With five games left, Oklahoma State has already gotten one big thing out of its 57-24 win over Colorado: a clearer picture of who’s trending up and who’s sliding down.
The Cowboys’ latest Big 12 victory did more than improve the record to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the league. It pushed them past the combined win total of their 2024 and 2025 seasons and kept them in the hunt for a spot in the Big 12 Championship game. And as usual, the game turned into a sorting exercise for the roster.
Braydon Nelson looks like he may be next in line at left tackle. He didn’t officially start against Colorado, but he was on the field nearly as much there as Shaun Torgeson.
The numbers back up the eye test, too: Nelson’s Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade was 19 points better than Torgeson’s. Earlier in the season, Eric Morris said he wasn’t worried about Nelson’s mental reps because he had been in the scheme for so long.
This feels like the payoff. Based on the workload jump, Oklahoma State seems to have laid the groundwork for Nelson to take over this week against Iowa State.
Another player making the most of his moment was William Mason. He scored his first touchdown for Oklahoma State and did it after barely touching the offense before Saturday.
Before the Colorado game, he had logged just 12 offensive snaps, with eight of those coming against Murray State. Morris had already called him OSU’s best special teams performer, and that work earned him a bigger role.
Mason responded with 27 yards on six carries and a touchdown. He was also met with real happiness from his teammates afterward.
Morris said the special teams production earned him the carries, and the bigger question now is whether this was a one-game reward or the start of something more. Mason rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his career at Central Oklahoma, so the talent has never been in doubt.
The issue is where he fits. On Saturday, he looked like a useful complement to Caleb Hawkins.
Desmond Magiya also continued to show why he matters when the Cowboys need insurance up front. When left guard Johnny Dickson III left midway through with what appeared to be an injury, Magiya stepped in.
He ended up playing 34 snaps while Dickson had 40. Dickson is still the steadier blocker in both the run game and pass protection, while Magiya can be uneven in pass pro.
But as the backup who has to keep the offense moving, he’s been good enough. Oklahoma State doesn’t lose much when he has to play.
LaDainian Fields had the kind of game corners dream about. If he isn’t starting at right cornerback, then he’d better be injured - and even saying that feels like tempting fate.
He intercepted two more passes against Colorado, giving him three picks over his last two games and four on the season. Fields is already Oklahoma State’s best cover corner, and there’s still room for him to grow.
Colorado targeted him 11 times, and he allowed six catches for 78 yards. But the takeaways are the real story.
If he keeps stealing passes like this, he’s going to be the all-Big 12 cornerback Morris believed he could become.
The biggest play of the afternoon came from Lawson, who forced a fumble by Colorado quarterback Issac Wilson on the first play of the second half. That turnover swung the game hard in Oklahoma State’s direction, and it may end up as one of the 10 biggest plays of the season when all is said and done.
Lawson doesn’t usually live in the spotlight, but this was a game-changing moment. He finished with the third-highest defensive grade on the team behind defensive end James Williams and linebacker Ethan Wesloski, a strong return for a player Oklahoma State brought in from the portal this offseason.
Not everyone came out of the game with a cleaner role. Ayo Adeyi did not play Saturday, even though he wasn’t listed on the player availability report and appeared in the game book as a participant.
The mystery is still there, especially since Mason’s emergence may have taken his spot. And when Morris turned to backups after the game was out of reach, Tre Page III got the garbage-time carries instead.
Adeyi had scored a touchdown against Houston, so his absence stood out.
The picture at cornerback got sharper, too. Kollin Lewis started against Houston and played 33 snaps in that game, but Fields quickly passed him on the depth chart.
Lewis’ overall PFF grades against Houston were all under 60.0, while Fields graded above 60 across the board. After that game, Morris said the Cowboys needed to settle on two cornerbacks they could trust.
Based on what happened against Colorado, those two are Fields and Mo Horn. Lewis played just four snaps, and right now it looks like his role will be limited unless something changes.
The bigger concern is what happens if Fields gets hurt.
Christian Bodnar may also be a spot where Oklahoma State looks for answers. His tackling has been an issue, and his PFF grades over the last four games have all been below 40, with three of those four below 30.
His overall grades and coverage grades have been trending down as well. Quinton Hammonds’ injury could complicate whatever the Cowboys decide to do there.
For now, Vincent Jackson has at least made himself part of the conversation. PFF had him playing 15 snaps in the slot, and his grades were noticeably better than Bodnar’s across the board. If the Liberty transfer has someone to worry about, it’s him.
In Other News...
Steve Lutz Has An Early Oklahoma State Guard Decision To Make
Steve Lutz has spent the early stretch of preseason trying to figure out how his newest Oklahoma State team will come together, and the guard rotation is one of the first real decisions on his desk. Lutz believes he has his best offensive group yet as he works toward getting the Cowboys back to the NCAA Tournament, but after a pair of scrimmages, he is still sorting out how much responsibility to hand true freshman Anthony Felisi. The young guard has already flashed the kind of defensive energy that can make a coach lean in, while also contributing enough on offense to stay in the conversation.
The bigger question is how Felisi fits once the roster is fully available and the experienced guards settle into their usual roles. Oklahoma State has depth at the position, which makes every minute a little harder to win, and Lutzs choice will depend as much on health as it does on trust and timing. Felisi has given the staff reasons to keep watching closely, and the early read on his role could say a lot about how Lutz wants this team to play once the games count. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Faces One Last Chance To Answer A Growing Concern
Oklahoma State gets one more preseason test before the games start counting, and it comes in a tough setting against Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. The Cowboys have already worked through two exhibition tuneups, and they have at least seen encouraging production from guard Kashie Natt as they continue sorting out roles and rhythm ahead of the regular season.
Wisconsin brings its own momentum into the matchup after winning both of its preseason exhibitions, though this will be its first chance to see a power-conference opponent this fall. For Oklahoma State, the backdrop is simple enough: another live look at where the roster stands, another chance to sharpen the details, and a final exhibition spotlight that will be easy to follow on B1G+, the Cowboy Radio Network and the Varsity Network app. [Read more 🡒]
Why Oklahoma States Push For A Big 12 Receiver Matters
Oklahoma States recent game doubled as a recruiting stage, with the Cowboys hosting several prospects on campus and working to make a strong impression on the next wave of talent. One of the names to watch was Braylen Ross, a big-bodied wide receiver the staff has been pursuing as part of its 2027 class, a sign that the Cowboys are still trying to shape the future of their receiver room while the current season unfolds.
Ross fits the profile Oklahoma State has been chasing, especially with the program already holding two wide receiver commits and still looking for more size and physicality on the outside. At 6-4 and 200 pounds, he brings the kind of frame that stands out immediately, and his production this fall has only made him a more attractive target. What happens next in his recruitment will say a lot about how aggressively Oklahoma State can keep building at the position. [Read more 🡒]