STILLWATER - Oklahoma State’s season opener left a lot of questions hanging in the air, but Drew Mestemaker isn’t the one Eric Morris sounds concerned about.
After the Cowboys were flattened at Tulsa, Morris said not every player handled the disappointment the same way. Some, in his words, didn’t react the right way.
“Some good, some bad,” said Morris, neither naming names nor mincing words. “That’s how it’s going to be.
There’s going to be certain people that have their feelings hurt. They didn’t think they played enough.
They didn’t play well, and they go into the dumps.”
Morris said Tuesday that Mestemaker has shown the kind of response coaches want to see after a rough night.
“He’s someone that’s going to take (accountability) first,” Morris said. “...
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.”
Center Tyler Mercer echoed that confidence.
“He's a baller. 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.”
The Tulsa game was rough in every area for Oklahoma State, but Mestemaker’s line stood out most. He had been billed as the $3.5 million answer, yet the quarterback who showed up in Tulsa looked nothing like that version.
After the game, Mestemaker pushed back hard on the idea that one bad outing could wreck the season.
“That doesn't define our season at all and that's exactly what Coach Morris said in the locker room,” Mestemaker said after the game. “The last thing I'm going to do is lay down and forfeit the season.”
He finished 29 for 49 for 241 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. It was the 16th start of his career, and by the numbers and the grade, probably his worst.
Pro Football Focus gave Mestemaker the lowest game grade of his career. He was the lowest-graded Big 12 quarterback in Week 1, and only four Power Four quarterbacks graded worse: Vanderbilt’s Blaze Berlowitz, Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, N.C.
State’s C.J. Bailey and Rutgers' Dylan Lonergan.
His passer rating against Tulsa was also the worst he’s posted. It was the third time in his career he finished with more interceptions than touchdowns, and his longest completion went just 27 yards, the second-shortest longest pass he has had in a game.
Morris said the film showed a quarterback who came out a little jittery and left some throws on the table.
“Maybe a little antsy early and missed a couple,” Morris said of Mestemaker’s film. “He's just so accurate, especially intermediate (passes). I probably would have liked to have gotten a couple shots.”
The challenge doesn’t get any easier from here. Oregon comes next, and the Ducks’ defensive front has the look of one of the best in college football. Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti bring serious heat off the edge.
That makes Week 2 a brutal spot for Mestemaker to try to bounce back, especially in his first-ever start against a Power Four team and behind an offensive line that still has questions.
And if the Cowboys are looking for a clean read on where he stands, they may not get one the following week either. Murray State, an FCS opponent, comes to Stillwater after that.
The real measuring stick arrives when Big 12 play begins, with Oklahoma State opening conference play Sept. 26 at West Virginia.
For now, the task is simply putting Tulsa behind them. Caleb Hawkins said Mestemaker addressed the team on Monday with a blunt message about what comes next.
“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.”
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