Oklahoma State gets another crack at its first win of the season Saturday, and Eric Morris isn’t pretending the challenge is anything less than steep. Oregon comes to town at 1-0, and Morris knows Dan Lanning’s operation well from their 2022 meeting, back when Morris was the offensive coordinator at Washington State and both programs were still in the Pac-12. Oregon has since moved into the Big Ten Conference, and the Cowboys are trying to shake off a 24-10 loss to Tulsa.
Morris also delivered an important personnel update Tuesday: left tackle Jacob Sexton is out for the season with a leg injury. Desmond Magiya and Shaun Torgeson will battle for the starting job against Oregon.
Before meeting with reporters, Morris and his staff had already gone through practice and film, and the list of issues from Tulsa was still fresh. He pointed to execution, communication and protection problems, along with busted coverages and assignment errors. Conditioning came up too, and Morris didn’t like what he saw late.
“There's a ton of different things: execution, people not on the same page,” Morris said. “Thought pass pro[taction] was an issue.
You know, I thought we had some busts, a couple of busted coverages. We had some busts in assignments.
We talked about being in shape or not, and you know, looking at our team on the fourth quarter, we didn't look like we were a team that that was in shape and ready to go get it and go win a game.”
Quarterback Drew Mestemaker drew Morris’ praise for how he handles coaching and criticism, and Morris suggested the redshirt sophomore has the kind of short memory that helps a quarterback move on quickly. On film, Morris said Mestemaker was a little antsy early and missed a couple of throws, but he also stressed that Tulsa made life harder with its coverage and pressure looks.
“[He was] maybe a little antsy early and missed a couple [of throws],” Morris said. “He's so accurate, especially intermediate routes, and has been.
He probably would have liked to have gotten a couple shots [down the field]. They really put an umbrella on the defense, and they did a nice job with some simulated pressures.”
Morris made it clear he wasn’t interested in dressing up the Tulsa loss as anything positive. The review with coaches and players was blunt, he said, and the message was honest. Still, he believes the game gave Oklahoma State a clean starting point because the problems are now identified.
“Now we have a point that we know exactly [the] identified problems, and now we start building this thing from the inside out and one step at a time,” Morris said. “And there's a lot of different things that go into that, right? So off we go.”
He said the Cowboys now need to show real growth, and that includes how he handles fourth down. Morris said he was critical of his own play calling against Tulsa, where Oklahoma State went 2-for-6 on fourth down.
He felt some of those failures were tied to execution, not just the decision to go for it. He still views fourth-and-1 as a “go” situation, but he also said he has to be willing to change if the pattern keeps going the wrong way.
“Obviously, if this becomes a trend, I gotta be smart enough to say, ‘Hey, let's punt the ball away and let our defense play good defense and try to get it back,’” Morris said.
The offseason buzz around Oklahoma State, Morris said, took a hit after the Tulsa game. He didn’t call the season lost, but he did say the Cowboys have to earn back the momentum they let slip.
“We spent a lot of time talking about that actually today, and I think we saw that in a negative way,” Morris said. “You know, you have all this momentum, and when you have it, you want to keep it. When you don't got it, you got to go get it.”
In Other News...
Oklahoma States Oregon Game Just Added A Drew Mestemaker Twist
Drew Mestemaker already gives Oklahoma States matchup with Oregon a little extra texture, and now there is a clearer backstory to how the quarterback ended up in Stillwater. Ducks coach Dan Lanning confirmed Oregon knew about Mestemaker in the transfer portal, but the path never really got far before he chose to follow his former coach, Eric Morris, to Oklahoma State.
Mestemaker has since acknowledged Oregon was one of the schools in the mix before he settled on the Cowboys, with LSU and Michigan also part of that final group. The two teams are set to meet Sept. 12, and with Oregon favored, Mestemakers choice only adds another layer to a game that was already going to draw attention. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Suddenly Has A Huge O-Line Question To Answer
Oklahoma States offensive line took an immediate hit before the season could really get rolling, and the timing makes it even tougher to absorb. Starting left tackle Jacob Sexton went down on the first offensive series and coach Eric Morris has already confirmed the injury will end his season, leaving the Cowboys to reshuffle one of the most important spots on the front.
The next step is figuring out who can hold the edge moving forward, and Morris said junior Desmond Magiya and sophomore Shaun Torgeson are among the players being considered. Losing a starter this early always forces a quick reset, and for Oklahoma State the challenge now is less about lamenting what was lost than finding out which replacement can steady the line and protect the offense from here. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Suddenly Looks Like A Real Threat In One Huge Road Test
Oklahoma States rough showing against Tulsa has already started to color the conversation around the Cowboys, and not in a flattering way. The offense looked out of sync, the loss raised fresh doubts about how competitive this group can be in the weeks ahead, and the reaction across the Big 12 has been swift enough to make every upcoming matchup feel a little heavier.
Elsewhere in the league, there is already a sense that UCF may be positioned to make more noise than expected in a major road test. The matchup with Pittsburgh does not exactly look routine, but recent performances and the way the Knights stack up against this opponent have turned it into a game worth circling, especially for a conference race that can shift quickly when one surprising result lands. [Read more 🡒]