The Oklahoma State Cowboys left Boone Pickens Stadium with a blowout win, a pile of offense, and a conference race that somehow got even messier. At 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 play, Oklahoma State beat Colorado, 57-24, and now has more wins this season than it managed across the 2024 and 2025 seasons combined.
For a half, this game had plenty of back-and-forth action. After that, it belonged to the Cowboys. Colorado (2-5, 0-4) landed punches early, but Oklahoma State’s defense helped swing the night in the third quarter and the offense did the rest.
Colorado’s first-half numbers were eye-opening. Isaac Wilson was 14-for-16 for 222 yards and two touchdowns, and the Buffs put up three touchdowns and a field goal while punting only once. That kind of first-half work had Eric Morris unhappy when he spoke to Cowboys Radio Network at halftime, and he pointed directly at the secondary after Wilson had carved it up at times.
The game turned on the first play of the third quarter. Wilson faked a handoff to JaQuail Smith on an RPO, kept it himself, and got stood up in the middle before Jerry Lawson knocked the ball loose and Quinton Hammonds recovered it, giving Oklahoma State a short field. The Cowboys turned that into a touchdown.
That wasn’t the only stop that mattered. On Colorado’s next possession, even after a Mo Horn pass interference call, James Williams and Ethan Wesloski combined for a 7-yard sack on second down.
Then the Buffaloes drew back-to-back pre-snap penalties and had to face 3rd-and-26 before punting. Oklahoma State answered with a 3-yard touchdown run by William Mason to make it 37-24.
The defense had its problems, especially in the first half, but that turnover changed the feel of the entire game.
The offense gave Oklahoma State a strong start, even if it didn’t finish every drive the way the Cowboys wanted. They scored on five of their six first-half possessions, including a long touchdown pass on the third play of the game.
Still, three of those five drives ended in field goals. That was part of the issue Morris mentioned in his halftime comments: too many chances settled for three instead of seven.
The red zone was a particular sore spot. Oklahoma State got there only once in the first half, and that trip ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Drew Mestemaker to Justin Bowick.
The silver lining is that Sam Keltner kept converting kicks. The problem is that the Cowboys are still leaving touchdowns on the table when they get close.
When Oklahoma State’s offense does hit its stride, it can look overwhelming. On Saturday, the Cowboys had the kind of stat line that tells the whole story: Mestemaker threw for 386 yards and four touchdowns, Caleb Hawkins ran for 120 yards, and Justin Bowick caught five passes for 138 yards and a touchdown. Hawkins also added five catches for 72 yards.
By the 14:17 mark of the fourth quarter, Oklahoma State had scored on seven of its nine drives. The Cowboys were productive even when the first half was a little uneven, and Mestemaker, Hawkins and Bowick drove the offense all night.
The broader picture got a boost too, even before the Utah-Houston game had been played. Texas Tech lost at Cincinnati.
BYU lost in double overtime at UCF in a wild finish. Kansas blocked a potential game-winning field goal against Baylor as time expired.
West Virginia went to TCU and won.
If Utah wins, the Big 12 picture stays crowded, with Oklahoma State grouped with Texas Tech, BYU and Arizona as teams with one conference loss. A Utah win would also give Houston a second league loss and take away the Cougars’ tiebreaker edge over Oklahoma State, at least for now. If Utah loses, the conference turns into a six-way tie for first between Utah, BYU, Texas Tech, Houston, Oklahoma State and Arizona.
Oklahoma State did not get a ton of help on the day, and Texas Tech is the only one of the top six teams left on its schedule. But if the Cowboys keep winning, and if they can beat Texas Tech, they still have a path.
For now, they left Boone Pickens Stadium in control of their own destiny. In a race this tight, that’s a pretty good place to be.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Gets A Big 12 Chance It Cant Waste Against Colorado
Oklahoma State is heading into a midseason Big 12 matchup that carries a little extra weight, with Colorado coming to Boone Pickens Stadium in Week 8 of the 2026 college football season. The Cowboys will get the chance in Stillwater on Saturday, Oct. 24, in a game that gives them another shot to make a statement in conference play, with the national audience able to follow along on FS1 and via Fubo.
The timing matters, because both teams arrive with their own recent results and the league picture already taking shape entering Week 8. For Oklahoma State, this is the kind of home opportunity that can nudge a season in the right direction or leave a lingering what-if, and the stakes only get sharper when a conference opponent like Colorado walks into town. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Keeps Rolling But One Offensive Issue Still Looms
Oklahoma States offense has been humming for more than a month, and the results have shown up on the scoreboard as well as in the national rankings. The Cowboys have topped 30 points in five straight games, and their overall production has put them among the countrys most efficient attacks, setting up another opportunity to stay on a roll when Colorado comes to Stillwater.
Even with all that firepower, there is still a wrinkle worth watching: the offense has not always been as clean in the red zone, and slow starts in the first half have occasionally kept games closer than they should be. That leaves a little tension inside an otherwise encouraging stretch, especially with several columnists expecting Oklahoma State to handle Colorado at home, even if the exact margin varies from one prediction to the next. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Cracks Down After Disturbing Student Section Incident
Oklahoma State is moving the Cowboy Marching Band out of its usual spot in Boone Pickens Stadium for the upcoming homecoming game, a response to a troubling scene in the student section that left two band members injured by thrown cans and water bottles. The university is also stepping up security and camera monitoring as it looks to prevent a repeat of the kind of behavior that crossed well beyond the edge of game-day passion.
The band will be relocated to Section 223 when the Cowboys face Colorado, a change that underscores how seriously the school is treating the incident. It comes after the university took action against several students connected to what happened, while trying to make sure the stadium remains a place where the crowd can be loud without becoming dangerous. [Read more 🡒]