Oklahoma State’s 41-24 win at West Virginia didn’t just open Big 12 play with a statement - it sent the Cowboys home with a haul.
No. 19 Oklahoma State claimed four of the conference’s six weekly football honors Monday, with quarterback Drew Mestemaker, linebacker Ethan Wesloski and kicker Sam Keltner sweeping the Big 12’s Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week awards. The Cowboys’ offensive line also picked up the conference’s Offensive Line of the Week recognition.
It was the second time this season Oklahoma State has taken all three individual awards. Mestemaker, Wesloski and Keltner also were honored after the Cowboys’ win over Oregon earlier this season, and the offensive line earned that same nod in that game as well.
Mestemaker made his first Big 12 outing count in a big way. He completed 20 of 27 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns, the top passing total by a Big 12 player against an FBS opponent this season.
The performance gave him his third straight 300-yard passing game and stretched his FBS-leading streak of games with at least 200 passing yards to 19. He also ranks third nationally in both passing yards per game and total offense.
His week got even better when he was named to the Davey O’Brien Great 8 list for the second time this season.
Wesloski delivered the kind of defensive night that fills up a stat sheet and changes the feel of a game. He piled up a season-high 17 tackles, the most by a Big 12 player in a game this season and the fourth-highest single-game total in the FBS. It was also the most among Power Four players last week.
By halftime, Wesloski already had 11 tackles, the most by an Oklahoma State player in a game this season. He also added half a sack on West Virginia’s opening possession, helping force a punt. With that outing, he now leads the Big 12 with 9.0 tackles per game.
Keltner kept his perfect season rolling. He hit all four of his field-goal attempts and scored 15 points in the 17-point victory, with his longest make coming from 47 yards.
It was the second time this season he drilled four field goals in a game, and he is now 10-for-10 on field goals this year. That mark has him leading the FBS in field goals made while ranking among the nation’s top 10 scorers.
Up front, Oklahoma State’s line didn’t allow a sack and helped drive one of the Cowboys’ best offensive showings in recent memory. Behind that protection, Mestemaker threw for 389 yards, Caleb Hawkins ran for 180 yards and Wyatt Young finished with 192 receiving yards. It marked the second time this season Oklahoma State has had a 300-yard passer, 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game, matching the feat it pulled off against Oregon in Week 2.
The Cowboys finished with 609 yards of total offense, their most against a Big 12 opponent since putting up 682 against TCU in 2021. It was also their highest offensive output in a Big 12 road game since they piled up 640 yards against Oklahoma in Norman in 2018.
And the production has been stacking up fast. Oklahoma State has now gone over 500 yards of total offense in three straight games for the first time since the opening three games of the 2019 season.
In Other News...
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Oklahoma States latest surge has looked a lot different from the uneven start that had this season feeling far less certain just a few weeks ago. The Cowboys are now part of a small group in the Big 12 trending the right way, with recent results and sharper play separating them from a league field that has started to sort itself into winners and worry spots.
Kansas State is on the opposite side of that divide, and the Wildcats are suddenly dealing with more than the sting of a road loss. With West Virginia and TCU also among the teams showing clear issues, the conference picture is beginning to harden, and for Oklahoma State that matters because momentum in November can shape everything from confidence to the rest of the race. [Read more 🡒]
UCFs Big 12 Road Suddenly Looks Tougher Than Fans Expected
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For the Knights, that matters because the league trip they thought might offer some margin for error now looks a lot tighter. Houston is climbing, Oklahoma State is suddenly in the rankings, and the results around them suggest UCF will keep seeing teams arrive with more confidence and more hardware attached to the matchup, especially after the kind of performances that can reshape a September conversation in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Warren Just Gave Oklahoma State Fans A Big NFL Reminder
Week 3 offered Oklahoma State fans another reminder of how much NFL talent has come through Stillwater. Jaylen Warren was the headliner, turning in a strong showing for Pittsburgh in a tight win over Cincinnati, while Chuba Hubbard and Ollie Gordon II were among the other former Cowboys in action across the league. It was one of those weekends when the orange-and-black pipeline felt especially visible, with familiar names popping up in different games and different roles.
The list of former Cowboys did not stop there, either, with Justice Hill, Malcolm Rodriguez, Tyler Lacy, Tay Martin and Tylan Wallace also active or dealing with injury situations during the week. Teven Jenkins absence was part of that broader picture, a reminder that these NFL returns are not always clean or linear even when the former Cowboy talent is easy to spot. For Oklahoma State supporters, the bigger takeaway is simple enough: the program keeps producing players who matter on Sundays. [Read more 🡒]