend.

Kyle Cox

Uniform: Orange (Pete)-White (Orange)-Orange

Leading Receiver: Wyatt Young

A bit too much has been made about the “or” on the depth chart. It could really be one of four or five guys, but I think the connection between Young and Mestemaker picks up right where it left off. I say Mestie spreads it around but leans on his top target from last year as he knocks off any rust from the offseason. Give me Young with six catches for 105 yards and a score, with a several other guys getting involved.

Player of the Game: Caleb Hawkins

He might be the skill player I’m the most intrigued to see suit up in orange. We know the Cowboys have the talent to make plays on offense, but if they want to compete with the big boys (eyeing Week 2 against Oregon), they should be able to dominate Tulsa in the ground game.

Score: Oklahoma State 35, Tulsa 17

I have been eyeing this team with cautious optimism, but I think they hit the ground running against Tulsa. I expect a two-score lead in the first half and that the Cowboys keep the Golden Hurricane at bay minus a late garbage-time score.

Tyler Waldrep

Uniform: White (Brand)-White (Black Numbers)-Orange

Leading Receiver: Wyatt Young

I’m not expecting him to lead the team in receiving yards this season, but he was Drew Mestemaker’s most explosive deep threat last season and his placement in the slot positions him well to find holes in the defense. Finally, I think the “OR” between him and Miles Coleman leads to him potentially playing later in the game than OSU’s clear-cut starting receivers.

Player of the Game: Drew Mestemaker

He’s been discussed as a potential first-round pick throughout the offseason. He won’t earn that spot on Saturday, but I think he looks the part against an overmatched Tulsa defense. I expect Mestemaker to throw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday. An OSU quarterback hasn’t done that since, well, the last time the Cowboys visited Tulsa.

Score: Oklahoma State 48, Tulsa 13

If anything I’m being conservative with what feels like it should be a completely lopsided contest. Eric Morris believes in momentum and with No. 2 Oregon visiting next week, the Cowboys need to generate a lot of it in a hurry.

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OSU Bullets

• Grab a weekend watch guide here and see who else is playing college football this weekend + three things to know ahead of the opener against TU (PFB) 

• In a five-year NBA “redraft”, Cade Cunningham went No. 3 behind only Cooper Flagg and Victor Wembanyama (BleacherReport)

• It’s wild – a win at Tulsa tomorrow (!) would be OSU’s first win over an FBS team in a long time. 

OSU is trying to snap an 11-game losing streak overall and an 18-game losing streak to FBS teams.

The Pokes haven’t beaten an FBS team since taking down…Tulsa in 2024. [Open for Business]

The longest active losing streak in the FBS now belongs to….

Oklahoma State https://t.co/He4apdKFuV

— Dan Lindblad (@DanLindbladTV) September 4, 2026

• Two OSU-supported markets made the top 20 for Nielsen’s college football fandom index – basically a college football passion adjusted viewership rating (Nielsen) 

•  Cowgirl Soccer tied San Diego State, 1-1 at NPS last night:

Final from NPS#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/BaVdSLqHws

— OSU Cowgirl Soccer (@CowgirlFC) September 4, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• A Dallas Cowboys fullback traded the rights to his number for a share in a chicken farm

• The loudest + quietest states in the US

Love that “best three weeks of the year” tag on October: 

How seasons work in Oklahoma: 🌪️

Jan — Cold
Feb — Fake spring
Mar — WIND
Apr — Tornado watch
May — Tornado warning
Jun — Actually kinda nice
Jul — Hell
Aug — Hell with a higher electric bill
Sep — Summer: Part 2
Oct — Best 3 weeks of the year
Nov — Summer yesterday, winter today…

— iamnicekidd | oklahoma🌪️ (@oklahomaceo) September 3, 2026

After TCU let us all down played last weekend, the rest of the Big 12 starts their 2026 season over the next few days.

Before a Week 1 ball flies through the sky, though, we wanted to share a Big 12 power ranking entering the 2026 season.

1. Texas Tech

2025 Record: 12-2
Week 1 Opponent: Abilene Christian (Tech -42.5)

Until proven otherwise, the reigning champs are the reigning champs.

There’s some turnover happening in Lubbock, as the Red Raiders got five guys taken in the first three rounds of the NFL Daft, but Tech has the capital to fill those needs.

Per 247Sports, Texas Tech had the No. 6 recruiting class in the country, which ranked tops in the Big 12. The Red Raiders restocked the dominant defense from a season ago by adding four four-star defensive transfers in Mateen Ibirogba (DL), Austin Romaine (LB), Adam Trick (Edge) and Davin Martin (CB).

The biggest question the Red Raiders have entering the year comes at quarterback following the Brendan Sorsby saga of the summer. A junior, Will Hammond enters his first season as a full-time starter. He’s played in a dozen games throughout his first two seasons of college ball, where he’s completed 63% of his 166 attempts for 1,151 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. He enters the year coming off an ACL tear, and the Red Raiders somewhat sneakily added former Florida State QB Tommy Castellanos late.

2. BYU

2025 Record: 12-2
Week 1 Opponent: Utah Tech (BYU -51.5)

The Cougars made the Big 12 title game last season, finishing 12-2 with both of those losses coming via Texas Tech.

BYU has the most returning starters of anyone in the league, per CBS Sports, and that includes quarterback Bear Bachmeier. As a true freshman last season, Bachmeier threw for 3,033 yards and 15 TDs to seven INTs, while running for another 527 yards and 11 touchdowns. Given his youth, there should be quite a bit of room for Bachmeier to continue to grow, and a 12-2 first season as a college starter is a prime spot to build from.

What also helps is he has running back LJ Martin standing next to him. Martin rushed for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.

BYU took a league-low nine players out of the portal this offseason but even without the quantity of others, that class ranks sixth in the league, per 247.

The biggest hang-up the Cougars have seemed to have this offseason was off the field, as head coach Kalani Sitake is now set to report to Keith Vorkink rather than AD Brian Santiago after Sitake voiced some concerns about resources.

So long as that doesn’t seep into the season, it looks to be another solid year for the Cougars. They don’t play Texas Tech in the regular season but do have a highly anticipated nonconference game against Notre Dame on Oct. 17.

3. Utah

2025 Record: 11-2
Week 1 Opponent: Idaho (Utah -36.5)

The Utes’ only losses last season came to Texas Tech and BYU. Outside of those two games, they outscored foes a combined 506-188.

Utah returns just five starters from last season, but one of those is quarterback Devon Dampier. After transferring from New Mexico, Dampier threw for 2,490 yards, 24 touchdowns and five INTs while running for another 835 yards and 10 scores.

Utah added a few four-star weapons for Dampier via the portal in Utah State transfer Braden Pegan (926 rec. yards and five TDs last season) and San Jose State transfer Kyri Shoels (768 rec. yards and two TDs last season).

The thing you wonder about with Utah is the coaching change. Longtime defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley steps in for longtime coach Kyle Whittingham. Whittingham since took the Michigan job and brought a decent haul of players with him. I’m less worried about how Scalley will fair as head coach and more wondering how big a void the guys Whittingham took with him will leave.

4. Houston

2025 Record: 10-3
Week 1 Opponent: Oregon State (Houston -20.5)

Spots four through eight on my list here are essentially interchangeable.

Willie Fritz is a head coach who wins. The Cougars went 4-8 in Dana Holgorsen’s final year and then 4-8 again in Fritz’s first year before the 10-win explosion last season.

The Cougars return a dozen starters from last season, including quarterback Conner Weigman, who threw for 2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns in his first year in Houston. He also ran for 700 yards and 11 more scores. Should Weigman go down at any point, the Cougars also have a promising backup in Keisean Henderson — the No. 1 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.

A worry to wonder with Houston in 2026 is six of their wins came by a score or less last season. Is that just Fritz being a good coach? Or will water find its level in 2026?

5. Arizona

2025 Record: 9-4
Week 1 Opponent: Northern Arizona (Arizona -32.5)

Arizona returns 10 starters from last season’s squad, including fifth-year quarterback Noah Fifita. Fifita has thrown for 9,183 yards and 73 touchdowns in his Arizona career to this point. He was named the Preseason All-Big 12 quarterback going into the year.

It’s not the most forgiving of Big 12 schedules for the Wildcats, though, as they’ll have to play BYU (in Provo), Texas Tech (in Lubbock), Utah, Kansas State (in Manhattan) and Arizona State.

The Arizona defense returns leading sack-getter from 2025 in linebacker Chase Kennedy and second-leading tackler Taye Brown.

6. Oklahoma State

2025 Record: 1-11
Week 1 Opponent: at Tulsa (Oklahoma State -13.5)

It certainly feels odd putting a team that finished 1-11 last season and hasn’t won a Big 12 game in two seasons in the top half of the league. But to call this the same team also doesn’t feel right given the fact that there are more than 90 newcomers on the roster.

If you’re reading this power ranking on this site, you probably know all you need to about the Cowboys. But, if you know nothing, OSU essentially imported the top offense in the country from last season — from play-caller/head coach Eric Morris to quarterback Drew Mestemaker to running back Caleb Hawkins to leading receiver Wyatt Young.

Potential concerns include the fact that OSU, regardless of who is wearing the uniform, hasn’t won a Big 12 game since Nov. 25, 2023. And also the fact that there are so many new pieces having to come together — a decent amount of whom haven’t played at the Power Five level.

7. Arizona State

2025 Record: 8-5
Week 1 Opponent: Morgan State (Arizona State -43.5)

Kenny Dillingham has led the Sun Devils into the Top 11 of the AP Poll in back-to-back seasons, but Arizona state returns just three starters from last year.

To counter that, Dillingham brought in the third-ranked portal class in the conference — trailing only Tech and OSU. That includes Kentucky transfer QB Cutter Boley, who 247Sports labeled a four-star prospect. He threw for 2,160 yards and 15 TD last season, also throwing a dozen picks.

Dillingham also got Boley a few weapons in Boston College transfer Reed Harris and Colorado transfer Omarion Miller, two four-star transfer receivers.

The worry with the Sun Devils is they lost star quarterback Sam Leavitt to LSU. 247Sports considered Leavitt the No. 1 player in the portal. ASU also lost running back Raleek Brown to Texas.

So, should Dillingham win big again in 2026, it’ll be with a different group of stars.

8. Kansas State

2025 Record: 6-6
Week 1 Opponent: Nicholls (K-State -41.5)

Last season was an odd one for K-State, starting with that game in Ireland and ending with Chris Klieman’s retirement.

But it’s spurred on what could be an exciting new era under former K-State QB/OC Collin Klein, who returns from a stint as Texas A&M’s OC. He pairs with returning quarterback Avery Johnson. Johnson took a slight step back in terms of production last season, but hypothetically, Klein’s return should help him.

K-State should have a formidable rushing attack between Johnson and running backs Joe Jackson and Rodney Fields.

The Wildcats also added four-star transfer edge rusher Wendell Gregory, who OSU fans will be familiar with. He should take another step forward with experience.

9. Baylor

2025 Record: 5-7
Week 1 Opponent: at Auburn (Auburn -7.5)

I think there’s a notable gap between K-State and Baylor, so much so that it almost feels odd having them next to each other.

Dave Aranda is probably the Big 12 coach who is most on the hot seat entering the season. Since winning the league in 2021, the Bears have gone 6-7, 3-9, 8-5, 5-7.

The big addition of the offseason is quarterback DJ Lagway from Florida. Lagway is a Baylor legacy and was a highly touted high school prospect. He played in 24 of Florida’s 25 games the past two seasons (his true freshman and sophomore seasons), throwing for 4,179 yards, 28 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Lagway was part of the No. 5 portal class in the Big 12.

10. UCF

2025 Record: 5-7
Week 1 Opponent: Bethune Cookman (UCF -42.5)

Year 1 of UCF Tenure 2 for Scott Frost was a mixed bag, finishing 5-7 but 2-7 in the Big 12.

The Knights bring in former James Madison quarterback Alonza Barnett III and also have 10 returning starters.

In the past two seasons, Barnett threw for a combined 5,404 yards and 49 touchdowns while running for another 1,031 yards and 22 touchdowns.

11. West Virginia

2025 Record: 4-8
Week 1 Opponent: Coastal Carolina (WVU -21.5)

Rich Rodriguez’s second tenure in Morgantown had a signature moment at the beginning of the year when the Mountaineers bested Pitt in overtime in the Backyard Brawl, but WVU won just two games after that.

I’d expect the Mountaineer ground game to give teams trouble in 2026, starting with Jax State transfer running back Cam Cook, a preseason All-American who led the country with 1,659 rushing yards.

He’ll be in the backfield with QB Michael Hawkins, who transfers in from OU. Hawkins’ OU stint wasn’t always smooth, but he was thrown into the fire. In nine games, he has thrown for 950 yards, ran for 262 yards and accounted for eight touchdowns.

12. Cincinnati

2025 Record: 7-6
Week 1 Opponent: Boston College (Cincy -7.5)

With all the portal movement, it’s hard to have a good feeling about any of these teams, but I feel like I’m extra uneducated on the Bearcats.

They lost quarterback Brendan Sorsby, which is a big blow. He’s been replaced by Georgia Southern transfer JC French.

Cincy’s portal class ranks seventh in the league, and the top four players in that class, per 247, are receivers — led by four-star transfers Cade Wolford (Kent State) and Flynn Schiele (Colorado School of Mines).

The Bearcats also have three returning starters along the offensive line.

13. TCU

2025 Record: 9-4
Week 1 Opponent: Bye (lost to North Carolina in Week 1)

I fought with all I could from putting TCU lower after an uninspiring performance in Week 0 against North Carolina.

But aside from his four-year stint at Cal, Sonny Dykes has won everywhere he’s been. In 16 years as a head coach, Dykes has had 10 winning seasons at six losing seasons. So, for the time being, I’ll give the Horned Frogs some sort of benefit of the doubt.

Perhaps Harvard transfer QB Jaden Craig will look better stateside than his 20-for-32, 175-yard performance in Ireland.

14. Colorado

2025 Record: 3-9
Week 1 Opponent: at Georgia Tech (Georgia Tech -6.5)

I think the Buffaloes will be better in 2026 than they were in 2025. How much better? I’m not quite sure.

Not only was Colorado transitioning out of the Shedeur Sanders-Travis Hunter Era last season, but coach Deion Sanders was also dealing with some health concerns. It’s tough to know how much that played into the lack of success, but it couldn’t have helped.

Quarterback Julian Lewis was a high-level recruit and got to whet his appetite in four games last season. On top of that, Coach Prime brought in the fourth-ranked portal class in the conference, with the Buffs’ 43 portal commits trailing only OSU in the league in terms of numbers.

15. Kansas

2025 Record: 5-7
Week 1 Opponent: Long Island (Kansas -41.5)

After a promising start to Lance Leipold’s tenure, the Jayhawks have seemed to stagnate in recent seasons.

And now, KU goes into a year without quarterback Jalon Daniels, who played in the past six seasons in Lawrence.

Last week, Leipold named returning sophomore Isaiah Marshall as the teams’ Week 1 QB. He attempted three passes last season, completing them all for 28 yards. He ran 15 times for 160 yards.

KU’s portal haul ranked 13th in the league, with the Jayhawks being one of five Big 12 teams without a four-star transfer.

16. Iowa State

2025 Record: 8-4
Week 1 Opponent: SEMO (Iowa State -30.5)

I don’t blame Iowa State at all for the low standing I’ve given them going into the season. In fact, I don’t even blame Matt Campbell. I blame Penn State swinging and missing about nine times before they finally hit with Campbell, who the Nittany Lions probably should’ve been targeting all along.

The late coaching switch opened up the portal in Ames, and a ton of guys followed Campbell to Happy Valley. 247Sports ranks 19 outgoing transfers ahead of the top-rated guy the Cyclones brought in. That’s not ideal.

I like the quarterback new coach Jimmy Rogers brought in. Arkansas State transfer Jaylen Raynor put up 8,694 passing yards and 1,183 rushing yards while accounting for 67 touchdowns in three seasons.

As we look forward to the start of the Eric Morris era, let’s take peek at the opposite sidelines and get acquainted with the 2026 Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

1. Tre Lamb Also Building Through Portal

The Golden Hurricane didn’t approach OSU’s record 92 newcomers this offseason, but Tulsa still had success in the portal.

Tulsa ranks third in the American in transfer portals rankings according to 247Sports. Of their incoming 25 transfers, the average rating of 84.5 actually leads their conference.

It’s not a wholesale rebuild like Eric Morris had to do, but it’s a decent pull to a place where it’s not easy to attract talent, especially after four-straight losing seasons.

2. Tulsa Got Help in the Running Game

Tulsa ranked eighth in the American rushing for just over 175 yards per game last season at a clip of 4.3 yards per carry. The Golden Hurricane has added some pieces to the interior of their offensive line and a trio of running backs.

In addition to Malachi Preciado from South Alabama, Tulsa added running backs Damari Alston (Auburn), Seth Davis (Mississippi State), and Trequan Jones (Old Dominion).

Alston played 38 games at Auburn, rushing for 809 yards and six TDs in his career. Davis had a promising freshman season with 356 yards and a TD but suffered a serious knee injury in the bowl game that kept him out all of 2024. He appeared in just two games in 2025.

Jones might be the most intriguing of the trio. After stepping up to the FBS level for Georgia Military Institute, Jones broke out for 792 yards and six touchdowns, on just 105 carries (!). His 7.5 YPC ranked second in the nation last year.

According to the depth chart that came out Thursday, Alston will get the start against OSU with Jones set at RB2.

3. A Beat-up Secondary

Drew Mestemaker and his passing attack will get its first live reps against a talented secondary, but without its best player.

Tulsa cornerback Elijah Green is out with injury, but they still have a handful of playmakers on the back end.

Green was a First-Team All-American and a Jim Thorpe Finalist last year who led the American Conference with five interceptions and came in second with seven pass breakups. They definitely could have used him against OSU on Saturday, but they’re not without playmakers.

At corner, Tulsa will start veteran JD Drew and Abilene Christian transfer Tyson Williams.

At safety, they have a couple more Williamses. Zach Williams was second on the team (behind Green) with a 76.3 defensive rating. The junior safety started all 12 games for the Golden Hurricane last year, racking up 76 tackles. He also tied Green with seven pass breakups and forced two fumbles. Ashton Williams returns after playing in all 12 games last year, he will try to fill the role of departed all-conference safety Lento Smith Jr.

There’s some returning talent in Tulsa’s secondary, but Mestemaker and Co. will look to take advantage of a defense without its marquee playmaker.

Football season is officially back, as Week 1 of the 2026 season gets going on Thursday evening. Here is a look at the Big 12 slate for the weekend and some of the better games from a national perspective.

Big 12 Schedule

Bethune-Cookman at UCF — 6 p.m. Thursday on ESPN+
Colorado at Georgia Tech — 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN
Idaho at No. 21 Utah — 8 p.m. Thursday on ESPNU
Long Island at Kansas — 7 p.m. Friday on ESPNU
Oregon State at No. 23 Houston — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN
Coastal Carolina at West Virginia — 11 a.m. Saturday on TNT
SEMO at Iowa state — 12 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Baylor vs. Auburn (Atlanta) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
Boston College at Cincinnati — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX
Oklahoma State at Tulsa — 2:45 p.m. Saturday on ESPNU
Abilene Christian at No. 12 Texas Tech — 6 p.m. Saturday on FS1
Nicholls at Kansas State — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Utah Tech at No. 14 BYU — 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Northern Arizona at Arizona — 8:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Morgan State at Arizona State — 9 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+

After TCU went across the pond and looked rather uninspiring in a loss to North Carolina, the Big 12 has three games against Power Conference foes in Week 1. The league could use some wins for perception’s sake.

Colorado-Georgia Tech: Year 4 of the Prime Era of Colorado football gets going Thursday night in Atlanta.

The Buffaloes went 3-9 last season. At Big 12 Media Days, Deion Sanders sounded more confident in this group. Julian Lewis, a former Top 50 recruit, is set to take over at QB. He played sparingly last season, throwing for 589 yards, four touchdowns and no picks in four games last season.

After going 9-4 last season, Georgia Tech enters this game as a 6.5-point favorite. The Yellow Jackets lost long-time starting QB Haynes King to the NFL after he threw for 7,907 yards and 55 touchdowns in three seasons with Georgia Tech. In his place steps Alberto Mendoza, younger brother of former Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza.

Baylor-Auburn: This is the Big 12 game with the most eyeballs on it going into the weekend.

After winning the Big 12 in 2021, Baylor has gone a combined 22-28, which has put Dave Aranda on the hot seat. The Bears did, though, bring in DJ Lagway to start at quarterback. Lagway was the No. 3 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class. It didn’t quite come together for him at Florida, as in two seasons he threw for 4,179 yards, 28 touchdowns and 23 picks. If he can realize his potential in Waco, look out.

Auburn, a 7.5-point favorite, is under new leadership in Alex Golesh, who comes over from USF. Golesh brought quarterback Byrum Brown with him after Brown threw for 3,158 yards and 28 touchdowns last season while also running for 1,008 yards and 14 more scores.

Boston College-Cincinnati: Cincinnati enters its Week 1 matchup against the ACC’s Boston College as a 7.5-point favorite.

The Bearcats went 7-6 last season — Scott Satterfield’s third year in charge. In that time, Satterfield has taken Cincy from three wins to five wins to seven wins. With Brendan Sorsby gone to Texas Tech, Cincy brought in JC French from Georgia Southern after French threw for 2,929 yards and 20 touchdowns last season.

Boston College was picked 15th (of 16) in the ACC preseason poll. It’s the Eagles’ third season under Bill O’Brien, who went a combined 9-16 in his first two seasons. It looks like Saginaw Valley State transfer Mason McKenzie will start at QB for BC. He’s a dual-threat, who threw for 4,301 yards, ran for 1,673 yards and accounted for 49 total TDs across 25 games at Saginaw Valley.

Other Games to Watch

Tarleton State at Bowling Green — 11 a.m. Saturday ESPN+
Liberty at James Madison — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPNU
Boise State at No. 2 Oregon — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS
Tulane at Duke — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ACC Network
Arkansas State at Memphis — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+
Clemson at No. 11 LSU — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
UCLA at Cal — 9:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
Washington State at No. 17 Washington — 3 p.m. Sunday on NBC
Wisconsin at No. 4 Notre Dame (Green Bay) — 6:30 p.m. Sunday on NBC
No. 24 Louisville at No. 9 Ole Miss (Nashville) — 6:30 p.m. Sunday on ABC
No. 19 SMU at Florida State — 6:30 p.m. Monday on ESPN

It’s not the most-electric Week 1 slate ever, but football is back. And if you sift hard enough, you can find some excellent action.

Clemson-LSU: Two of the sport’s larger-than-life coaches will meet in Week 1, and while either of these teams could likely rebound from an early loss, it wouldn’t exactly be ideal.

Clemson has certainly taken a step back from its national title-winning ways, but the Tigers have still averaged 8.7 wins a season the past three years. That step back is oft attributed to Dabo Swinney’s resistance to the poral, but Clemson dipped its toe in those waters this offseason, finishing with the No. 56 portal class (per 247Sports).

But few have hit the portal as hard as LSU. Lane Kiffin is seeking NFL preseason players for goodness sake. 247Sports ranks LSU’s portal class top nationally, which included three five-star transfers and 14 four-star transfers (Clemson had 11 transfers total).

LSU is and should be the favorite, but this is one of the better perceived games of the weekend.

Louisville-Ole Miss: Louisville enters the year as a somewhat trendy pick in the ACC, while Ole Miss returns perhaps the best backfield duo in the country in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy, but the Rebels don’t return the guy who orchestrated their offense last season — Lane Kiffin.

Ole Miss is a 6.5-point favorite, as of writing. Clemson-LSU will probably demand more headlines, but this looks to be the better game.

Rivalry Games in Week 1: With Washington and Washington State no longer sharing a conference, the Apple Cup will be contested on Week 1. The Huskies are notable favorites, but the last time this game was played in Seattle, the Cougars left victorious.

The Battle of the Blue Ridge, a lesser-known rivalry between Liberty and James Madison, looks to be even more competitive. The two schools are less than a two-hour drive from each other. Last year was the first time since 2014 that this game was played, and JMU took it 31-13. The Dukes are 6.5-point favorites entering Saturday.

Pac-12 After Dark Returns: UCLA and Cal once shared the Pac-12, and now neither are in the conference. They’ll play a late-night game Saturday that should be a good one.

As of writing, UCLA is a 1.5-point favorite. The Bruins are starting anew with former JMU coach Bob Chesney at the helm. Chesney went 21-6 in two seasons coaching the Dukes. Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele can sling it. He threw for 3,454 yards as a freshman last season.

FCS Upset Alert: Tarleton State is an FCS team with FBS aspirations. The Texans went 12-2 last season (with now-OSU running back Tre Page on the roster), beating FBS Army. In 2024, Tarleton State went 10-4. Bowling Green was picked ninth in the MAC. The Falcons are 2.5-point favorites but are on upset watch.

STILLWATER — I’ve been so locked in on trying to learn all I can about Oklahoma State that this week was the first time I noticed that Eric Morris and Tre Lamb seem to be trying to do a lot of the same things.

There was almost a bromance of sorts brewing between their two pregame news conferences, with Lamb gushing about the work Morris has done in a short time in Stillwater and Morris reciprocating some of that love by noting how hard it is grinding from the FCS to the FBS as both of them did.

“For me, I’ve always respected him,” Morris said Tuesday. “But, I mean, Gardner-Webb and going to that place and being able to do what he did, and East Tennessee State, I mean, not places that have just a ton of history and where you can go in there and start learning how to solve problems as a leader. For me, that’s what I did. To be that young, to be a head coach at the Group of Six level and being able to put all of this together and organize. And you can just tell when you listen to him talk that he always has a process, and he’s trying to grow and learn, and he’s figured out new ways.

“And I think they’ve done a good job of raising money over there too, I think pretty well-documented. That’s a tough league sometimes to be able to do that, and to be able to sell that at this point. I think their administration has done a good job of doing that, giving them more resources every single year. I think he’s a superstar in the making.”

There paths are certainly similar, with Lamb joking this week that he’s the JV version of Morris. Morris is 40. Lamb is 36. So, in terms of trajectory, Morris is ahead.

Although this marks Morris’ first Power Conference head gig, he’s no stranger to the level, as he was on staffs at Texas Tech, Washington State and Houston previously. Lamb, an alum of Tennessee Tech, hadn’t coached in any capacity at the FBS level before getting the Tulsa job going into last season, as he spent time on staffs at Tennessee Tech and Mercer before getting his first gig at Gardner-Webb and then moving on to East Tennessee State.

But Morris was 37 when he took over at North Texas for his first Group of Five head coaching gig, a few years older than when Lamb took over at Tulsa last season.

Aside from the similar career paths, it also sounds like they’re trying to do some of the same stuff on a football field.

Morris is known for his prolific offenses, a skill that Lamb has flexed in the FCS level. In 2022, Lamb’s Gardner-Webb offense led the Big South in points scored (418), touchdowns (56), total offense (441.5), completion percentage (63.4) and completions (281).

Some of the receivers Tulsa features Saturday afternoon will be 5-foot-8 Javon Ross, 5-foot-8 Oran Singleton Jr. and 6-foot Jimmy Calloway. Three of the four listed starters on OSU’s depth chart are 5-foot-6 Miles Coleman, 5-foot-7 Chris Barnes and 6-foot Wyatt Young. Both coaches seem alright giving up some size for some speed on the perimeter.

We had Tulsa sideline reporter Jeremie Poplin on The Reload this week, and there were times where if you didn’t know he was talking about Lamb, you might think he’s talking about Morris.

“He had a ton of work just to rebuild — not the image, image is a wrong word — rebuild any type of goodwill faith within the city,” Poplin said. “To get in front of people, shake hands, meet money people and kind of repair relationships, establish new relationships, you know. Play the game that Mike Gundy didn’t really want to play anymore. And you have to do that, I’m sorry.”

If I presented that quote to you, you’d almost certainly think it was about Morris, but it was actually Poplin giving an overview of Lamb’s Year 1 in Tulsa.

So, while the “JV version of Morris” quote might seem a little funny, there are plenty of similarities between coaches who will man opposite sidelines on Saturday.

OSU Bullets

• Roundtable on depth chart and season expectations (PFB)

• Jaleeel Johnson on how this season is “personal” for him as they try to win at Tulsa (PFB)

• Does any state have a better quarterback combo than Drew Mestemaker at OSU and John Mateer at OU? The common link is Eric Morris that recruited both of them.

Mestemaker was sixth (in The Athletic‘s quarterback rankings) behind Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), Dante Moore (Oregon), Carr, Darian Mensah (Miami) and Julian Sayin (Ohio State). Mateer was 16th. Mateer is tied for 10th in Heisman odds, according to FanDuel. Mestemaker is 19th, held back by his supporting cast more than anything. [NewsOK]

• Drew Mestemaker reflects on his journey from nobody to Power Four starter (PFB)

•  A real brainteaser here:

Who has the better season All-time:

2019 Chuba Hubbard: 2292 TOT yds 21 TD 6.4 AVG 2023 Ollie Gordon: 2062 TOT yds 22 TD 6.1 AVG DISCLAIMER: Ollie didn’t start the first 3 games of this season, but still won the Doak pic.twitter.com/fObCJgiqmP — Roughneck Pete (@RoughneckPeter) September 1, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• The NBA hammered the LA Clippers for reportedly circumventing the salary cap to pay Kawhi Leonard

• Taking a shot vs. wasting a slot Interesting little map, can’t imagine how Tin Cup found a golf course in west Texas to work at.

A pictorial map of every golf course in America pic.twitter.com/fBgOQYqMIE

— Epic Maps 🗺️ (@theepicmap) September 2, 2026

STILLWATER — With Eric Morris running the ship, anyone on the roster could get a chance to play a starring role for the Cowboys this fall. The Oklahoma State head coach almost seems to disrespect prior experience and truly hones in on giving the best guy a shot, regardless of money, name recognition or anything else.

​“I mean, that’s why people love playing for coach Morris,” quarterback Drew Mestemaker said. “Because he doesn’t have any preset notions of like, all right, we’re paying this guy, he’s going to play. Like he’s going to play the best guy for the opportunity. So I think that makes everyone play that much harder for him.”

​Mestemaker knows the truth of that all too well, considering his well-documented story of never starting a game in high school at quarterback before walking on and winning the QB2 job as a true freshman then the top job in 2025.

Last season, Morris also quickly turned things over to running back Caleb Hawkins, who was a complete afterthought, if anything, for everyone outside of UNT when it came to his recruitment.

Both of those guys more than delivered as they paced the nation in a couple key offensive stats before becoming four- and five-star portal prospects, but they’re not the only ones to overcome the odds under Morris. Oklahoma State safety Quinton Hammonds played his way into a starting role last season at North Texas as a sophomore despite not playing the position at all in high school.

“Really cool story,” Morris said. “I think Drew kind of overshadows his story a little bit because he came in also as a walk-on and played another position (in high school). … When he got to our place, it was something that I think special teams, as he kind of grew in that role and our defensive staff saw him run down on kickoff and tackle the football. Because that’s your thing, he never played it, so will he tackle, will he do this, will he do that?

“We saw it in live football games, early on in his career as a freshman, on punt teams, running down, making tackles. All of a sudden, he’s running down, making his way up the depth chart, because we trusted him more. As these rosters, when you put ‘em all together, guys are looking for guys they can trust on all three sides of the ball. And those are usually the guys that get the opportunity. Game 4 or 5 , we have an injury, all of a sudden, he’s out there playing the game, took the most of the opportunity, has just grown since then.”

According to Pro Football Focus records, Hammonds played 36 snaps on special teams and only one on defense during the first two games of his freshman season in 2024. He played 18-plus defensive snaps during his next three games and finished the year off with 445 plays on defense in addition to his special teams responsibilities.

Only 13 defenders saw the field more, and PFF graded Hammonds out with a 66.9 defensive rating, which put him fifth on the team. Over the weekend, he was named as one of Oklahoma State’s captains this season alongside linebacker Ethan Wesloski and others.

“I’m just really proud of his growth,” Wesloski said. “I’ve seen him develop from a kid that didn’t know he was going to play as a true freshman to being a captain in his third year at a Power Four school, it’s really incredible.”

When he arrived on campus at North Texas, the then-0-star receiver walked on with 700 all-purpose yards backing up his right to be there. As an Allen (Texas) senior, Hammonds caught 40 passes for 449 yards and also rushed 31 times for 130 yards and seven touchdowns.

Morris said injuries during high school limited Hammonds’ involvement then.

“Drew Svoboda, our special teams coordinator, played college football with his dad,” Morris said. “His dad’s a coach as well. That’s where the connection kind of started. … But Q works extremely hard, he’s smart, he grasps what we’re asking him to do on the defensive side of the ball.

“He’s tough. He’s really worked on his body, he’s gained weight, really good weight, this offseason. So he has all the physical tools, we knew that, but until we really saw it on special teams is really what opened our eyes, OK, this kid can handle more.”

When he chose to follow Morris to Stillwater, Hammonds earned three stars next to his name, and 247Sports ranked him as the No. 693 player in the portal and the 63rd best option at a position he was still relatively new to.

These days, Mestemaker, Hammonds’ roommate, said the safety can be seen smiling 95% of the time he’s not on the football field looking to make a tackle.

“It’s been awesome to see him grow this year and kind of you can tell whenever he’s confident on the field, whenever he’s making plays,” Mestemaker said. “And so whenever he’s confident on the field, then he’s confident in his voice. And so I think that we’ve really seen him grow this past year because he had a really good year last year at UNT, and I mean, just the work he puts in really shows out there on the field.”​

Speaking of last season, Hammonds played 582 defensive snaps, eighth most at UNT, but his defensive rating dropped to 64, perhaps in part because the team used him more at nickel.

Now he’s at strong safety, and it sounds like he and Wesloski will play a critical role in determining the exact shape of coordinator Skyler Cassity’s defense this season.

“He’s able to take a room now in the safety room and lead them, and it’s really easy fighting in front of him because I know what he’s going to go to because we’re on the same page,” Wesloski said. “We talk so much, we watch so much video together, and we come off the field (saying) ‘Okay, what’d you see here? How’d you get to this? What do you want to go to?’ And it’s really just such a good relationship that we’re able to work so well together.”

He plans to use more of a committee approach at tight end.

“Last year, our tight end (Tre Williams), I think he played 70% of our snaps last year,” Morris said. “The same exact tight end, and so I don’t think you’re gonna see that with us this year. … If someone comes out and establishes themselves and they show us that they can do it on a consistent basis, we’re gonna tend to play that guy more. Coaches love people that they can trust.”

It sounds like the guy who will get the first chance to solidify his status with the start on Saturday will be Carson Kolb, who was only put on scholarship this summer.

“He was like far-and-away the most catches in spring ball,” quarterback Drew Mestemaker said. “And we were like, ‘Dang, this guy’s getting a lot better.’ Then summer, he just kept getting better every day. Gets his opportunity and makes the most of it. It’s been impressive to see, for sure.”

Officially, Kolb is listed as one of two possible starting tight ends for Saturday’s trip to Tulsa alongside Virginia Military Institute transfer Morgan McPhaul, who arrived on campus this summer. McPhaul started 12 games last season and played 443 snaps.

According to Pro Football Focus data, he caught 15 of 22 targets for 179 yards and a lone touchdown while running 150 routes. He primarily served as a run-blocker (209 snaps), but his best grades came as a pass-blocker (average of 68.9).

Both he and Kolb are unlikely starters, but they likely benefit from injuries suffered by presumptive starter Donovan Green and former UNT tight end Oscar Hammond.

It’s unknown if either of those guys will take the field this Saturday, but Morris has expressed increasing confidence in Kolb in recent weeks. It’s possible Kolb, once viewed as primarily a special teams contributor, will remain a factor on offense throughout the season.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth in that room,” linebacker Ethan Wesloski said. “And I’m excited. I haven’t been with a coach Morris offense that uses a lot of tight ends, so normally a lot of fast, skinny guys. So it’s exciting because I think they can allow a lot of depth for us and create more issues on the offense.”

Last season, UNT’s top tight end ran 296 routes and saw 39 targets. Of those, 12 came on passes at least 10 yards downfield. UNT’s No. 2 tight end only saw the field for 127 snaps, and he finished with only 44 routes run and five targets.

If Morris really does stick with the committee approach, then two or three guys could pass those numbers in September alone.

“Carson’s a guy that came here, he was last on the depth chart, and all of a sudden now, we’re sitting here for the first game and he’s first on that depth chart,” Morris said. “I think that’s something that we’ve done over the history of coaching wherever we’ve been is finding players that fit us the best and go out there and give us the best chance to win.

“Morgan’s a guy that has his strengths. Donovan Green is a guy that I think could be a really effective guy, and he’s made some great catches throughout the course of this deal. They all have a little bit different skill set, and so I think it will be a little bit harder for us. Last year it was easier because our guy, we didn’t have those discussions. But we’ve had those discussions now of who kinda gives us the best chance to win.”

Both Morris and Mestemaker have recently described Kolb as a “meathead.” The two clearly meant that as a compliment, and on Tuesday, the quarterback explained why.

“I mean, every shirt he has is a cutoff shirt, it’s a crop top,” Mestemaker said. “He’s the one lifting weights with the smelling salts and all that. So he’s the loudest guy at all times for sure.”

Based on the scholarship announcement video posted this summer and remarks from his teammates on Tuesday, it sounds like Kolb is already a favorite amongst the players.

“I’ve seen Carson work harder than anybody in this room,” Wesloski said. “He is showing up every day with intent to get better. He’s focused on a couple things every day, and he’s gotten better at those things.

“I’ve seen him grow not only as a football player, as a person as well. He’s one of my better friends on this team, and for him, I just couldn’t be more proud of the way he has worked and being able to get to where he gets because he’s deserved everything he’s gotten.”

STILLWATER — Eric Morris-led offenses have had no issues putting up stats, but he said Tuesday that he’s learned not to chase them.

Morris will make his Oklahoma State debut at 2:45 p.m. Saturday when the Cowboys open their season in Tulsa against the Golden Hurricane.

It’s expected to be a scorcher in T-Town, with the high for Saturday being 98 degrees with about 40% humidity at kick. It’s expected to be so hot that on Wednesday, Tulsa shared that the Reynolds Center will be open as a cool-down area for fans and water and misters will be available.

On Tuesday, Morris, also OSU’s offensive play-caller, was asked whether the heat will determine just how fast the Cowboys’ offense goes.

“I’m a feel play caller,” Morris said. “I think as I’ve gotten into it and learned it and finding a groove within it, it’s something that – and I do believe that, especially in this game with the conditions – I need to be really smart and calculated and understand, ‘Hey, there’s going to be times when you need to slow it down a little bit and be able to run the football, and our defense needs a break at some point.’

“And I’ve learned that the hard way. Like, I’ve lost games because I was selfish and I wanted to go put up points or stats or throw this or that. I don’t even look at stats after games anymore. We’ll come back at the end of it on Sunday, and we’ll go over a game review where you do. But I remember being a young coach and walking into the locker room always and being fixated on stats and how many passes. I don’t care about that. Naturally, we want to take what the defense gives us, but I have to do a good job managing this game on what we can handle, what we’re doing successfully and how this whole thing fits together with all three sides of the ball.”

Morris didn’t say when that fixation with stats left him, but even without obsessing over the numbers, he seems to not have too tough a time putting them up.

Last season, Morris’ UNT offense ranked first nationally in yards per game with 512.4. That’s 22.7 yards more than second-place Ole Miss. That same 22.7-yard gap would cover from Ole Miss down to Florida State in sixth (472.1).

The Mean Green also ranked first nationally in points per game with 45.1 — 3.1 more points than second-place Notre Dame, a gap that would cover from the Fighting Irish down to seventh-place Texas Tech.

For reference, OSU fans, the Cowboys ranked 130th nationally in total offense (292.4) and 134th nationally in points per game (14.2). Change is (hopefully) coming.

That Morris quote lines up with something Morris said at OSU’s Media Day last month when he noted that he wasn’t always as pro-run game as he is now. After doing a study on teams that were winning big, Morris came to the conclusion that he needed to look past some of his Mike Leach principles and establish a more potent ground attack.

“I think I was tired of at Texas Tech multiple times being the No. 1 offense in the nation and not having any championships that come along with it,” Morris said. “So, I did a big study that year, and really, I studied. … When I went back and studied, we were running the ball for about 60 to 70 yards a game, and the people that were in the championships were rushing for about 150 to 175 yards a game, and that was a huge factor, kind of consistently with conference champions at different levels and with the national champions.”

Earlier returns suggest the Cowboys’ new coach is willing to learn some new tricks so long as those new tricks lead to a W.

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At this point, it feels as if we’ve previewed Oklahoma State’s 2026 season into the ground, and we’re just ready to get it rolling.

With about 72 hours until the Eric Morris Era of Cowboy football gets kicked off in Tulsa, myself, Kyle Cox and Tyler Waldrep got together in our Slack channel to talk OSU’s first official depth chart and our expectations for what’s ahead.

Marshall Scott: Well, I laid out some of my thoughts on the Cowboys’ first depth chart, what stood out to you guys?

Kyle Cox: I don’t see any huge surprises, but I guess underlining just how few UNT transfer there were was important. The narrative that this is UNT North is not unwarranted, but more credit needs to be given to Morris and Co. on pulling talent from all over.

Tyler Waldrep: You touched on it in your thoughts, but I was floored that OSU has yet to name either starting corner.

When we have watched these guys in practice, LaDainian Fields and Mo Horn have dominated first-team reps, but it seems five guys still remain in the mix.

And to be clear this depth chart feels like it had real input from the coaching staff, most don’t feel that way. This also doesn’t feel like head games from Morris because we got some real definitive answers at other spots that appeared up for grabs.

Marshall: Yeah, the corner spot is interesting. Skyler Cassity told me a few weeks back that it was open competition, and it certainly seems like he wasn’t lying.

I did like what Morris said about it on Tuesday, though, about how he wants to see guys step up when the bullets are live.

There are a lot of positions, corner included, where it’s tough to tell whether there are too many good options or if it’s moreso a bad deal that they haven’t found the guy yet — right tackle being another one of those spots. Time will tell, though. I’m just ready for this thing to get kicked off.

Marshall: We also laid out some predictions on Monday. What were some of you guys’ biggest hang-ups?

Kyle: Maybe not a hang-up, but I always feel like these are somewhat-educated shots in the dark. This season I feel less educated. There are just so many question marks. That being said, I’m sure there is one shoo-in prediction that we will be nowhere close on.

If I’m going to play Debbie-downer, I will say I thought I was being a little optimistic with eight wins. You guys both have OSU going 9-4. That would be a huge accomplishment in Year 1. And that’s not based on last year’s result because it’s almost not worth comparing the two teams. I’m just talking about the colossal task of rebuilding an entire program over an offseason.

Tyler: I take biggest hang-up to mean maybe the prediction I struggled with the most? That would be the yardage and TD total for Wyatt Young.

He felt like the guy most likely to disappear the most of the big three receivers, and that was before sharing a starting line with Coleman. That said, Young was such a focal point last year is he really going to drop off a cliff from a yardage standpoint? I sorta chickened out and dropped him into the No. 2 role from an output standpoint when my heart is more aligned with Marshall’s more conservative prediction.

Fair point Kyle. When I started typing up my prediction I had eight wins, but then I referenced Indiana and that got me thinking. If the Hoosiers can win 11 games in year one after being LITERALLY the worst team throughout the history of the sport, then it’s hard to argue the Cowboys shouldn’t be a serious contender in the conference this season when they have a QB most project as an eventual first-rounder.

But yes, I shocked myself a bit with my conviction on 9 wins.

Marshall: The Young prompt was hard. I still think he’ll get thrown to plenty, but surely even if he is the No. 1 guy (which I’m team Barnes in that aspect), his numbers will drop a touch because of the move up in competition and the fact that it feels like their are more mouths to feed.

Agree entirely with feeling like these are shots in the dark. Just two years ago, I predicted 10 wins for a team that finished 3-9.

That transitions nicely into another question I had, what do you guys think this team’s floor and ceiling is? And what constitutes as a good season? I feel like there is a big clump of Big 12 teams that could finish the regular season anywhere from 6-6 to 10-2, and I think OSU is in that group.

I think the ceiling is the Big 12 title game, and if you get there, who knows? I think the floor in terms of what constitutes as a good enough season would be 6-6, and anything below that would feel like a downer. That’s why I settled at 8-4 with a bowl win.

Kyle: I think this may be the toughest team to predict since I’ve been covering OSU.  The floor is somewhere like five wins ??? That would be pretty disappointing for fans, but that’s probably the lowest I could see. And there’s a universe in which the Cowboys rattle off 10 wins and compete for a Big 12 title.

Tyler: I think the floor has to be five wins. Anything less, with this much talent just feels like a complete failure or the ultimate bad luck season. If we are saying the floor for a successful season then I think Morris has to win 6 games and be competitive in a few others to meet the minimum.

In that world, you probably return Drew Mestemaker and most of the key pieces so that’s a positive for that outcome.

I feel like someone filled my Yeti with all the Orange Kool-Aid, but the ceiling feels like 10 wins and/or a Big 12 Championship Game appearance. A lot of this will come down to how Drew Mestemaker plays. If he’s truly one of the sport’s best, this team feels like it has enough talent around him to make a real run at anyone, except maybe Oregon this season and even the Ducks could be vulnerable here in Stillwater early in the season.

OSU Bullets

• Five thoughts on OSU’s first depth chart – it was released yesterday (PFB)

#OKState releases its first depth chart of the Eric Morris Era. pic.twitter.com/TueHil5UgY

— Marshall Scott (@MarshallScottOK) September 1, 2026

• Speaking of depth chart, seeing how left tackle Jacob Sexton (who feels great) does could be massive for the group (PFB)

• Coach Morris’ first weekly press conference was yesterday, worth checking out – one nugget: Will Rogers is coming to Stillwater (YouTube + PFB)

• Looking over the OSU-Tulsa series numbers (PFB)

• This blows my mind – oldest team in the Power Four:

Average Age of P4 College Football Teams in 2026, per RotoWire 🏈 pic.twitter.com/6Zk1IxwYqG

— College Football Report (@CFBReport) August 28, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Is Lane Kiffin really wrong for trying to help 2022 players get to play their court-given fifth year of football?

• I’ve been getting into this walking app – win a few bucks when you complete and gives you an excuse to get your steps in

All of the fun is here this weekend:

2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 1 @YouTubeTV Sports Package Schedule pic.twitter.com/w1PD2GCwH7

— Ian Fortney (@ianfortney) August 31, 2026

​“I kind of went out there with the mindset like I’ve got nothing to lose,” Mestemaker said. “I’ve never started a game. I don’t know what to expect out of myself. The coaches don’t know what to expect out of me. Like, if I go out there and throw three picks, it’s not like they expected much out of me anyway. So I was like, I’ll just go rip it.”

And boy did he, to the tune of 393 passing yards and two touchdowns while completing 26-of-41 passes with two picks mixed in. He also rushed nine times for 55 yards and another score in a 30-28 loss to Texas State in the First Responder Bowl in January 2025.

Mestemaker was even more efficient in his next start, last fall, when he finished 24-of-32 for 329 yards and three touchdowns against Lamar. He also rushed five times for 30 yards and a touchdown.

“Lamar, I felt more prepared,” Mestemaker said. “Obviously, I was quarterback one. I was like, all right, I’ve played a game at least now. Like I have game experience under my belt, but I was still kind of new to it.”

When Mestemaker takes the field at Tulsa on Saturday, he won’t be the unknown quarterback he was when he opened the season against Lamar last fall. Mestemaker was one of the most-discussed quarterbacks in the country this offseason in part because he’s in the first-round conversation for the next NFL Draft and on several watchlists for major college football awards.

Despite becoming a household name, Morris said his quarterback has the same mentality he had last August.

“Same, exactly the same,” Morris said. “He’s handled preparation so good. … Just having a good working relationship with Drew, as he gets older, and around the game and smarter. There’s certain plays where he’s gotta make a decision between, ‘Hey, these four plays, which one do you want?’ And he picks it based off what he likes, and so he’s always prepared really well. That’s what allowed him to have so much success early. So I don’t see that changing.”

Mestemaker said he has a much greater understanding of the offense this fall compared to last year.

“I understand what we’re trying to do as an offense,” he said. “I understand what I need to do. I don’t need to be the superhero every play. Like, we got guys that we pay to be superheroes, and I kind of got to distribute it to them, and so I feel like I’ve definitely grown in my mindset for sure.”

On Tuesday morning, Mestemaker said this has been the longest offseason of his life, partly because of the higher expectations placed on him and the Cowboys.

Despite all of that, he once again repeated that suiting up as Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback is a dream come true.

“I feel like college football is better whenever this place is winning,” Mestemaker said. “You grow up watching all the games and all the New Year’s Six Bowls that this team is in, you kinda feel that not pressure, but like expectation of what you win when you’re here. I feel like that has been our mindset since we got here.”

The sophomore is as touted and accomplished as anyone to ever step into the Cowboys’ QB1 role. He’s coming off an electric breakout freshman season, leading the nation in passing yards and landing in the Top 5 in most of the QB categories that matter.

Mestemaker is set to throw his first pass in an OSU uniform on Saturday in Tulsa. Across the field is another redshirt sophomore in Baylor Hayes, who is undefeated against the Pokes. Let’s take a look at the QB matchup for Week 1.

As a placeholder, I’m including each quarterback’s 2025 stats. After we get going, this will change into a running tally for 2026.

We’ve gone over Mestemaker and what he brings to the table, so let’s take a look Hayes (PTSD warning).

The statistical comparison is obviously pretty lopsided, but let’s examine Hayes without the burden of being compared to Mestemaker.

He got his career started at the FCS level, playing for current Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb at East Tennessee State. He appeared in just two games as true freshman and went 18-for-30 for 181 yards. He did win his only start, beating the Virginia Military Institute with a stat line of 15-for-25 for 119 yards.

Hayes followed Lamb to Tulsa but didn’t appear in their first game. He came in Week 2, subbing in for Kirk Francis throwing a TD and a pick, but it was enough to earn him the starting job for Tulsa’s trip to Stillwater in Week 3.

That might have been the highlight of his young career. Hayes went 23-for-36 against the Cowboys, for 219 yards and touchdown, and he got to celebrate with his family after an upset win in BPS (see above photo).

The Golden Hurricane would finish the season just 4-8, but Hayes led them to three of those wins. After the upset in Stillwater, Tulsa lost five straight before back-to-back wins over Oregon State and Army on the road. Hayes finished both games completing more than 60% of his passes and combined for 430 yards and two TDs without a pick.

And he looks to take the next step in Year 2 in Tulsa. Lamb spoke with media this week and lauded his QB for work both in the gym and learning the playbook.

“But proud of his development as a quarterback,” Lamb said. “I think last year, he was just kinda an athlete running around making plays when we needed a play made. … So, we’re giving him more on his plate, and he’s only gonna continue to develop.”

The Cowboys and Golden Hurricane kick off the 2026 season at 2:45 p.m. Saturday in Tulsa.

No relation to famous Okie Will Rogers, the former quarterback threw for 14,773 yards across five college football seasons (four at Mississippi State and the final one at Washington). That stint with the Bulldogs was under Mike Leach, who also coached Morris at Texas Tech.

Rogers is Mississippi State’s all-time leading passer, and by some margin. He threw for 12,315 yards in his time as a Bulldog. Current Dallas Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott is second on that list with 9,376 career yards. Rogers’ 2021 and 2022 seasons are the two top seasons in passing yards in Mississippi State history.

He’s also the Bulldogs’ career leader in passing touchdowns with 94 — 24 more than second-place Prescot.

Including his year at Washington, Rogers threw for 108 passing TDs in his career, which ranks 22nd in the history of the sport — placing Rogers between Russell Wilson (109) and Tajh Boyd (107).

All that’s to say, Rogers sounds like a valuable guy to have cutting his coaching teeth in Stillwater, especially given his familiarity with Leach’s system, which obviously bleeds into Morris’ system.

STILLWATER — Jacob Sexton’s potential is unquestioned, but staying healthy has been a struggle.

Sexton has a clean slate in Stillwater after transferring from Bedlam Oklahoma this offseason. In his four seasons as a Sooner, Sexton started 14 games on OU’s O-line. He started at least one game in all of those seasons, but his 2022, 2024 and 2025 seasons all came to a premature end because of injury.

Entering his first year as a Cowboy, Sexton said he’s in a good spot.

“I’m great,” Sexton said Tuesday. “Best I’ve felt in five years. Super excited for it.”

Sexton will start at left tackle for the Cowboys. He played at multiple spots in Norman, but left tackle is his most familiar, as 404 of his 997 career offensive snaps came at the position.

Left tackle is often considered the most important position along the line, as he’ll be protecting Drew Mestemaker’s blindside this season, and it sounds as if Mestemaker feels safe with the 6-foot-6, 328-pound Sexton at that spot.

“He’s an athlete, for sure,” Mestemaker said. “It’s impressive watching him over the summer, like, run the way he does at how big he is. I’m definitely glad that he’s healthy and playing good and playing fast. I know he’s kinda had some setbacks in his career, but I’m glad he’s here now.”

Sexton was a blue-chip recruit coming out of Deer Creek. 247Sports and Rivals had him as a four-star prospect. Along with OSU and OU, his offer list included Alabama, Texas, Texas A&M, Michigan, Notre Dame and others.

He was part of the same recruiting class as OSU defensive end Jaleel Johnson. Those two played each other as seniors, and Johnson said he remembered it being hyped up as OSU vs. OU. Sexton’s Deer Creek squad won 38-13, but Johnson noted he left that game with a trio of sacks.

Johnson said that was all he really knew about Sexton in high school, but he’s grown an admiration for his abilities this offseason.

“Sexton is probably one of the best tackles that I’ve gone against since I’ve been here,” Johnson said. “His grip is strong. If he grabs you, you’re not doing nothing. But it betters me because it helps me be able to keep his hands off me.”

This season marks Sexton’s fifth of college football. Last season could’ve been it for Sexton, but he was hurt just six plays into OU’s opener against Illinois State and missed the rest of the season. That’s led him to this extra year that he intends on making the most of.

“I’d just say opportunistic and calm are kind of the two things that I’m feeling,” Sexton said. “Extremely grateful for another year of it at a new place and be able to kind of wipe my slate clean and be able to just go play football again and also just be calm. Now that I’ve been around the block, too, and that there’s been a lot of football played in the past, so this is just another year of it.”

The last time the Cowboys played at H.A. Chapman Stadium, they beat the Golden Hurricane 45-10. Alan Bowman threw for 396 yards and five touchdowns and the Pokes looked set to build off what was (amazingly) a 10-win season in 2023. That was also the last time the Cowboys won an FBS contest.

When the Cowboys return to Tulsa on Saturday, it will have been 721 days since that win. In that span the Pokes have gone 0-20 against FBS football teams. It still doesn’t even seem real.

Let’s take a look at the series between the Cowboys and their other in-state rivals followed by a couple of thoughts.

Capsule

Overall record: OSU leads 44-28-5
Neutral site meetings: N/A
Meetings in Stillwater: OSU leads 28-7-3
Meetings in Tulsa: Tulsa leads 21-16-2
Past 10 meetings: OSU leads 10-1
First meeting (1914): OSU won 13-6 in Stillwater
Most recent meeting (2025): Tulsa won 19-12 in Stillwater

Can OSU Turn a Fitting Page?

If we could somehow erase the events of the two teams’ last meeting (plenty of people in Stillwater would love that), this would be a much less compelling series, but let’s start with that elephant in the room.

The Cowboys were 1-1 (a win over FCS opponent Murray State and a walloping at Oregon) and were in desperate need of a bounce back. What they got was a program-altering loss.

After trading field goals, the Golden Hurricane took a 10-3 in the first quarter. After the offense remained stagnant, OSU found itself down 19-3 in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys showed a little life with a couple quick scores in garbage time but fell to Tulsa for the first time since before Y2K and for the first time at home since 1951.

Four days later, Mike Gundy was out, ending a 21-year tenure and the search that would eventually lead to Eric Morris’ time at the helm had begun.

Interesting Tidbits

In the opposite category of OSU-Tulsa trivia, I guess I was a little surprised to see that the Cowboys have a losing record in Tulsa.

OSU is 21-16-2 in the 918 area code, but that most recent loss was in 1998. The Cowboys also lost in 1995, 1991, 1989 and 1986. The longest losing streak in away games to the Golden Hurricane was five back in the 1930s. The Pokes have won four straight in Tulsa dating back to 2000.

OSU has ended in a draw with Tulsa five times, second only to Oklahoma (seven). Those are also the two teams OSU has played the most historically.

Get used to the Cowboys going back and forth to Tulsa. The two schools are in the midst of an eight-year scheduling agreement which will see them meet annually until 2031.

STILLWATER — There’s such juice and hope both inside and surrounding the Cowboys’ program that it almost overshadows the darkness that hung over Boone Pickens Stadium during the last two seasons.

​Almost.

​Eric Morris got a reminder of what a winning season would mean for the few returning Cowboys when players were asked about that at a recent luncheon.

​“So, the (players) that weren’t here answered in a certain way,” Morris said. “And then obviously Jaleel (Johnson) steps up and, like, ‘Heck yeah this is personal. I’ve been here for a long time, I lived those moments.’”

Linebacker Ethan Wesloski laughed, recalling the differences in their answers that day.

“It was funny because he spoke from the heart, and his comment was, ‘Well, these guys didn’t go 3-9 and 1-11,’” Wesloski said. “Because we were talking about how well we’ve been able to win.”

At this point, no one needs the reminder that Wesloski and Morris went 12-2 and came just 14 points shy of a College Football Playoff appearance last season at North Texas.

“You know, obviously to the other guys, you know, they’re not thinking about the losses the past seasons,” Johnson said. “They weren’t here. For me, I’ve been here, being here, being part of the teams that used to win games and all that.

“It definitely means a lot to me because, you know, first off, I just love the school. I love the program. I love everything about Oklahoma State. And then two, it’s just like I’m tired of losing, man. Like it means something to me, and it’s just a revenge tour.”

Johnson, dubbed by Morris as the team’s “most disruptive player” in the spring, is more than ready to kick off that tour after missing most of last season.

There were real signs he was finally breaking out. Johnson recorded 12 total pressures through four games, and Pro Football Focus graded him out with a 77 or higher grade as a pass rusher three times, with Oregon as the exception. In seasons prior, Johnson had only four career games above 65 as a pass rusher, and he never hit 70.

Johnson had plenty of time to think about the “revenge tour” he’s about to kick off this season as injury prevented him from taking the field for the final eight games last season. He said his time on the sidelines felt even worse as he watched the program and teammates he loved struggle to that 1-11 finish.

“I think about that all the time,” Johnson said of OSU’s losses. “Like just coming back, really, my biggest motivation was just me coming off injury, though. Like just being out for so long. You know, it’s just like I got to be able to get back in the groove. I want to make sure I’m at 100%. Make sure there ain’t nothing holding me back this year.”

Johnson answered all of these questions Tuesday while wearing a No. 99 jersey. With so much turnover on the program, some might not clock it immediately, but that jersey number belongs to defensive tackle Iman Oates.

“Today he went pretty crazy, he pulled out his phone, took videos, all kind of stuff,” Johnson said. “So he, I would say that’s probably the best reaction I’ve gotten.”

Oates was the latest teammate honored, but he’s not the first. Johnson said he’s in the process of buying every single one of his fellow defensive linemen’s jerseys.

“I didn’t tell anybody,” Johnson said. “I kind of just ordered them, kept it quiet, and then just started wearing them one day. Just every day, I’d change out a different person’s shirt, and they were excited to see who was next. They would sign them for me. They were just happy. They’re gonna start buying them too. They say they’re gonna start buying mine and everyone else’s too. So I may have started a trend.”

Johnson said the idea came to him one day when he was lying down in bed trying to think of a way to show his teammates, the best defensive line he’s been a part of, some appreciation.

“I was saying, hey, if I buy a jersey from them, give them a little confidence boost or something,” Johnson said. “You know, seeing an older guy that’s been here repping freshman, you know what I mean?”

With that in mind, it doesn’t sound surprising that Johnson was one of seven Cowboys named a team captain over the weekend. Wesloski said Johnson’s decision to remain a Cowboy is inspiring.

“It shows a lot to his character,” Wesloski said. “He is able to sit there and go through the hard times and persevere through them and he’s been a guy went through everything, battled injury … but has come out, he’s one of our premier defensive ends, and now he is able to line up across the ball from one of the top quarterbacks in the nation every day, against one of the best O-lines in the Big 12. So we’re really proud of the work he’s done to get back to where he is.”

FULL DEPTH CHART

STILLWATER — Given the massive amounts of turnover, I’m not sure there has ever been a more anticipated depth chart unveiling in Cowboy football history.

Oklahoma State dropped its first depth chart of the year on Tuesday, ahead of the Cowboys’ season-opener against Tulsa at 2:45 p.m. Saturday at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Here are five takeaways I had from the depth chart being released.

1. By the Numbers

There are 64 unique players on the Cowboys’ two-deep. Let’s break that down into a few categories.

UNT Transfers: 14

The big sentiment about this team is that it is filled with North Texas transfers, and while they do factor in heavily (especially at high-profile positions), I found it interesting that there are as many North Texas transfers on the two-deep as returners.

Returners: 14

Speaking of those returners, many filled in a backup role, but Jaleel Johnson, Iman Oates and LaDainian Fields (or Kobi Foreman) were all listed as starters.

True Freshmen: 2

It’s sort of funny because earlier this fall, Morris mentioned two freshmen who could carve out role this season, but then two different freshmen appeared on the two-deep in offensive tackle Ja’Qwon Evans (LT2) and quarterback Brodie Vehrs (QB2).

Vehrs’ inclusion was still rather expected given the ways people talked about him this offseason.

Evans is from Shawnee and was committed to Morris at North Texas before joining him in Stillwater. He’s listed at 6-foot-5, 295 pounds.

2. The Young/Coleman ‘OR’

Wyatt Young and Miles Coleman shared an “OR” as the Cowboys’ starting Y receiver. This was the line item most commented on upon the depth chart’s release, but to me, it’s sort of a nothing burger.

The “Y” spot is for slot receivers. In times OSU has four receivers on the field, which will be at least somewhat regularly, both of those guys will be on the field.

The response to that “OR” also shows me that some people are sleeping on Coleman. He has electric speed and quickness that has led him to catching 83 passes for 928 yards and four touchdowns in his first two seasons of college football. He’ll be a guy that once the ball is in his hands, the fanbase will be excited to watch.

Here’s what Morris said about the “OR”.

“Those are two guys that we recruited and have a great relationship,” Morris said. “I’ve been around a long time, you know, you take back last year at this time, Miles was our starter at slot, and Wyatt was his back up. Miles got a little banged up, you know, at one point in the season, and I think Wyatt took advantage of his opportunity. Just like I talked about, he went out there and performed at a really high level, and was rewarded for it.

“But I think the cool thing about those two is they’re such good friends with each other. They’re such good friends with Drew, so you’ll see a heavy dose of both of those guys. I think this is a game where you know you’re looking at being on that turf, you know, at 2:50 in the afternoon. Like it’s going to be hot. We’re going to need multiple guys if we’re going to play at the pace that we want to play and play with some tempo. Like both those guys are going to be super important. But you know that that’ll never be an issue as far as the dynamics in our locker room, just with what kind of human beings those two kids are and what their relationships is like. And so, trust both of them. We’ll put them on some type of rotation where hopefully we keep them both fresh and firing on all cylinders.”

3. Page Wins RB2 Race

If you would’ve asked me after the portal window who would be OSU’s RB2 in 2026, I probably would’ve leaned James Madison transfer Ayo Adeyi given he had previously played at North Texas under Morris, but in the end, Tarleton State transfer Tre Page earned the RB2 duties in Week 1.

It’s certainly a jump up in levels for Page, but he was an a more-than-solid FCS squad last season, as that Tarleton State team finished 12-2 last season and won a game in the FCS playoffs.

Playing in nine games, Page ran for 839 yards and seven touchdowns on 112 carries — 7.5 yards a carry.

At 5-foot-8, 184 pounds, he’ll certainly look different than Hawkins (6-0, 219), but it ought to be a nice change of pace for when Hawkins needs a rest. I also would expect to see more than just those two, whether it be Adeyi, KD Jones, William Mason or Dennis Moody III occasionally getting some burn.

4. The O-Line

Starters:
LT: Jacob Sexton (R-Sr., 6-6, 328, Oklahoma)
LG: Johnny Dickson III (R-Sr., 6-2, 317, North Texas) OR Desmond Magiya (R-Jr., 6-4, 333, North Texas)
C:Tyler Mercer (R-So., 6-4, 300, Kansas)
RG: Joseph Hanson (Sr., 6-4, 302, Coastal Carolina)
RT1: Ashton Lepo (R-Sr., 6-7, 320, Michigan State) OR Shaun Torgeson (R-So., 6-4, 302, Portland State)

Going into fall camp, who emerged along the offensive line was one of the bigger storylines. But if you kept up with the ongoings of the Cowboys’ fall camp, you’d know things were trending this way.

Morris said Tuesday he expects to use six or seven linemen while battling the Tulsa heat this weekend, so I’d be ready to see all these guys. Those seven names above, by the way, have an average weight of 314.6 pounds.

The battle I’m most intrigued by up front continues to be at right tackle where Ashton Lepo and Shaun Torgeson have been battling most of the fall. At one point earlier in the offseason, it sounded like Lepo had ahold of the spot, but Torgeson has been a star of fall camp.

I asked Jacob Sexton about Toregson on Tuesday:

“That’s probably one of the strongest guys in our room — I wouldn’t even say our room, our team,” Sexton said. “Extremely strong guy, very physical, athletic and a great person, as well.”

Also, don’t forget about Braydon Nelson, who started at left tackle for UNT last season. Nelson is working his way back from injury, but when he is healthy enough to contribute, there could be another shuffling up front.

5. No Closer to Knowing Corners

The phrase “open competition” has been used this preseason in reference to the Cowboys’ corner spots, and by the looks of it, the competition remains open going into Week 1.

The candidates are LaDainian Fields (returner), Kobi Foreman (returner), Trudell Berry (Vanderbilt), Mo Horn (Texas Tech) and Kollin Lewis (North Texas). It sounds like Morris and Co. want to get a closer look on things when the bullets are live.

“We have guys that have had good camps, and there’s four or five guys that have earned the right to play,” Morris said. “I think just naturally at that position, just being around it over the course of the last eight to 10 years is you’re gonna find a guy who kind of establishes himself as this thing goes in real-life time and can really showcase that he can do it play-in, play-out.

“Hopefully that happens within it, but naturally it’s something that we want to see them out there being able to put it all together without coaches, without it scripted and see who kind of emerges as the guys. But all four of those guys, I think, have done really good things for us over the course of this camp.”

Lamb held his first pregame news conference of the season on Monday, as his Tulsa squad prepares for its kick against Oklahoma State at 2:45 p.m. Saturday.

Lamb spoke highly of OSU quarterback Drew Mestemaker and the rest of the squad Eric Morris has assembled (which you can read about here). Here are four other topics he hit on.

1. ‘I’m like the JV Version of Coach Morris Right Now’

Both coaches in this game have climbed their way up from the FCS, with Morris getting his head coaching career going at Incarnate Word, while Lamb cut his teeth at Gardner Webb and East Tennessee State.

At 36, Lamb is younger than Morris (40), and you could tell by the way Lamb talked that he looks up to the Cowboys’ coach.

“I’m like the JV version of Coach Morris right now, but he’s a few years ahead of me in his career and more experienced,” Lamb said. “Incredible evaluator of talent. Not only quarterback — everybody talks about the quarterbacks, but man, these guys developed some wideouts and running backs that nobody wanted. I mean, (Miles) Coleman was an under-recruited player. Wyatt Young was an under-recruited player. (Caleb) Hawkins had one offer, and it was North Texas. So, the guy can evaluate and develop talent, particularly offensively.

“Lot of respect for him. I think he’s a great human being, family man. Yeah, I look up to him a lot. I think he’s a really good football coach, and hopefully kind of reminds me of myself.”

2. Baylor Hayes Year 2

Tulsa quarterback Baylor Hayes was a redshirt freshman when he led the Golden Hurricane to a win in Stillwater last season.

Hayes followed Lamb over from East Tennessee State and proceeded to throw for 2,158 yards and 12 touchdowns while running for another 190 yards and three scores in his first season as a starter.

Here’s where Lamb said Hayes has bettered himself entering Year 2.

“He’s changed a lot physically — stronger, bigger, faster,” Lamb said. “He weighs a lot more. It’s been well-documented. His arm’s stronger. He looked like a high school kid playing last year, and now he looks like a college freshman now. He still doesn’t quite look like an upper-classman, but he’ll get there.

“But proud of his development as a quarterback. I think last year, he was just kinda an athlete running around making plays when we needed a play made. He’s growing in the run game. We’ve got a lot more of a check system this year. We didn’t ask him to check any runs last year. That’s just not something you really ask a freshman to do. He can check runs, he can check RPOs. He has more, I guess, keys at the line of scrimmage where he can make adjustments. We have a lot of two-word calls this year, which we didn’t have any last year, where he can get in and out of calls. So, we’re giving him more on his plate, and he’s only gonna continue to develop.”

3. Injury Report

Lamb started his presser by noting four guys who will be on Tulsa’s two-deep who are dealing with injury.

Here’s a rundown:

Elijah Green (CB) — OUT: Green, a Classen alum who has been at TU the past two seasons, hasn’t practiced yet, and Lamb said he might be back during the second half of the year. Green started every game for TU last season and led the Golden Hurricane in INTs. He was a first team all-conference selection and was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.

NuNu Campbell (CB) — QUESTIONABLE: It sounds like Campbell will be good to go this weekend, but Lamb wasn’t ready to outright say that on Monday. A Holland Hall alum, Campbell played in all of TU’s games last season and made one start.

William Alexander (LB) — OUT: Alexander is out as he returns from a sprained ACL. He made 11 starts for TU last season, finishing the year with 67 tackles (10 against OSU).

Devin Hightower (LB) — PROBABLE: Hightower is coming off having his meniscus cleaned up, but Lamb sounded confident Hightower would be good to go. A transfer from UAB, Hightower led the Blazers with 81 total tackles last season.

With two of those guys potentially being out being corners, Lamb ran down who could get some run against Drew Mestemaker and the Cowboys. Here’s that crop (which includes Campbell):

Tyson Williams: Williams is listed at safety, but Lamb said he’ll start at corner. Listed at 5-10, 190 pounds, Williams is a Bixby grad who transferred home from Abilene Christian, starting all of ACU’s games in 2025.

JD Drew: Out of Booker T. Washington, Drew is a 6-foot corner who made 11 starts for TU last season, finishing with 24 tackles and two pass breakups.

Caldra Williford: A 5-9 redshirt senior, Williford was at Baylor last season, where he took part in 11 games and recorded 16 tackles and five PBUs.

Micah Tease: A former four-star recruit out of Booker T., Tease started his career as a receiver at Texas A&M. He was a receiver at TU last season but has since moved over to the defensive side of the ball.

Willie Goodwyn: A 5-11 redshirt sophomore, Goodwyn was at Cincinnati the past two seasons, playing in six games and making a tackle.

4. The Heat

If you haven’t stepped outside in a while, it’s hot.

It’s supposed to be 99 degrees on Saturday in Tulsa, with the humidity hovering around 40% by the time the game kicks off.

The heat is something both coaches have mentioned entering this game.

“We’ve been in it — a lot,” Lamb said. “We don’t have an indoor facility, so we’ve been outside every day. We’ve practiced in the morning, the afternoon. We’ve practiced at night last night, so we’ve been in the heat as much as you can be in it.

“You’re gonna have to play more people in this game than any other game all year, with it being No. 1 and with the heat — 115, 120 degrees on the turf. … It’s a big concern of mine. The heat and then the tempo of which they play with can present real issues.”

It’s the first depth chart of the Eric Morris Era of Oklahoma State football, as the Cowboys prep for their season opener against Tulsa at 2:45 p.m. Saturday at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

If you need to learn some names and numbers before Saturday, we made a Quizlet for you. We’ll have thoughts on this depth chart later today.

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)

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: Jacob Sexton (R-Sr., 6-6, 328, Oklahoma)
LT2: Ja’Qwon Evans (Fr., 6-5, 295)

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 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: Saadiq Clements (R-Jr., 6-4, 310, North Texas) OR Jerry Lawson (Sr., 6-1, 312, Louisville)
NT2: 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

FS1: Evan Jackson (Sr., 5-11, 188, North Texas)
FS2: Markeith Williams (R-Sr., 6-2, 175, Miami)

BS1: Quinton Hammonds (Jr., 6-1, 206, North Texas)
BS2: Mose Phillips III (Sr., 6-2, 196, Missouri)

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)

OSU Bullets

• See where the PFB squad predicted what record OSU will finish with this fall, among other predictions (PFB) 

• Fun concept from PFB – take some quizzes and learn the Cowboy roster (PFB)

• Bill Haisten points out the significant pressure there is on Eric Morris – to maintain significant fan interest (and financial interest) in Cowboy football is big.  

• Former Cowboy De’Zhaun Stribling is climbing the Vegas odds for offensive rookie of the year (CBS Sports)

• Tre Lamb is laying it on thick for Eric Morris and the Pokes right now. 

“I’m like the JV version of Coach Morris right now..”

Tre Lamb on new OK State head coach Eric Morris and his unique ability to evaluate and recruit. pic.twitter.com/Uq0yaf1g9n

— Cayden McFarland (@caydenmc) August 31, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• You can take a three-month gig being Snoop Dog’s ice cream taster  • How to take better smartphone pictures • Solid read on how to perceive your body as a Christian (faith-based)  

This is fascinating – is Oklahoma essentially linked up with Greek islands?

North American Cities Transposed Onto Europe At The Same Latitude

Surprised?

See the reverse here: https://t.co/EGKj8wfhyb pic.twitter.com/QJxnWZBlQW

— Brilliant Maps (@BrilliantMaps) August 31, 2026

Here are quick recaps of the starts to the season for each member of Oklahoma State’s 2027 recruiting class, with stats and highlights included when available.

Ake O’Neal / WR / Argyle (0-1) / Texas

Ake O’Neal’s Argyle Eagles fell to Oak Ridge (California) 27-26 to start the year, but it was a solid senior debut for the OSU commit.

Per MaxPreps, O’Neal caught five passes for 62 yards and this nice touchdown grab on a goal-line fade.

Argyle is the No. 2 team in Dave Campbell’s rankings for Texas’ 5A D-II.

O’Neal and the Eagles will play at Terrell (1-0) on Friday.

Jake Baker / OL / Ensworth (2-0) / Tennessee

Jake Baker’s senior season is off to a 2-0 start with wins against Whitehaven and Nashville Christian.

Baker put together a highlight reel from both wins.

The Ensworth Tigers will look to continue their unbeaten start with a game against Braircrest Christian (2-0) this weekend.

Carson White / QB / Hightower (0-1) / Texas

OSU quarterback commit Carson White got his senior season started against the highly touted Cypress Ranch Mustangs and lost  24-7.

Cypress Ranch checked in at No. 21 in Dave Campbell’s Texas 6A rankings.

Per MaxPreps, White was 6-for-14 through the air for 30 yards. He also carried eight times for another 64 yards and Hightower’s lone touchdown.

 

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Hightower will travel to Cypress Springs (0-1) this weekend.

Cooper Hooker / WR / Pryor (1-0) / Oklahoma

Cooper Hooker’s Pryor Tigers crossed state lines into Arkansas to start the season, and the Tigers thumped Siloam Springs 56-10.

MaxPreps didn’t have stats for the Tigers, but the game was streamed on YouTube if you’d like to check it out. Pryor’s first play from scrimmage was a reverse to Hooker for a nice gain, and he’d go on to to score a touchdown and be fed pretty regularly throughout the first half. Hooker didn’t play much in the second because the score was so out of hand.

He and Pryor will return within the state’s borders and host Coweta (1-0) on Friday.

Sonny Mullen / OL / Troy (1-0) / Texas

Sonny Mullen’s Troy Trojans were in quite the shootout with Salado, with Troy taking the opener 63-50.

Troy threw for 103 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 191 yards and four more scores in the game. Mullen was credited with six pancake blocks.

Troy gets Mexia (1-0) this weekend.

Bryson Brown / DB / Broken Arrow (1-0) / Oklahoma

Bryson Brown’s senior year got going with a 34-7 victory against Har-Ber (Arkansas).

Brown made three tackles, per MaxPreps.

The Tigers travel to Union (0-1) this weekend.

Chayce Davis / DB / Trinity (1-0) / Texas

Chayce Davis opened his senior season with a 28-17 win against Berkner.

Defensive stats weren’t available on MaxPreps, but Davis was credited with a 26-yard reception.

Odaefe Oruru / OL / Jenks (0-1) / Oklahoma

There were a ridiculous amount of people tuned into the stream of Jenks’ season opener against Texas power Southlake Carroll down in the Cotton Bowl last weekend.

Jenks built a nice lead, but the Dragons were able to run the Trojans down and take the game 34-33.

Oruru’s Trojans head to a different state this weekend, as they’ll play Rodgers (Arkansas).

Israel Hammons / LB / Choctaw (0-1) / Oklahoma

Choctaw started its year with a 27-7 loss against Mustang.

The Yellowjackets host Moore (1-0) this weekend.

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

OSU running back pledge TJ Lewis is already two games into his senior season. After falling to Homewood-Flossmoor in Game 1, Lewis’ Bolingbrook Raiders responded with a 37-6 win against Simeon this weekend.

Bolingbrook will play at Yorkville (2-0) on Friday.

Talan Scott / TE / ALA-Queen Creek (0-1) / Arizona

Talan Scott’s American Leadership Academy-Queen Creek Patriots fell to Centennial 44-10 to start the year. There were no stats on MaxPreps.

Jayden Vessell / EDGE / Baton Rouge Catholic (0-0) / Louisiana

Vessell gets his season started this week against Georgia’s Carrollton.

Carrollton is 2-0 already this season, having outscored foes a combined 116-13.

Tulsa coach Tre Lamb had his pre-Oklahoma State news conference on Monday, where he gushed about the Cowboys’ new quarterback as Lamb and the Golden Hurricane prep to play Oklahoma State to start the 2026 season at 2:45 p.m. Saturday at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

“He’s kind of a hybrid of Philip Rivers and Brett Farve,” Lamb said. “The guy has got as much arm talent as anybody in the draft. Quick release, big hands. The thing that I’m impressed by is he can take a hit. He will stand in there, and he will take a beating over and over and over. And when he runs, he runs and he doesn’t really slide.

“He’s big. He’s a very short-strider. It’s hard to explain, but his feet allow him to throw without much energy having to be put into it. He can get the ball out at times where most quarterbacks are having to wind up and step into it and throw. He can throw off his back foot, off platform, on the run. And he hates a checkdown. Like, he is going to rip it, and he’s gonna fit it into windows. There’s gonna be five or six throws Saturday, where we’re just like, OK, indefensible. Don’t care what you call, we can’t cover that just because of his arm talent.”

Lamb noted that he’s glad Tulsa is getting Mestemaker in Week 1 rather than Week 10 because Mestemaker, only a redshirt sophomore, is only getting better.

Last season was Lamb’s first as an FBS coach, and he got perhaps the biggest win a Tulsa team could ask for in Year 1 — a W against Oklahoma State, in Stillwater no less.

That game was the last of the Mike Gundy Era of Oklahoma State football, as he was relieved of his duties the next week, leading OSU to hire Eric Morris.

Lamb said he hasn’t brought up last year’s game one time to his team because of how different this OSU team is than last season’s.

“They’ve got 92 (new) players, I read somewhere, and I think that’s the highest in the history of college football as far as new faces on a roster,” Lamb said. “They might be wearing the same colors, but it’s not even the same.

“I’ve been adamant and very vocal that this game means a lot to us, our TU alums, our football alums, our student body. We understand this is a rivalry. They’re close to us. It’s a bus trip. I’m glad we’re playing these guys home and home for years to come. It is a great game for us.”

Back in February, Lamb got the mic at a Tulsa basketball game and told a fired-up crowd, “We’ll beat their a– again” in reference to OSU. Lamb brought that up Monday.

“What are you supposed to say when you walk out there at a basketball court — you want to beat them,” Lamb said. “That’s my approach. We want to beat these guys. We don’t wanna keep it close, we don’t wanna hang in there. Our goal is to win a football game.”

But it wasn’t just Mestemaker and basketball games that Lamb talked.

Lamb noted that Morris seems to fit well in Stillwater given his ability to put points on the board, develop quarterbacks and receivers. Then he talked defense.

“Their defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity deserves a lot of credit,” Lamb said. “Coach Morris gets a lot of credit. Skyler deserves credit. He coordinated for Coach (Morris) last year, for the first year. They won a buncha games, created turnovers, really good in the red zone. Good scheme — Coach Cassity was at Sam Houston, who we play next week, in 2024, and they were Top 10 in the country in defense. So, I like their structure. I like the way they play. They play downhill, and they’re very aggressive.”

As for how Lamb pulls off back-to-back upsets against the Pokes, he said the Golden Hurricane has to avoid OSU’s ability to pile on points in a hurry.

Lamb referenced two times last season where North Texas avalanched a team. The first was against Washington State in Week 3, where the Mean Green scored 42 points in the first half against the Cougars. Then in Game 8, UNT was down 20-17 against Charlotte with eight minutes left in the third quarter before the Mean Green rattled off 37 straight points to win the game 54-20.

“For us to win this game and upset these guys — you know, we’re couple touchdown underdogs — we gotta play clean, prevent the momentum plays from happening,” Lamb said. “The 21 points in a row was a problem for people last year, and they did a really good job of it.

“First-and-10, we gotta stay manageable this week on offense, and we gotta get them off schedule a little bit on defense, make it a passing situation where our pass rushers can go attack. They do play with a lot of tempo, so they present problems when it comes to subbing and getting your pass rushers on the field. But when we get those opportunities, we gotta go make it happen. Sustain drives offensively, the more we can keep 17 (Mestemaker) and 24 (Hawkins) on their sideline, the better chance we got.”

We are now less than a week from the start of the Eric Morris era at Oklahoma State and fans are desperate to see this new-look program.

The Cowboys have lost 20-straight games against an FBS opponent, but that streak could end on Saturday. A completely new coaching staff and an almost completely new roster has fans excited for the rebuild and anxious to see how long it will take.

We at PFB have been your go-to source for OSU football content for 15 years, but this will be our second head football coach to cover. So we got together, peered into our crystal ball and have some predictions for the 2026 football season.

Offensive MVP

Marshall Scott: I’m going to keep it on the fairway and go with Drew Mestemaker. I would certainly listen to an argument for Caleb Hawkins, but I’m super bullish on OSU’s receivers and Hawkins as a receiver. So, with all of those weapons at his disposal, give me the Cowboys’ QB.

Tyler Waldrep: QB Drew Mestemaker. When you spend 10-plus years getting paid to watch high school and college football players live in person, you develop a bit of an eye for talent. I’m not saying I could replace an NFL scout or an FBS recruiter, but I can usually tell the difference between guys who have the physical tools needed for that next level.

I really love going against the grain, but from the first minute I saw Drew Mestemaker throw the ball in spring practice, I could tell he had the physical tools worthy of the NFL.

When your QB is this good, it’s impossible to consider anyone else for MVP, so enjoy the ride. It might be short if he lives up to his full potential.

Kyle Cox: I have to go with Drew Mestemaker. Shocker, I know. The QB is the default MVP most of the time and OSU has the 2025 passing leader. He’ll need all his playmakers and supporting cast but, if you listen to the Cowboys’ coaching staff, it sounds like Mestemaker might even take a step forward as a sophomore.

Defensive MVP

Marshall Scott: I’ll buck the trend a bit here and go with returning defensive end Jaleel Johnson.

Listed at 6-foot-4, 270 pounds, Johnson was a big breakout candidate last season, but he played in just four games before missing the rest of the year. Then earlier this summer, Morris referred to Johnson as the most disruptive defender of the spring.

It’d make for a heck of a story if Johnson could take that step into stardom in 2026, given he stuck out some of the worst seasons of OSU football in some time.

Tyler Waldrep: Linebacker Ethan Wesloski gets the nod over nickel Christian Bodnar because it sounds like Wesloski will quarterback the defense from a communication standpoint. According to Pro Football Focus, Wesloski graded out fourth nationally among linebackers with 200-plus snaps last season when he played 804.

He’s a proven run-defender, 86.2 grade against the run, and did not give up a touchdown last season in coverage, according to PFF, while finishing with a pick and two pass breakups. Without seeing him in a game, it’s hard to say if he will translate to the next level the way some other Cowboy defenders will, but it’s hard to imagine any one guy will have a greater impact.

Kyle Cox: I’ll go with Ethan Wesloski. It’s a safe bet that UNT’s leading tackler last season will be able to translate that skillset to the Big 12. Wesloski is coming off 113 takedowns as a junior and he quickly established himself as the leader of this defense.

Passing Yards and TDs for Drew Mestemaker

Marshall Scott: 4,100 and 28. That’s a slight drop-off from the numbers Mestemaker put up last season, but would still mark the fifth-most yards and sixth-most touchdowns in a season in program history.

I jumped between predicting over and under Mestemaker’s 2025 totals. The argument for under would be the jump up in competition, and he probably isn’t going to have a 608-yard game this season like he did against Charlotte last year. The argument for the over would be he’s a year wiser in Eric Morris’ system, and I think he’s got a definitive upgrade at receiver with the additions of Chris Barnes and Justin Bowick joining Wyatt Young and Miles Coleman.

Tyler Waldrep: 3,770 and 30. Mestemaker averaged 337 passing yards per game last season and threw 34 total touchdowns. I’m not confident Oklahoma State’s team, especially the defense, is good enough for the offense to just play ball control late, so I think Mestemaker will need to throw it throughout most fourth quarters this season.

With that in mind, I think he will average 290 a game despite facing tougher competition and throw for a still-impressive 30 touchdowns thanks to big games against Tulsa and Murray State.

Kyle Cox: 4,100 and 30. I’m predicting a slight drop-off in production from last year with the step-up in competition. For reference, the second-leading passer in the nation behind Mestemaker last year was also in the Big 12. Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson turned in 3,681 and 31.

Rushing Yards and TDs for Caleb Hawkins

Marshall Scott: 1,200 and 22. On one hand, Hawkins didn’t really get to play all that much until UNT’s fourth game of the year last season. On the other hand, he’ll be regularly facing tougher defenses, and Morris has noted he wants to lighten Hawkins’ load as much as possible. So, I’m going to go for a dip in both, but I still think he’s going to be a touchdown machine when the Cowboys get in close.

Tyler Waldrep: 1,215 and 19. Morris wants to ease the workload on Caleb Hawkins this season. Plenty of coaches say that, but then struggle to follow through when games are tight. Plus, Hawkins didn’t play more than 16 offensive snaps in his first two games, and he missed another early.

​Instead of predicting a decrease in workload, I’ll just assume a realistic drop-off in yards per carry, from 6.2 to 5.3, due to higher-quality defenses.

Kyle Cox: 1,200 and 20. Again, a slight dip for me just cause I want to see how OSU competes against Big 12 defenses. This would still obviously be a huge year for Hawkins.

Receiving Yards and TDs for Wyatt Young

Marshall Scott: 900 and 8. I learned on The Reload last week that I had a hot take in not thinking Young was going to be the Cowboys’ leader in receiving yards. I bestowed that honor on Chris Barnes. So, that’s why my Young numbers might look a little small, but 900 yards and eight touchdowns is nothing to sneeze at, either. For reference, Gavin Freeman led OSU by 100 receiving yards last season and finished with 481 and four touchdowns.

Tyler Waldrep: 1,002 and 7. The numbers still pop, but I share what feels like a common belief on the OSU beat that Wyatt Young won’t be the No. 1 receiver this season. He was last year when he finished with 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns on 70 receptions.

Not sure if Morris is the type of coach to force the issue, but I think Young will be close to 1,000 yards late. So, I’m just assuming coaches design a big showing late to get him over the hump.

Kyle Cox: 1,200 and 10. I think Meste slings it around, but this dip comes from the fact that OSU has several freaks that are going to require targets.

Tackle Leader

Marshall Scott: Ethan Wesloski. Sort of feels like a layup. Health permitting, I think Wesloski gets more than 100 tackles for the second season in a row.

Tyler Waldrep: Wesloski had 113 last season. I can’t imagine anyone else will keep up with him this fall as he once again tops the 100-tackle mark.

Kyle Cox: Ethan Wesloski. I teased this a big with my DPOY pick. I think he’s the first triple-digit tackler since Nick Martin, Kendal Daniels and Trey Rucker all did it in 2023.

Sacks Leader

Marshall Scott: If I picked Jaleel Johnson to be my defensive MVP, I better also pick him as the Cowboys’ sack leader. It sounds as if they’re going to be rotating quite a bit up front, so perhaps it won’t take a ton of sacks to claim this honor, but I think Johnson could get in the 7-9 range.

Tyler Waldrep: DE Jaleel Johnson. ​Fellow defensive end James Williams is the more proven pass rusher, but Jaleel Johnson was the guy Morris tabbed as the most disruptive player in spring.

Kyle Cox: Malik Charles. This might be a bit of a hot take. Charles might not even be a starter, but defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity expects a deep rotation up front. Charles should get plenty of opportunities, and he’s shown glimpses of his ability to make plays in the backfield.

Freshman of the Year

Marshall Scott: The two freshmen Morris has mentioned most are wide receiver Dayvon Standard and defensive tackle Savion Barthelemy.

So, do I think a freshman has a true shot of cracking into what is a stacked receiver room? Or do I think a defensive tackle can play regularly in a physically demanding position and make a big enough impact at an unheralded position?

I’ll go with Standard. This this could be similar to Tylan Wallace’s 2017 freshman season. Tylan was in that stacked room that included James Washingon, Marcell Ateman, Jalen McCleskey, Dillon Stoner, Tyron Johnson and Chris Lacy but was still able to carve out seven catches for 118 yards.

Tyler Waldrep: WR Dayvon Standard. It’s a bit surprising considering the talent in the receiver room, but when the head coach said he is pushing for a spot in the rotation, I listen. My bonus pick here is Carl Albert alum Carl’veon Young, who made the move to defensive end this offseason. I’m not sure he will get much playing time, but if he gets some time in the back half of the season, I could see him breaking out.

Kyle Cox: Safety Braeden Presley. With the deep group the Cowboys expect to rotate through their secondary, it would be hard for a true freshman to crack the rotation at Safety, especially early. But if any frosh sneaks in their to make some plays, I’m going with the legacy — and probably in the return game.

(Non-UNT) Newcomer of the Year

Marshall Scott: As previously noted, I think Chris Barnes is going to lead the team in receiving, so I’ll give him the nod here. He’s blazing fast, and I’m excited to see the different ways Morris and Mestemaker get the rock in his hands.

Tyler Waldrep: Wake Forest transfer receiver Chris Barnes was the guy who really stood out in the spring game with his four-catch, 141-yard performance, which included one touchdown.

Barnes appeared to be a favorite target for Mestemaker during spring practices. I’m betting that connection remains strong and shows up despite healthy competition for targets from guys like Young and receiver Justin Bowick.

I think Barnes could be a sneaky leader for receiving touchdowns this season and might be the favorite for total targets. He should be at least top two in receiving yards and yards per catch as well.

Kyle Cox: CB Mo Horn. Eric Morris singled out the Tulsa native and Texas Tech transfer early in fall camp. He’s a savvy veteran that could be way more important to OSU’s secondary than even his final stat line shows.

Bold Prediction

Marshall Scott: Drew Mestemaker plays himself into being a first round pick. At least here in the preseason, college football has a deep crop of quarterbacks. Just about everyone thinks that Mestemaker is an NFL-caliber passer but people differ on when he’ll go to the league.

Perhaps this is because I’m transcribing Tre Lamb quotes comparing Mestemaker to Philip Rivers and Brett Farve, but I’m high on Mestemaker reaching that potential sooner rather than later.

Mestemaker going in the first round of next year’s draft would mean OSU would have to find a new man to run the show in 2027, but that would be a good problem to have.

Tyler Waldrep: When No. 12 Texas Tech visits on Nov. 14, Oklahoma State will either upset the Red Raiders or lose by one possession. I also think the Cowboys beat the current spread against No. 2 Oregon, which favors the Ducks by 17.5 points.

Last season, Oklahoma State lost to those two teams by a combined score of 111-3.

Kyle Cox: The Cowboys land in the Top 25 by Halloween. This would almost certainly mean the Pokes start 4-1 or even 5-1 with a strong showing against Oregon. Unfortunately, I think it’s short-lived as the Pokes face a tough back half of their slate. But what a turnaround that would be.

Oklahoma State’s Record (w/ Big 12 finish)

Marshall Scott: 9-4 (4th in Big 12). I picked OSU to win 10 regular season games in 2024 before the Cowboys went 3-9. So, I’m trying to not do that again, but it’s getting harder and harder not to in the excitement of the preseason.

I think the Pokes go 8-4 in the regular season and then win a bowl game, which would be an outstanding year given what we’ve all been forced to watch the past two seasons.

I think the Houston game (Oct. 17) is massive in terms of what’s possible for this group this year. If they go down to H-Town and beat the Cougars, I’ll be ready to start getting irrational again.

Tyler Waldrep: 9-4 (5th in Big 12). Since I believe in Mestemaker’s NFL future and Morris’ as an offensive playcaller, it’s hard to imagine anything other than a resounding success.

​Indiana proved that coaches don’t need a ramp-up year anymore. The Hoosiers went 11-2 in Curt Cignetti’s first season. Like Cignetti, Morris brought coaches and players with him, only he kept even more of the band together.

For now, I’ll predict that OSU drops games to playoff favorites Oregon and Texas Tech.

I think pretty highly of Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham and that game comes on the road right after what could be a disappointing near-upset of the Red Raiders. So put me down for a Cowboys loss to the Sun Devils.

Although I think OSU will start fast, I do expect the team to drop a game on the road early, either to West Virginia (week 4) or Houston (week 7). I’m predicting a win in Manhattan, but it is easily the one that worries me the most, considering the talent on that roster combined with the fact that OSU could get caught looking ahead to a ranked-vs-ranked matchup against the Red Raiders the following week.

Kyle Cox: 8-5 (7th in Big 12). Again, what a turnaround. I feel like 7-6 is a little safer, but I think the Cowboys have a chance to steal one from that the group of Arizona State, Houston or Tech. If the Pokes pull this off, Eric Morris will be at the top of the list for Big 12 Coach of the Year.

Josh Pate on Sunday night ranked the country’s Top 10 quarterbacks in terms of expected production, and it sounds as if he thinks the Cowboys will have the best quarterback on the field in every game apart from one this year. Drew Mestemaker came it at No. 10 on Pate’s QB rankings.

I am socializing my 2026 QB rankings based on expected production

What will I regret the most here? pic.twitter.com/GAbAFjBiwu

— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) August 31, 2026

“I think Mestemaker’s gonna put up really big numbers at Oklahoma State,” Pate said. “And I think they start maybe a lot faster than the general public expects because, you know once upon a time when a coach took a new job, it was a start over from scratch situation, and that’s not the way that it works these days nor will it work that way for Eric Morris in Stillwater. Mestemaker put up 4,300 yards last year. They bring a good chunk of that roster with him. Good tailback talent there.

“I think he’ll put up big numbers. I know there’s some people in the draft community that question how legitimate he is as, like, a future prospect, which is good because it gives him a lot to prove wrong this year.”

Mestemaker was the only Big 12 passer on the list, joining one from the ACC, three from the SEC, one from Notre Dame and four from the Big Ten.

One of those Big Ten representatives was Oklahoma State’s Week 2 foe Dante Moore (Oregon), who came in at No. 5. In his first year as the Ducks’ starter last season, Moore threw for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns to 10 picks. Of that, 266 yards and three touchdowns came against the Cowboys last season in Eugene.

“I think he’s gonna have a big statistical year,” Pate said of Moore. “Of that, I have very few questions. If they get a good enough offensive line product in front of him, he’ll have a great statistical year. He could very well win the Heisman Trophy.

“Big question about Dante Moore — and big question about Oregon — is when they get in the big moments, specifically, they’re gonna go on the road to Ohio State this year. Can they go on the road and beat them? And in that kind of moment, is that the kind of situation where if they need a drive late Dante Moore can put it together? It’s really all I care about at this point. I don’t really, frankly, question whether he can move the ball against Oklahoma State. I don’t question that. I question whether he can get the job done when Ohio State or Michigan puts the heat on him, when Indiana puts the heat on him. And if he can, he may be No. 1 on this list overall.”

So, subtle shot at the Cowboys’ defense there, but that’s probably what happens when you go to Eugene and get throttled 69-3 the year before — even if it was almost an entirely different group of Pokes.

The best part of all of this is soon we’ll just know. We’ll get to watch it with our own eyes. This has been the longest offseason ever (probably because it felt like it started after that game in Eugene last year), and it’s finally almost over.

OSU Bullets

• NFL updates: what Cowboys got cut and which are headed for the NFL roster (PokesReport)

• The Cowgirls beat Grambling State 6-1 at Neal Patterson Stadium yesterday (OKState.com)

• ESPN’s SP+ has the Pokes beating Tulsa by ten, four points below the spread (X) 

• The Oklahoman‘s columnist picked the Pokes at 7-5 and has a bold prediction of high outcomes for Drew Mestemaker: 

Drew Mestemaker leads Big 12 in passing yards per game, total touchdown passes

I was just going to go with passing yards, but that’s too easy. And maybe this is, too. [NewsOK] 

• Three points of Eric Morris’ vision for Oklahoma State football (SI) 

• Is Oklahoma State the next Indiana? 

OKLAHOMA STATE ➡️ THE NEXT INDIANA?

With Eric Morris in Stillwater and Drew Mestemaker at QB in a wide-open Big 12 … @JoshPateCFB sees the vision 👀

🔶 O/U 6.5 wins this season
🔶 +2500 to win the Big 12
🔶 +1600 to make the CFP pic.twitter.com/x4jvz5cAoz

— FanDuel (@FanDuel) August 28, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• Come, you who are anxious (faith-based) • Facts around the Dust Bowl

“There is no path to greatness without hard work. And the only person who feels like working hard for years is someone who is excited about the task. You only get one life and you’re going to burn the days either way, so the real question is: What excites you and interests you? What makes you feel curious and alive, perhaps even joyful? What is so “worth it” that you’re not worried about the tradeoffs, the hard work, the hassle? Follow your enthusiasm.” James Clear

You know what helps the show and helps us make more shows? When you rate us on Apple Podcasts or subscribe to our pod: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | SoundCloud.

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

The test is coming up, and it’s time to cram.

With a roster made up of more than 90 newcomers, the Oklahoma State football team will begin the Eric Morris Era at 2:45 p.m. Saturday in Tulsa.

We’ve been studying best we can this offseason, but it’s crunch time. That is why PFB put together a Quizlet to help. If you weren’t using Quizlet during your days in Edmon Low, it’s a study tool that you can turn flash cards into more easily digestible quizzes and study with interactive games.

We’ve gone in and made flash cards for the for all the players on our final depth chart prediction, as well as a few more names just for good measure.

After you click on the link, it’s easy enough to poke around and figure it out, but here’s what to expect. You’ll land on this page:

The “Flash Cards” portion is easy enough to figure out. If you click on that, you’ll be presented a name or number. Click on it, and it’ll flip over.

The “Learn” tab gives you a multiple choice question, like so:

You only get one “Test” with a free Quizlet account (this is not a Quizlet ad), so maybe wait on that until you’ve studied up a bit before letting that rip. Also, it might give you some option where it says German and English. That should be Name and Number, but it was being weird. Nothing is in German, I promise.

The games were fun.

“Match” gives you 12 tiles and you have to match six names with their corresponding number. There’s a timer up top to race against yourself.

“Blocks” is essentially Tetris, but you have to answer a question before getting your next set of blocks. This is the high score I got on my second attempt, if you want to try to beat it:

“Charms” is essentially Candy Crush but it’ll ask you a question every once in a while. Was sorta meh to me.

“Blast” is another option if you scroll over. I had fun with it. You blast the number of the player at the top of the screen:

My high score here:

So get out there and study, study, study before Saturday’s big test game.

OSU Bullets

• We knew OSU’s transfer class was huge, but it looks like it’s the biggest ever. [PFB]

• Oklahoma State names its team captains for 2026. [PFB]

• Yeesh. Feels a bit personal, but who may I to say.

Ben Roethlisberger thinks the odd man out to the practice squad should be Mason Rudolph: “The odd man out in that scenario, the one that could go to the practice squad is Mason. You know what you have in Mason. Don’t stiff that room for a quarterback that’s never gonna see the…

— Blitzburgh (@Blitz_Burgh) August 29, 2026

• Things are continuing to fall into place in the Cowboys’ depth charts. (Just as PFB predicted.)

NEW: Shaun Torgeson — a transfer from an FCS team that went 1-11 last year — is winning the starting RT job at Oklahoma State👀

Eric Morris: “If we had to play tomorrow, it would probably be Torgeson.”

Intel: https://t.co/b5wYnicdA9 pic.twitter.com/3ukUOjIYwL

— JT (@pokesballenjoyr) August 29, 2026

• Anthony Goodlow recorded a sack on Thursday in the Steelers’ final preseas0n game. His final stat line of the preseason landed at three tackles (two solo), a sack, a TFL and a QB pressure.

• Make that one closer to a sellout.

I’m coming to see you and the guys, Coach! LFG!

Pistols firing! Touchdown Cowboys!!!!🍊🍊 https://t.co/JS6LaQp9Pj

— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) August 28, 2026

• OSU Hoops reportedly adding Minnesota and Virginia Tech to their nonconference slate. [PFB]

Non-OSU Bullets

• That’s a tough way to start 0-1.

UNC gets TCU to jump on 4th & 1 to seal the deal 😤 pic.twitter.com/gaUKbiI37Y

— ESPN (@espn) August 29, 2026

But also, is this just an Irish thing?

It’s unbelievably lame to call Unsportsmanlike Conduct for this. pic.twitter.com/OumqKqHVWi

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) August 29, 2026

• This is heart-breaking. Prayers to his family and friends.

Tragic, tragic day at William Jewell, remembering MicahJo Barnett. So much happiness scoring this Touchdown in the 1st quarter. Life is precious. pic.twitter.com/ODhDIVzlYs

— Harold R. Kuntz (@HaroldRKuntz3) August 29, 2026

Seven days out from the Cowboys’ season-opener in Tulsa, the program announced that Drew Mestemaker, Lachie Pozzobon, Quinton Hammonds, Caleb Hawkins, Jacob Sexton, Ethan Wesloski and Jaleel Johnson have been named captains.

Here’s a breakdown of each guy.

Mestemaker: You probably know who Drew Mestemaker is by now, but if not, he led the nation in passing as a redshirt freshman at North Texas last season, throwing for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns. That came after Mestemaker wasn’t a starting quarterback in high school and walked on at UNT in 2024.

Pozzobon: An Australian punter who transferred from Stephen F. Austin this offseason, Pozzobon is 6-foot-4 with a mullet and a mustache. He was an FCS Football Central Freshman All-American last season, punting 53 times for 2,217 yards (41.8 average). That Stephen F. team went 11-3 and made the FCS playoffs. He seems to be fitting in nicely in Stillwater, being named captain and earlier this week saying he’ll “run through a brick wall” for the team.

Hammonds: A 6-foot-1, 206-pound safety, Hammonds also comes over from North Texas. As a sophomore last season, he made 53 tackles, five tackles for loss, a sack and picked off two passes. He also played regularly as a true freshman in 2024, where he made 52 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and picked off a pass.

Hawkins: Again, you’re probably already quite familiar with Hawkins, but if not, he led the country in touchdowns scored as a true freshman at North Texas last season, finishing the year with 1,434 rushing yards, 370 receiving yards and 29 total touchdowns. Like Mestemaker, Hawkins was an unheralded recruit coming out of North Rock Creek, but now he returns to his home state as one of the Cowboys’ stars.

Sexton: Another in-state standout, Sexton, a 6-foot-6, 328-pound offensive lineman, comes to the Cowboys after spending the past four seasons at Oklahoma. He got on the field regularly at OU but battled the injury bug constantly. Sexton is expected to start at left tackle, defending Mestemaker’s blindside, this season.

Wesloski: Another UNT transfer, Wesloski led the Mean Green D with 113 tackles last season, which included nine tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble in the end zone. Wesloski is a 6-foot-1, 234-pound redshirt senior.

Johnson: One of OSU’s few returners, Johnson was labeled the Cowboys’ most disruptive defender in the spring by Morris. A 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive end, Johnson played in just four games last season because of injury and finished with 16 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Was told today that Oklahoma State has finalized its 2026 roster and has 92 new players. That’s more than 2023 Colorado, which was believed to be the modern FBS record of 87.

Cowboys retained 25 players from 2025 and have 117 total (including DSAs grandfathered in from House).

— Sam Khan Jr. (@skhanjr) August 28, 2026

​Very few names that take the field next weekend will be recognizable to Cowboy fans at first. Although the hype surrounding quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins will likely offset some of those feelings.

For what it’s worth, the Colorado comparison could prove to be another sign that Oklahoma State’s short stint in the college football wilderness is coming to an end.

The Buffaloes combined to go 5-19 in the two seasons before they brought in Deion Sanders. As is well documented, Oklahoma State went 4-20 the last two years.

The similarities continue from there.

According to 247Sports’ transfer rankings, the Buffaloes added 52 players headlined by 5-star, two-way throwback Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who was one of five 4-star prospects. That group ranked No. 1 among transfer groups. The transfer portal has only gotten more competitive since then.

247Sports transfer rankings counted the Cowboys class at 54 players, not totally sure why the discrepancy. That group included 5-star quarterback Drew Mestemaker and four 4-star prospects, including Hawkins.

That group ranked 15th nationally and second in the Big 12.

In Sanders’ first season, the one with all those transfers, they finished 4-8, which represented a 3-win bump from 2022.

If Oklahoma State only adds three wins this season, the first year of the Morris era would be disappointing, but Deion’s first team was a bit unlucky. That Colorado team lost four games by one possession. The previous two Buffalo squads had lost two such games total.

So in reality, the Buffaloes gained three wins and were much more competitive in losses, putting themselves a handful of plays away from an 8-4 regular-season finish.

As impactful as Hunter was for the Buffaloes, he’s still probably not as impactful as a true first-round quarterback. It will be at least eight months until we learn if that’s what Mestemaker is, but given the ongoing draft conversation surrounding his future, that’s on the table.

As dark as things got last season, the Cowboys still managed to lose four games by one possession, and former coach Mike Gundy led OSU to a 1-3 showing in one-score games during his final full season in 2024.

From a program standpoint, the Cowboys were in a much stronger position than the Buffaloes for most of the last 20-plus years. So with all of that in mind, it seems reasonable to expect a bigger leap from Morris than Sanders got out of Colorado in year one.

It’s also fair to point out Sanders was still a bit of an unknown where coaching is considered, despite his tremendous success at a lower level. It would be almost like hiring Morris after Incarnate Word instead of North Texas, though given Morris’ experience coordinating offenses at Texas Tech, even that comp feels a little misleading.

At this point, some are probably pointing out that Colorado collapsed last season, finishing 3-9 following departures from Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. It’s worth noting that the Buffaloes still lost three one-score games, so it wasn’t like the team completely returned to being the conference’s punching bag.

Plus, in 2024 Deion  cashed in on all of that potential for a 9-4 finish, plus a single one-possession loss, which put his group on the wrong side of tiebreakers when it came time to determine conference championship participation. ​

If the Cowboys crush this season, then Morris might put Oklahoma State near some of those marks this fall. If they fall a bit short, think closer to six wins, then maybe that locks Mestemaker into a second year, and OSU can make a serious run at everything in 2027.

Either way, it feels like the Cowboys are on the cusp of real celebratory football for the first time since 2023, and it all starts with the record-setting transfer class.

Jon Rothstein reports that Oklahoma State will play Minnesota and Virginia Tech at the Charleston Classic on Nov. 20 and 22. OSU confirmed the news.

This fully completes the Cowboys’ nonconference schedule.

Oklahoma State’s 2026-27 Nonconference Schedule

Oct. 11 (Sunday) — vs. New Mexico (exhibition)
Oct. 23 (Friday) — vs. Tulsa (exhibition)
Oct. 27 (Tuesday) — at Wisconsin (exhibition)
Nov. 2 (Monday) — vs. Incarnate Word
Nov. 6 (Friday) — vs. Queens
Nov. 12 (Thursday) — at Texas A&M
Nov. 16 (Monday) — vs. Central Arkansas
Nov. 20 & 22 (Friday & Sunday) — Minnesota and Virginia at Charleston Classic
Nov. 25 (Wednesday) — vs. Jackson State
Nov. 29 (Sunday) — vs. Tennessee State
Dec. 2 (Wednesday) — vs. Grand Canyon
Dec. 5 (Saturday) — vs. Saint Mary’s
Dec. 12 (Saturday) — vs. Oklahoma (OKC)
Dec. 16 (Wednesday) — vs. Oral Roberts
Dec. 20 (Sunday) — vs. Northwestern (Tulsa)
Dec. 29 (Tuesday) — vs. Houston Christian

This will mark the Cowboys’ ninth all-time meeting with Minnesota. The teams last met in Tulsa in 2019, where the Golden Gophers cruised to a 86-66 win. The teams also met in 2015 (in South Dakota), where the Cowboys won, and in 2018 (Minneapolis), where Minnesota won.

It’ll be Niko Medved’s second season in charge of the Minnesota program after he led the Golden Gophers to a 15-18 record in Year 1. Before that, Medved had a 143-85 record across seven seasons at Colorado State, where he led the Rams to the NCAA Tournament three times. Minnesota hasn’t made the Big Dance since 2019.

The Cowboys and Hokies have met five times on the hardwood, and the Hokies have won every meeting. The last came in Brooklyn in 2022, where Virginia Tech won 70-65. All of the teams’ meetings have come in different areas.

This’ll be Year 8 for Mike Young in Blacksburg. He has a 124-98 record leading the Hokies and took them to the tournament in 2021 and 2022.

It’s not exactly a murders’ row of a nonconference schedule, but it isn’t a cake walk, either. OSU will play two teams from the SEC (Texas A&M and Oklahoma), two teams from the Big Ten (Minnesota and Northwestern) and the ACC’s Virginia. And that doesn’t include always-solid teams like Grand Canyon and Saint Mary’s.

Three Thoughts

• The financial crew at The Wall Street Journal did an article on OSU Football – citing money as a son for upside and the reason for Mike Gundy’s fall. 

The Cowboys’ player payroll has increased significantly and will exceed $24 million this season, a school official said.

It was the Cowboys’ slow embrace of player pay that doomed previous coach Mike Gundy. He presided over the program’s best-ever stretch, with a 65% win rate over two decades.

But his progress hit a wall when he, the school and its donors balked at sharply rising prices for talent. [WSJ]

• The PFB crew did a “mega-podcast” going through the schedule, excellent stuff for building your pick for OSU’s record this season (PFB)

• Something changed between last year and this year at the University of Tulsa but here’s two different quotes from their head coach a year apart – concerning playing the Cowboys:

“There’s no reason we can’t compete with the Oklahoma States of the world and the Kansas States of the world.” (Underdog Dynasty)

“This is the most talented team we’re gonna play,” Lamb said. “That’s just what I told the guys. I do feel that way. I think they have a first-round quarterback. I think Coach Morris is a really good evaluator of talent, him and his staff, Raj (Murti), their GM. They’ve done an unreal job of bringing good players in, and we know what’s in front of us… This is not an American Conference game, this is the Big 12. It’s a different world.” (PFB)

“This is the most talented team we’re gonna play… This is the Big 12. It’s a different world.”@CoachTreLamb9

“We’ve got 10 days to get it fixed.” pic.twitter.com/lHfc50wJKH

— Jeremie Poplin (@jeremiepoplin) August 27, 2026

Two Quotes

• Eric Morris talked about how great everything has been through fall camp – and that he’s excited to break that internal feedback loop by playing somebody else.

 “…I’m looking forward to playing somebody else, really to figure out where we are, what we’re good at, what we can [hang] our hat on and then also as a coach, what we did poorly, what we’re gonna do poorly and how we start fixing all those problems that arise during the course of the game.” [PFB]

• Chad Weiberg didn’t put a win expectation/ceiling on his head football coach, but he did establish a floor. 

‘I think it’s certainly fair to have the expectation that we’re gonna be bowl eligible. … But that’s sorta the floor. I’m not ready to set any kind of cap on where we can go beyond that.’ Chad Weiberg talked season expectations and more on Big 12 Today. https://t.co/vtcNny2kdX

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) August 28, 2026

One Question

• Drew Mestemaker on expectations for this season – “I expect to light it up.” When was the last time any quarterback threw around those kinds of words in Stillwater?

Non-OSU Bullets

• An FBS oversight committee is making changes, including moving up the season

• See what lift targets a muscle group by clicking on this diagram

Gosh this would be fun. 

This is actually the best version of alignment, but no one will admit it. https://t.co/1Tu7yzQMPr

— Aggies Recruiting (@AggiesRecruitEx) August 28, 2026

But fear not, the FBS Oversight Committee on Thursday adopted some changes to the calendar to hopefully smooth some of the rough patches out. The Division-I Cabinet will meet on Oct. 6-7 to approve these changes, which would go into effect Jan. 1.

Here’s a look at what could change:

Transfer Portal: The transfer portal would be shortened from being open for a 15-day window to 10 days starting on Jan. 1. This marks when student-athletes are allowed to enter the portal. They don’t have to enter and find a new destination in that 10-day stretch.

Week 0: The season will begin on the Thursday of what is now Week 0 and end the Saturday after Thanksgiving, this means two bye weeks for all.

Offseason Practices: Replacing current rules surrounding spring practices and summer workouts, FBS schools would be allowed to conduct two out-of-season practice periods with a total of 21 on-field practices. The two periods combined could not exceed seven weeks and no single practice period could exceed five weeks.

Additionally, schools would designate a minimum of nine voluntary weeks for student-athletes when required athletic-related activities aren’t permitted.

Fall Camp: The preseason practice period, also known as fall camp, would be trimmed down to 27 days to hold 21 practices. This is down a bit from what it has previously been, with the justification being there is more time before fall to practice.

There are a few more minor changes you can read about here, but those were the highlights.

It’s tough to make a perfect college football calendar because football is played in the fall and the semester changing at the end of the calendar year means everyone has to try to get to their new place before the spring semester starts. The shortened window should help with that.

Then there’s the task of getting your new team up to speed as quickly as possible, which should be helped by the expanded offseason practice schedule.

The FBS Oversight Committee worked with the American Football Coaches Association to do the best they could.

“The new playing and practice schedule is a great step forward for our game,” said Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea, who is a member of the committee and president of the AFCA board of trustees. “This will allow for more flexibility for team building in the spring and summer and will benefit the development of our student-athletes. I am grateful for the partnership between the AFCA and the NCAA and look forward to continued collaboration to advance college football.”

Mestemaker’s Hudl page is still up. Back on Nov. 14, 2023, Mestemaker uploaded a 3:33 video titled “Senior Season Highlights,” and it rocks.

The first half of the highlights are of Mestemaker playing quarterback, so there was at least a little time where Mestemaker was allowed to play his natural position. Based on crowd sizes, it seems like some of the QB tape was from JV games or maybe the preseason scrimmage.

The play that starts 17 seconds into the highlight reel sees Mestemaker absolutely truck a linebacker.

At 1:11, he is lined up as a receiver and is used on a double-pass. With no one open, he tucked it and ran, ending the play by again putting his shoulder into a defender. But what a luxury it would be to have a potential first round NFL quarterback used as a trick-play passer.

At 1:33 he’s the holder on a fake field-goal attempt and completes a pass.

And then start the defensive back highlights.

It’s said that Mestemaker played safety in high school, but he appears at corner quite a bit in these highlights.

At 2:24, Mestemaker comes flying in from the edge on what looks to be a fake punt and forces a loss of yardage. It’s just crazy seeing Mestemaker, who led college football in passing last season, essentially lined up like he’s Collin Oliver.

It’s certainly interesting to see Mestemaker’s humble beginnings, just getting throws in wherever he can — whether that’s while lined up as a receiver or as a holder — and doing his best to limit yardage instead of trying to gain it. And then two years after this highlight reel was released, Mestemaker had the likes of Oklahoma State, Oregon, LSU and Texas Tech seeking his services as a quarterback.

It’s hard to know what expectations to have for the Cowboys in Eric Morris’ first year.

A question many have pondered this offseason is what is a successful Year 1 for Morris at Oklahoma State? On one hand, the Cowboys haven’t beaten an FBS team in more than 700 days. On the other hand, it’s an entirely new roster led by a group that had the nation’s most-potent offense last season.

OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg went on Big 12 Today on Thursday, where he was asked what a successful Year 1 looks like for the coach he hired.

“I don’t want to set any kind of cap on that,” Weiberg said. “I’m as excited as everybody else is to see what it’s gonna look like. Nowadays, it’s so hard to know for sure what we have on our roster, but what anybody else has on their roster. It is such a fluid situation.

“We’re gonna compete in I think every single game that we play. Like everything, you’ve gotta have the ball bounce your way a couple times and things like that, but I think it’s certainly fair to have the expectation that we’re gonna be bowl eligible. I think at this point, that is a minimum expectation that we’d like to get back into postseason competition, whatever that looks like. But that’s sorta the floor. I’m not ready to set any kind of cap on where we can go beyond that.”

The minimum being bowl eligibility is a credit to former OSU coach Mike Gundy and the standard he set in his 21-year tenure coaching the Pokes. In the 18-year stretch from 2006 to 2023, the Cowboys made a bowl every season. That’s what made the abrupt downturn of the program the past two years so shocking.

After clobbering Tulsa 45-10 on Sept. 14, 2024, the Cowboys have gone 0-20 against FBS teams and lost those games by a combined score of 759-351.

To add to the hardships, this nosedive came at a time when funding is as important as it’s ever been. It’s hard to expect people to empty their pockets for a team that got outscored by an average of about 20 points a game across a 20-game period.

With the additions of the offseason, there seems to be some more dollar bills circulating through the program. Weiberg was asked if the excitement of the hire has re-engaged the fanbase and boosters.

“Obviously the last couple years were really tough,” Weiberg said. “Any program that goes through that, it is tough. I think it was really tough for us because it had been so long since we’ve been through it. There’s an entire generation of OSU fans, at this point, who never experienced anything like that, which is a great thing and is a testament to Coach Gundy and what he did here with this program.

“But when you go through that, yeah, it had the impact that it’s gonna have anywhere, and I think our fans actually did a great job even through it. We still had really, really good crowds for most of the season last season. Even going through that, people were behind our players and wanting them to have success, but there is just a lot of excitement for this new era, right, and I think everything that comes with that from a donor standpoint, from a fan standpoint, ticket-buying, all of those things.”

Although it’s hard to know exactly what the Cowboys will look like this season, it certainly seems as if the team will be significantly better about putting points on the board. It’d be hard to be worse, as the Cowboys ranked 132nd nationally (of 134) last season in scoring offense, averaging just 14.2 points a game. OSU scored more than 20 points in just three games last season — the win against FCS UT-Martin, 27 against Baylor and 21 against Kansas.

From 2010 through 2017, the Cowboys had a Top 5 scoring offense four times and was in the Top 20 another three times. So, when OSU football was at its best, the scoreboard operator was getting a finger workout. It sounds like Weiberg is expecting some semblance of that to return in 2026.

“People are just excited to see what’s gonna happen,” Weiberg said. “We have a history here, it’s kind of our identity of scoring a lot of points. When Coach Gundy first took over the program, we scored a lot of points, and I think that’s what people are anticipating we are going to see here. That is part of our identity, so people are really excited about what that’s gonna look like.”

A contingent of Oklahoma State football fans has been riding the hype train since Eric Morris was named the head coach, and the train continued to fill up as he added more and more of his stars from North Texas to headline a Top 15 transfer portal class. Some talking heads are already tabbing the Cowboys as a Top 25 team and a potential playoff contender.

But inside the program, Morris wants things to be a bit more even-keel. They haven’t won anything yet.

Heading into OSU’s final weekend before the season kicks off, Morris made sure his team had some perspective.

“We actually had a team meeting a couple days ago, and that’s what we talked about and addressed,” Morris said. “Everything’s been so peachy and positive, and so many good responses, and everybody’s, like, kumbaya right now about what’s going on at Oklahoma State. And football’s such a physical game, and it all changes when somebody hits you in the mouth.”

The Cowboys get started on Sept. 5 with a trip to Tulsa and an opportunity to work out some bugs. A week later, they host No. 2 Oregon. Just the type of title contender apt to hit you in the mouth.

Even the most hyped of fans expect BPS might just be a buzzsaw in the Pokes’ home-opener. Oregon has gone 48-4 under head coach Dan Lanning, and there are more than a few experts tabbing this to be the year they final take home a national title. And that doesn’t mention a tough Big 12 schedule which includes matchups with the likes of Houston, Texas Tech and Arizona State.

In the preseason, the buzz is palpable. But the last thing Morris wants is for his guys to get too high before even stepping onto Lewis Field.

“Just a forewarning to our guys, like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have things pop up, there’s gonna be adversity that comes in every single game, we’re gonna go into situations that don’t go our way,'” Morrisa said. “How we respond to all this stuff is gonna be key. … I’m looking forward to playing somebody else, really to figure out where we are, what we’re good at, what we can [hang] our hat on and then also as a coach, what we did poorly, what we’re gonna do poorly and how we start fixing all those problems that arise during the course of the game.”

Morris’ rise through coaching has been impressive and there’s plenty of reason to believe he can follow that trajectory at the Power Four level. But it’s hard to turn around a program in a calendar year, even by Morris’ standards.

North Texas went 5-7 in his first year, and 6-7 his second, ending with a bowl loss before the Mean Green exploded onto college football’s scene last season. At his first head coaching gig at Incarnate Word, his team went 6-5 and earned an FCS Playoffs berth but followed that up by going 5-7 and 3-3 (Covid) before hitting a 10-win season in 2021.

So while it’s easy to look at his career as a one-way meteoric rise, there have been rough patches, and there will be rough patches in Stillwater. Something Morris is used to and expects.

“It’s really easy to lead when you’re winning, and I think everybody’s having fun, and everybody’s looking at you the same way,” Morris said. “And so I think what’s really difficult and hard is to lead when things aren’t going well, and when the adversity does hit. And so I like to get in front of it.” 

OSU Bullets

• Take a look at the projected depth chart before the official one is released early next week (PFB)

• What a cool idea – you can grab brunch at the stadium the morning after home games and hear from somebody around the program (OKState.com)

• One CBS analyst has the Pokes as “overrated” in the Big 12 – on the false premise that North Texas north is what’s going on in Stillwater.

With Oklahoma State, I just think it’s a sheer fact: What exactly do they really have outside of the quarterback? I know he’ll be the rising tide that lifts all boats, but this team was so bad and so gutted that, if you’re optimistic about it, you’re basically saying that the North Texas import at some key positions (at all three levels of the defense, on the offensive line, and at the skill positions) will just work to be plug-and-play in a deep Big 12. [CBS Sports]

Most talking heads are saying OK State is just UNT in the BIG12, they’re sadly mistaken. OK State has 53 transfers, they’re not just UNT…They’re the avengers. I saw the same thing from Indiana in 2024 (when I predicted they would start the season 9-0, after a 4-win season).… pic.twitter.com/B5XTUY5uWe

— Rico Rico (@Ricoknowstiktok) August 27, 2026

• HCS says the Pokes are one of three teams in the league expected to exceed expectations (HCS)

• The top 14th-graders out there includes a Cowboy:

Top 10 College Football Sophomores Ahead of the 2026 Season⭐️ pic.twitter.com/Edhubt6z3Y

— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 26, 2026

Non-OSU Bullets

• The economy of Premier League jerseys

Presley make a spectacular touchdown grab as part of a six-catch evening in the Los Angeles Rams’ 20-18 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The score came in the second quarter when former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was flushed from the pocket before hitting a diving Presley in the corner of the end zone.

What a catch from Brennan Presley in the endzone! 🤲

📺 @CBSLosAngeles | 📲 https://t.co/R5m5kJYWYi pic.twitter.com/8zZMy6r9Sa

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 28, 2026

Presley has been a preseason all-star for the Rams. Through three games, he’s grabbed 14 passes for 125 yards and that touchdown. This comes after he caught 11 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown last preseason.

Oklahoma State’s career leader in receptions, Presley signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent last year and was assigned to the practice squad. He played in LA’s 34-7 win against Tampa Bay in November.

As a Cowboy, Presley caught a record 315 passes across his five seasons in orange and black. He accumulated 3,315 receiving yards and 23 receiving touchdowns. Presley also scored on the ground six times as a Cowboy and scored on that 2021 Bedlam kick return that will be remembered for a long time.

Flo’s first preseason rankings of the school year this week saw four Cowboys put at the top of their weight classes, with another two in the Top 5 of their weights. OSU has a Top 10 wrestler in all but two weights.

Without further ado, here’s where the Cowboys appeared in the rankings with some takes to follow.

Team Tournament Ranking: 2nd
125: No. 6 Troy Spratley
133: No. 1 Jax Forrest
141: N/A
149: No. 1 Sergio Vega
157: No. 1 Landon Robideau
165: No. 4 Dee Lockett
174: No. 14 Alex Facundo
184: No. 8 Zack Ryder
197: No. 2 Cody Merrill
HWT: No. 1 Konner Doucet

Team: Starting with the team ranking, it’s calculated based off the rankings of each weight class. OSU was second with 124.5 points behind Penn State (150). That’s still a decent gap to the top, but the Cowboys are closer to No. 1 than they are to No. 3. The difference between OSU and Penn State is 25.5 points, while the difference between OSU and third-place Nebraska is 51.5 points.

OSU is schedule to face No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Iowa, No. 6 Stanford and No. 10 Missouri in duals this season. The Cowboys also have the opportunity to hit No. 5 Virginia Tech, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 8 Minnesota at National Duals.

125: Spratley slides down to No. 6 after finishing second and fifth the past two seasons. Reigning national champion Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) leads the group. No. 3 Nico Provo (Stanford), No. 4 Vincent Robinson (Nebraska) and No. 5 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) are all ahead of Spratley, but the Cowboys’ Spark Plug could face those guys during the regular season.

133: It should come as no surprise that Jax Forrest is the top-ranked guy at 133 after he went undefeated and won the weight last season as early enrollee freshman.

141: Sergio Vega won a 141-pound title last season, but Flo bumped him up to 149 for his sophomore season, which seems to certainly be happening. That leaves OSU without a wrestler in the rankings at 141, a spot where the Raney twins and Tagen Jamison are expected to battle out at.

149: Vega’s 149-pound class is stacked. The Top 4 includes three national champs in Vega, No. 2 Aden Valencia (Stanford) and No. 4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech). No. 3 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) is the only guy in the Top 4 without a national title, and he’s gone a combined 10-2 at NCAAs with two third-place finishes and a second-place finish last season.

157: Robideau retained the top spot at 157 pounds after winning a national title as a true freshman last season. The most notable tidbit from the 157-pound rankings is that Flo has Tyler Kasak as Penn State’s representative. Kasak was the top seed at NCAAs in 2025 but took a redshirt last season, as PJ Duke stepped into the lineup. Flo has Duke at 165.

165: Speaking of 165, Lockett enters his sophomore season ranked fourth after going 18-4 last season and 2-2 at NCAAs. Duke sits atop the weight class while reigning Big 12 champ Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State) sits second and Purdue’s Joey Blaze comes in at No. 3.

174: There’s still some work to be done for Facundo to lock down OSU’s 174-pound spot after David Taylor transferred in Lorenzo Norman from Stanford.

184: The same could be said at 184 pounds. Zack Ryder gutted out an eighth-place finish at nationals last season while dealing with his shoulder constantly popping out of socket. His health is a bit of a question entering this season, and OSU added Bennett Berge from South Dakota State this offseason.

197: Merrill retains his second-place spot after finishing as the national runner-up at 197 as a redshirt freshman last season. Penn State’s Josh Barr, who beat Merrill in the national final, is the only guy ahead of Merrill.

HWT: The heavyweight class cleared out a bit from last year, and thus, Doucet is the highest-placing returner and got the No. 1 spot. There’s still somewhat of a question as to whether it’ll be Doucet or freshman Dreshaun Ross, a newly minted U20 world silver medalist, at heavyweight for the Pokes this season.

Braxton, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound edge rusher in the 2027 class, announced an Oklahoma State offer on Thursday. He hails from Decatur, Georgia, and is the No. 988 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking for the class.

He holds college offers in football and lacrosse. OSU, East Carolina, UTSA, Kennesaw State, Liberty and others are after him as an edge rusher.

MaxPreps had him playing just four games as a junior, where he made 14 tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks.

According to Flo, Braxton is 67-7 as a high school wrestler, which included a 14-1 record and an 86% bonus percentage as a junior last season. He won a Dekalb County title at 190 pounds.

 

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Oklahoma State has 12 players in its 2027 recruiting class after four-star Jenks offensive lineman Odaefe Oruru joined the fold on Wednesday. The Cowboys have one edge rusher in the class in Jayden Vessell (Louisiana).

OSU’s 2027 Commits