Eric Morris, Drew Mestemaker Call Oklahoma State Offensive Performance ‘Embarrassing’ After Tulsa Loss
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Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris didn't attempt to soften the message after his first game leading the Cowboys. Neither did his quarterback.
After Oklahoma State opened the Morris era with a 24-10 loss at Tulsa on Saturday, Drew Mestemaker revealed just how strongly his head coach addressed the offense inside the postgame locker room.
“He sat in there and said straight up that's the most embarrassing offensive performance he's ever been a part of,” Mestemaker said. “I'd agree. I'd say the same for me.”
It was a harsh assessment after just one game, but the Cowboys provided plenty of reasons for the frustration.
Oklahoma State gained 368 yards, actually edging Tulsa's 361, but repeatedly failed to turn its offensive production into points.
The Cowboys committed four turnovers, converted only five of 16 third-down attempts and went 2-of-6 on fourth down. Three of those failed fourth-down attempts came in Tulsa territory.
The problems started immediately.
Oklahoma State put together a 13-play, 70-yard drive on its opening possession, moving all the way to the Tulsa 3-yard line. But on fourth-and-1, Caleb Hawkins was stopped for no gain.
Another promising first-half possession was derailed by a holding penalty and a sack. On the next drive, Tre Page gained enough yardage to convert a fourth down at Oklahoma State's own 32 before fumbling the football.
The Cowboys ran 38 offensive plays in the first half and had only three points to show for it.
Morris made his feelings clear before even reaching the locker room, describing the opening half during his radio interview as “piss poor” and “as bad as you can play.”
The second half didn't provide much relief. Mestemaker lost a fumble on Oklahoma State's opening possession of the third quarter, and another promising drive ended with a fourth-down stop.
The Cowboys finally found the end zone when Mestemaker connected with Justin Bowick on fourth down late in the third quarter, cutting Tulsa's lead to 17-10.
But Oklahoma State never scored again. Mestemaker threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter, including one in the end zone with the Cowboys attempting to cut into a 24-10 deficit.
He finished his Oklahoma State debut completing 29 of 49 passes for 241 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The performance extended Mestemaker's streak of games with at least 200 passing yards to 16, but that accomplishment meant little after the loss. His postgame assessment made that clear.
For Morris, the challenge now is making sure Saturday's performance doesn't become the standard for a roster that underwent a massive offseason reconstruction.
Oklahoma State brought in 91 newcomers after Morris took over the program, including Mestemaker and several other players who followed him from North Texas. Saturday was the first opportunity to see that rebuild in a game that counted.
Instead, OSU's losing streak reached 12 games. And the schedule isn't providing the Cowboys much time to work through their problems.
Oregon visits Boone Pickens Stadium next Saturday for Morris' home debut, dramatically increasing the challenge facing an offense that produced only 10 points against Tulsa.
Morris already knows what the Ducks are going to see when they turn on Oklahoma State's season-opening film.
“We got a lot of problems to fix, obviously,” Morris said. “We got (Oregon) coming to town next week and boy I tell you if they watch that film they’ll be licking their chops.”
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