The Oklahoma State Cowboys fell to the Houston Cougars in a clash between Top 25 teams on Saturday night.
The 35-32 loss was No. 18 Oklahoma State’s (4-2, 2-1 in Big 12) first since losing to Tulsa in the season opener. The No. 20 Cougars (6-1, 3-1) needed the win to keep their realistic hopes of reaching the Big 12 title game alive.
Houston sold the game game out and both teams put on a show. Here are four immediate takeaways from Saturday’s game.
The Quarterbacks Shined
In my bold predictions piece before the game, I wrote that the two quarterbacks — Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker and Houston’s Conner Weigman — would combine for at least 650 yards of total offense. Turns out I wasn't bold enough.
The numbers by the end of the game were terrific for both players.
Mestemaker threw for 365 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and rushed for another 34 yards. Weigman threw for 343 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 52 more yards. The total was 794 yards between two players.
In some games, that’s the total offense between both teams.
Now, both players made mistakes. Mestemaker had two turnovers and Weigman had one. Both missed some chances to make even bigger plays. But not many.
I expected a show. We got a show.
An Undisciplined Night
One of the ways to explain how Oklahoma State lost this game is to explain the lack of discipline it played with for much of the contest.
Take the penalties. The Cowboys were one of the fewest penalized teams in the country entering game, averaging just over four per contest. OSU committed nine against Houston. Some were just unnecessary, such as safety Christian Bodnar’s blindside block and a pass interference call in the end zone.
The defense gave up 505 total yards to Houston. It gave up way too many chunk plays. It wasn’t so much a tackling issue but a scheme discipline issue. OSU’s secondary left too many seams open. They allowed too many receivers to get behind them. Defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity had to dial up more blitzing than usual.
The Cowboys have been solid on fourth-down defense this year but allowed Houston to convert all three times, including one fourth down that turned into a touchdown.
The Cowboys did too many things wrong. Combine that with the two offensive turnovers and there were too many mistakes. And it hurts for OSU because the game was still winnable.
Unleash Caleb Hawkins
One of the best adjustments the Cowboys made offensively was going to running back Caleb Hawkins in the screen game and on wheel routes, which started late in the second half. OSU was having trouble getting him going in the run game, which the Cowboys expected given how good Houston was against the run. So, the Cowboys went to use Hawkins as a pass catcher. It worked.
He led the Cowboys with seven receptions and 125 yards. His touchdown reception of 66 yards was a game changer at the time. Using him as a pass-catcher out of the backfield helped loosen up Houston’s banged up secondary and created more space for wide receivers Justin Bowick and Wyatt Young downfield.
For those that were expecting the Houston secondary to be wide open from the start, it didn't turn out that way— at least not until the Cowboys use Hawkins as an underneath receiver to loosen things up. Hawkins was a great receiver out of the backfield at North Texas and the Cowboys would be wise to use him a little bit more often in that role.
The Cowboys’ Next Step is Clear
Since the win over Oregon, the vibes have been great around the Cowboys. Just before the game the program landed a commitment from a three-star defensive tackle in Tennessee named Keilan Neal. He visited Stillwater for the UCF game.
The Houston game was a good measuring stick for the Cowboys. Houston entered the season as a Big 12 contender, and they still are after Saturday’s win. While the Cowboys didn’t enter the season considered a contender, they’re still in the race.
For Oklahoma State to take the next step it's about winning the next three games. The Cowboys host Colorado, then hit the road to face Iowa State and Kansas State. Run that table OSU will be 5-1 when it hosts Texas Tech on Nov. 14.
The Cowboys can still get to Arlington in the Big 12 title game. The dream is not deferred yet. But how they respond next week against Colorado will tell us a lot about their mindset after seeing their four-game winning streak end.
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