Oklahoma State’s trip to Kansas State on Nov. 7 opens the final third of the Cowboys’ 2026 season, and it brings together two new head coaches for the first time. Eric Morris is in at Oklahoma State, Collin Klein is in at Kansas State, and both staffs have leaned hard on the transfer portal as they try to speed up the rebuild.
The two programs arrive at that meeting from very different places. Kansas State won six games last season before Chris Klieman retired. Oklahoma State managed just one win, a season that finally brought the Mike Gundy era to an end.
For the Cowboys, the most important battle may be the one that never quite happens on the field: the quarterback matchup. Kansas State has Avery Johnson, one of the conference’s best dual-threat passers, and if Klein gets the offense humming the way he wants, Johnson could grow into one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
Oklahoma State counters with Drew Mestemaker, a different style of quarterback altogether. He’s more of a pocket player, but he can get the ball out quickly, make fast decisions and work through the variety of weapons in the Air Raid attack. He’ll also have Caleb Hawkins in the backfield, giving the Cowboys another weapon to lean on.
That quarterback duel should shape the game, even without Johnson and Mestemaker lining up across from each other. The better performance there probably decides who leaves Manhattan with the win.
Kansas State also has a backfield threat that doesn’t seem to be getting nearly enough attention outside the program. Joe Jackson returns for his junior year after rushing for nearly 1,000 yards last season, and with rushers leaving the roster - including Dylan Edwards, who is now at Kansas - the runway is there for Jackson to take over as the full-time option.
That puts pressure on Oklahoma State’s interior defensive line. Saadiq Clements and Jerry Lawson are potential starters in the middle, while Enai White and Luke Webb are among the rotational tackles who may need to help hold the point of attack. If the Cowboys can’t create enough push up front, it gets harder to bring the linebackers into the play and slow Jackson down.
There’s another familiar Kansas State trait Oklahoma State has to deal with: the Wildcats’ ability to take care of the ball. That has long been part of the program’s identity, dating back to Bill Snyder, who was Klein’s head coach and boss after the Heisman Trophy finalist moved into coaching. Ball security will matter again here.
That’s a problem for an Oklahoma State team that struggled badly in turnover margin and produced one of the lowest defensive takeaway totals in college football. The Cowboys have to clean that up, and they need to finish this game with a positive turnover differential. If they don’t, the odds tilt heavily toward a loss.
The Cowboys should be able to score. This offense has the kind of firepower that can put points on the board in bunches and could end up among the best units in the country.
But that strength can’t turn into a road crutch. In Manhattan, falling behind is dangerous, especially against a Kansas State team that handles home leads well.
If Oklahoma State is chasing by a touchdown or two in the fourth quarter, that’s the kind of script that usually ends badly.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Left Oklahoma State With A Reminder Fans Still Hate
Texas Tech arrives in Stillwater on Nov. 14 with a familiar look and a fresh reminder of how ugly this matchup can get for Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders bring back head coach Joey McGuire and 11 starters, including quarterback Will Hammond, who is working back from an ACL tear. For the Cowboys, it is hard to ignore what happened the last time these teams met, when Texas Tech controlled the game from the opening moments and never let up.
That meeting ended in a 42-0 rout and had the feel of a team piling on every possible way, from special teams to defense to a steady stream of scoring drives. Oklahoma State will get another shot at turning the page at home, but the memory of that night in Lubbock still hangs over this one, especially with Texas Tech bringing back so much of the group that made it happen. [Read more 🡒]
Eric Morris And Drew Mestemaker Could Decide Oklahoma States Next Era
Eric Morris did not come to Oklahoma State with a blank slate at quarterback. He brought a familiar face in Drew Mestemaker, the North Texas transfer who already knows how to operate in Morris system and has proven he can thrive in it. Their time together in Denton produced major passing production, and that kind of continuity matters for a Cowboys program trying to find stability as it moves into a new era.
Mestemakers decision to follow Morris to Stillwater gives Oklahoma State more than just another transfer arm, because it also gives the staff a quarterback with a clear track record and a path that could eventually carry beyond college. The Cowboys have reason to believe the pairing can help them right away, but the bigger picture is just as compelling: if this partnership keeps ascending, it could shape how quickly Oklahoma State turns the page and how high Mestemakers future goes from here. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Offseason Just Changed The Pressure In Baton Rouge
The college football offseason has already rewritten a few depth charts and coaching staffs, and On3s Ari Wasserman put LSU at the top of his list of biggest winners after a flurry of change across the sport. The Tigers paired a massive transfer haul with a top-15 recruiting class, a combination that gave Baton Rouge a different kind of momentum heading into the fall and raised the bar for what the rest of the SEC will have to chase.
Oklahoma State also landed near the top of that offseason ranking, a sign that its own reset is being viewed as more than just a short-term roster patch. With so many programs leaning on the portal and new faces to stabilize things, the Cowboys are in the middle of a broader national trend that has already made the Big 12 look a little different, and the next question is whether that early buzz turns into something more meaningful once the games start. [Read more 🡒]