Oklahoma State Blanks Murray State 59-0 in Dominant Final Tune-Up Before Big 12 Play

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STILLWATER — Oklahoma State was supposed to dominate Murray State. The Cowboys left absolutely no doubt.

One week after stunning No. 6 Oregon, Oklahoma State avoided any hint of a letdown Saturday night, overwhelming Murray State 59-0 at Boone Pickens Stadium in its final non-conference game before Big 12 play.

The 59 points were OSU's most in a game since 2022, while the Cowboys piled up 662 total yards and held the Racers to just 160.

Drew Mestemaker was nearly flawless in his encore after the Oregon upset, completing 20 of 22 passes for 324 yards and a career-high five touchdowns before giving way to backup Broderick Vehrs early in the third quarter.

Justin Bowick did virtually all of his damage before halftime, finishing with nine catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns. By the time Oklahoma State's starters were done, the outcome had long been decided.

Cowboys Waste No Time

OSU established the tone immediately. The Cowboys marched 72 yards in eight plays on their opening possession, with Miles Coleman scoring his first touchdown of the season on a jet sweep.

Mestemaker followed by leading another eight-play scoring drive, this one covering 80 yards. Wyatt Young finished it with perhaps the play of the night, making a spectacular one-handed 13-yard touchdown catch to give OSU a 14-0 lead.

The Cowboys had 203 yards of offense by the end of the first quarter. Bowick then took over. Mestemaker connected with him for a 24-yard touchdown early in the second quarter before Sam Keltner's 23-yard field goal pushed the lead to 24-0.

On OSU's next possession, Mestemaker hit Bowick in stride for a 38-yard touchdown, giving the receiver nine catches, 178 yards and two scores before halftime. Oklahoma State went into the locker room leading 31-0 with a 388-94 advantage in total offense.

Mestemaker Adds One More Before Calling It a Night

There was no second-half slowdown. OSU needed only 1:20 to travel down the field on its first possession of the third quarter. Mestemaker completed passes to Caleb Hawkins and Coleman before finding Terrance Lewis for a 31-yard touchdown.

That gave Mestemaker a career-high fifth touchdown pass and ended his night at 20-of-22 for 324 yards. His only major mistake came late in the first half when he was sacked and lost a fumble, Oklahoma State's seventh turnover through three games.

Backups Keep Pouring It On

Morris turned the offense over to Vehrs after the lead reached 38-0, but the scoring didn't stop. Vehrs completed all six of his passes, including a 10-yard touchdown to Carson Kolb, as Oklahoma State extended its advantage to 45-0.

Tre Page scored on a six-yard run later in the third quarter before KD Jones added a six-yard touchdown in the fourth to make it 59-0. OSU's depth at running back was on full display.

Hawkins rushed for 72 yards, Ayo Adeyi added 67, Page finished with 58, Jones had 54 and William Mason contributed 46. The Cowboys finished with 301 rushing yards to go with 361 through the air.

Coleman also provided a spark on special teams, accumulating 115 punt-return yards in addition to his 53 receiving yards and touchdown.

Defense Completes the Shutout

While Oklahoma State's offense spent the night racing up and down the field, its defense made sure Murray State never had an answer. The Racers managed only 160 total yards and were repeatedly forced into three-and-outs.

Luke Webb blocked a 37-yard field-goal attempt on Murray State's best early scoring opportunity, preserving the shutout.

Mo Horn, Enai White, Jerry Lawson and others consistently generated negative plays, while Malik Charles intercepted Murray State quarterback Baxter Wright in the second half and returned it 13 yards. Malachi Williams led Oklahoma State with five tackles.

Murray State made one final push deep into OSU territory during the fourth quarter, but the Cowboys stopped the Racers on fourth down to preserve the shutout.

Exactly What Oklahoma State Needed

After two weeks, it was difficult to know what to make of Oklahoma State. The Cowboys committed four turnovers and lost 24-10 at Tulsa in Morris' debut. Then they returned home and stunned No. 6 Oregon 39-31.

Saturday presented another kind of challenge. Could OSU maintain its intensity against an FCS opponent it was expected to overwhelm? The answer was emphatic.

Oklahoma State averaged 9.0 yards per play, recorded 33 first downs, possessed the ball for 35:08 and didn't punt until the fourth quarter. The Cowboys scored on seven of their first eight possessions, with the lone exception being Mestemaker's fumble.

Three games into the Morris era, Oklahoma State has now experienced the embarrassment of a season-opening loss, the exhilaration of a top-10 upset and the satisfaction of doing exactly what it was supposed to do against an overmatched opponent.

Now comes something entirely different. Big 12 football.

Oklahoma State heads to West Virginia next Saturday with consecutive victories, an offense coming off a 662-yard performance and considerably more momentum than it had just two weeks ago.

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