Oklahoma State football stuns Oregon for first win of Eric Morris era | 5 takeaways
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STILLWATER — No FBS college football team has snapped a 10-plus-game losing streak with a win against an opponent ranked top 10 in the AP Poll.
Until Saturday when Oklahoma State football coach Eric Morris got his first win with the Cowboys, a 39-31 stunner of sixth-ranked Oregon at Boone Pickens Stadium.
OSU's (0-1) win against the Ducks (1-1) broke a 12-game losing streak. OSU's last win came on Aug. 28, 2025, against UT Martin.
The names Cowboy fans got excited for this offseason showed up in their Boone Pickens Stadium debut. The “Big three” of Drew Mestemaker, Caleb Hawkins and Wyatt Young showed up.
Drew Mestemaker got the crowd going with his long touchdown run on OSU’s first possession. He finished with 317 passing yards and two touchdowns
Wyatt Young broke open for a 52-yard touchdown. He finished with five catches for 121 yards and a touchdown.
Hawkins rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Last week against Tulsa, Young and Hawkins combined for 165 yards and no scores. Mestemaker threw for 241 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Here are four more takeaways from the game:
Against an elite offense, Skyler Cassity’s defense looks legit
In the first half, OSU’s defense allowed 101 total yards. Both of Oregon’s first-half touchdowns came off two tipped Drew Mestemaker interceptions, one returned for a touchdown and the other returned to the 1-yard line.
After not coming up with a sack in the first game against Tulsa, the Cowboys got to Oregon quarterback Dante Moore four times.
Last season, Oregon’s offense ranked No. 11 in the country with a 36.9 scoring average. The Ducks have a top-five projected NFL Draft pick, weapons at receiver and struggled to move the ball against OSU in the first half.
Three of Oregon’s first drives went three-and-out.
In the second half, OSU's defense couldn't keep pace with it's near perfect first half play. Oregon averaged 3.2 yards per play. In the second half, the Ducks averaged 8.6 yards per play.
It’s the Cowboys bringing the big plays on offense
Last week against Tulsa, OSU’s longest play of the game was a 27-yard pass to receiver Wyatt Young in the fourth quarter. Morris said he felt like OSU struggled to push the ball down the field.
Big plays came more naturally Saturday. Mestemaker ripped off a 75-yard rush on the offense’s first play of the game. OSU finished with five plays that went for more than 30 yards.
Last season in a 69-3 loss at Oregon, OSU’s offense crossed the 75-yard mark with 53 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Tipped passes haunt Drew Mestemaker, Cowboys
After lightning strikes delayed OSU's game an hour and a half, lightning struck two more times during the game. Twice, Oregon intercepted OSU quarterback Drew Mestemaker on a pass tipped at the line-of-scrimmage.
With 6:04 in the first quarter and OSU leading 3-0, Mestemaker attempted a short throw to receiver Chris Barnes. Oregon lineman D’Antre Robinson batted the ball in the air and linebacker Devon Jackson grabbed the deflection and returned it 96 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.
With 5:26 left In the second quarter, Oregon's Dylan Williams tipped Drew Mestemaker's pass and Matayo Uiagalelei grabbed the ball, rumbling down to the 1-yard line where Oregon punched in a touchdown.
Last season, Mestemaker threw nine interceptions. He has thrown four in his first two games this season.
Eric Morris changes fourth-down strategy with early field goal kick
Just like in the Tulsa game last week, OSU’s offense reached the red zone on its first drive. A 75-yard rush from quarterback Drew Mestemaker did the trick against the Ducks.
Just like in the Tulsa game, OSU’s first drive stalled near the goal line. Running back Caleb Hawkins was stopped for a gain of one on first down. Quarterback Drew Mestemaker couldn’t complete a pass to tight end Carson Kolb on second down and on third down an outside pass to Miles Coleman went for no gain.
Instead of trying a fourth-and-goal from the Oregon 2, Morris, who has a history of being an aggressive coach on fourth down and went for it six times last week against Tulsa, brought out kicker Sam Keltner for a 20-yard field goal.
OSU finished the game one-for-one on fourth-down conversions.
When asked this week if he’d continue to be aggressive on fourth down, Morris said he’s leave his options open.
“I’ve always been aggressive in those situations,” Morris said. “But, obviously, if this becomes a trend, I got to be smart enough to say let’s punt the ball away and let our defense play good defense and try to get it back.”
OSU vs. Murray State
KICKOFF: 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater (ESPN+)
Ben Hutchens covers OSU athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Ben? He can be reached at bhutchens@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ben_hutchens_. Sign up for OSU Sports Minute newsletter to access more coverage of the Cowboys and Cowgirls. Support Ben's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football stuns Oregon for first win of Eric Morris era | 5 takeaways
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