AMES, IA - Oklahoma State had the game in its hands, the Big 12 title race in sight and a quarterback playing like a star. Then one penalty, one final Iowa State drive and one walkoff kick turned a wild night into a brutal finish.
Kyle Konrardy drilled a 34-yard field goal as time expired, sending Iowa State past Oklahoma State 51-49 at Jack Trice Stadium. The winning kick capped a chaotic final sequence that started with Wyatt Young’s end-around touchdown putting the Cowboys ahead in the final minute, then unraveled after Young was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
That penalty mattered. Iowa State got the ball in good field position and needed only one big play to get into range. The Cyclones did the rest, and the crowd rushed the field afterward.
For Oklahoma State, the loss landed hard because of what was at stake. The Cowboys are having a strong first season under Eric Morris, but this defeat knocked them off a path that had started to look real: a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game and a shot at a College Football Playoff berth.
With a Nov. 14 home game against Texas Tech the only remaining matchup that doesn’t figure to be a heavy favorite, OSU still has Kansas State, Arizona State and Kansas ahead. But Morris made it clear the Cowboys can’t afford to let a game in Ames slip away if they want to be taken seriously in that race.
“I hope not,” he said. “If so, we learned a valuable, valuable lesson today.”
The Cowboys had every chance to make this one theirs. Drew Mestemaker threw for five touchdowns, and his late fourth-and-3 keeper across the line to gain would have been the kind of play people talked about for a long time if OSU had held on. Instead, the night turned into a reminder that the offense can only do so much when the other side of the ball keeps giving it back.
Morris didn’t hide from the damage.
“Obviously a super disappointing one,” Morris said to start his postgame news conference. “Self-inflicted wounds like crazy.”
OSU’s list of mistakes was long. The Cowboys missed a field goal, muffed a punt and allowed an onside kick recovery in the first half. Then came the late penalty on Young, which Morris called out directly.
“To put the nail in the coffin at the end on Halloween night, we have the most selfish penalty ever,” Morris said of Young’s unsportsmanlike conduct foul. “...
Put our defense in a bad position right there. That falls on me as the head coach.”
Young’s night had already been eventful before the flag. He scored on an end-around, spiked the ball and moved toward the stands, where Iowa State fans were sitting.
A referee pulled him away, and after Young said something, the penalty came down. Young later apologized on X.
He was still one of the biggest pieces of the OSU offense. Young and Justin Bowick each caught seven passes and scored two touchdowns.
Bowick finished with 124 yards, while Young had 74. Morris said Young’s edge is part of what makes him so effective, but that line can’t be crossed.
“It’s just hard because he plays his best when he’s walking that line, and obviously we can’t have that happen,” Mestemaker said. “He knows it and he’s beating himself up the most out of anyone, so just got to be there for him.”
Morris was less forgiving.
“At that point in the game, a kid with that much experience that’s played so well, (he) knows he needs to celebrate with his teammates,” Morris said. “He didn’t celebrate with his teammates. That’s our rule and there’ll be punishments because of it.”
The bigger issue, though, was the defense. Oklahoma State’s unit never found a way to slow Iowa State’s ground game or keep the Cyclones from piling up yards.
Aiden Flora ran for a career-high 221 yards, while Caleb Hawkins had 25 carries for 194 yards for OSU. Iowa State quarterback Jaylen Raynor, benched last week, threw for a season-high 309 yards.
Jamal Polite Jr. had 171 receiving yards, the most by a Big 12 freshman this season.
The numbers were staggering. Iowa State finished with 581 yards, its most in a Big 12 game since 2016, and its 51 points were its most in a Big 12 game since 2021.
Even after Mestemaker threw an interception on OSU’s penultimate drive, the Cowboys got one more stop and forced an Iowa State field goal to make it a six-point game. That opened the door for one last march, and Mestemaker and Hawkins carried OSU down the field for what looked like the winning score.
Instead, the Cowboys left Ames with a loss that cost them more than one game. They left with their Big 12 title hopes damaged too.
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