Oklahoma State Cowboys Behind Colorado Buffaloes at Halftime

STILLWATER, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Cowboys were behind the Colorado Buffaloes, 24-23, by one point at halftime at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday.

Chaos unfolded around the Big 12 before the Cowboys took the field. No. 8 Texas Tech lost to Cincinnati, the Red Raiders’ first loss of the season. Kansas beat Baylor by blocking a potential game-winning field goal at the end of regulation. UCF pushed No. 2 BYU to overtime in Orlando before the Knights won, 39-31, in double overtime.

That meant that a Cowboys win would keep them among the one-loss teams in the Big 12 — with some additional company.

Here is how the first half unfolded for the Cowboys and the Buffaloes.

How First Half Unfolded

The quarterbacks ruled the first half. Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker went 12-for-18 for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Colorado’s Isaac Wilson went 14-for-16 for 222 yards and two touchdowns. The teams had 591 yards of total offense by halftime.

The Cowboys lost the toss and with Colorado deferring, Oklahoma State received the kickoff, which was a touchback. Three plays later the Cowboys had a 7-0 lead.

Oklahoma State’s Caleb Hawkins gained five yards on an inside run and then another 23 yards on a pass from quarterback Drew Mestemaker. Then Mestemaker threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Miles Coleman as Colorado busted coverage in the secondary and he was wide open. That score was 59 seconds into the game.

The Buffaloes were nearly turned away on downs on a risky 4th-and-1 attempt at their own 34-yard-line on their first drive. But the previous play — a completion to Ernest Campbell — was reviewed by the booth. But the call to review came just before the fourth-down play, which OSU appeared to shut down.

After it was determined the third-down pass was a legal catch, the Buffs went for it again and converted. CU turned that into a 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Isaac Wilson to running back JaQuail Smith with 7:23 left int the first quarter.

After forcing the Cowboys three-and-out, the Buffaloes scored again on a terrific 15-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to DeAndre Moore with three seconds left in the first quarter. That gave Colorado a 14-7 lead. Key to that drive was quarterback Isaac Wilson evading two OSU blitzers to convert a third-and-10 with a 13-yard run.

The Buffaloes possessed the football for 12:17 of the 15-minutes first quarter.

The Cowboys had the ball to start the second quarter, and they got into Colorado territory before the drive sputtered at the Buffs 29-yard-line and it led to a 47-yard field goal by Sam Keltner to cut the lead to 14-10 with 11:48 left in the second quarter.

The Cowboys were called for intentional grounding on a pass from Mestemaker that was intended for a receiver that cut off his route and landed 15 yards past the receiver.

The Cowboys finally got a three-and-out on the third drive as Cowboys defensive linemen Keviyan Huddleston and Jerry Lawson smothered Buffs running back JaQuail Smith for a 3-yard loss to that led to a punt and the Cowboys taking over at their own 31-yard line with 10:24 left in the half.

The Cowboys responded by taking the lead quickly. On the second play of the drive, Mestemaker threw a 52-yard pass to wide receiver Justin Bowick to put the Cowboys at the Buffs 10-yard line. OSU followed that with a false start by center Tyler Mercer. But Mestemaker hit Bowick on a quick slant for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 8:48 left to push the Cowboys ahead, 17-14.

CU answered right back as Wilson connected with Williams for a 36-yard pass on the first play to push the Buffs back into OSU territory. Two plays later, Wilson and Williams connected again for a 30-yard pass to the Cowboys’ 1-yard line. Colorado scored on Wilson’s third straight quarterback sneak attempt with 6:19 left in the second quarter as the Buffs took a 21-17 lead.

The Cowboys wasted no time on the next drive. Mestemaker hit Bowick on a 38-yard pass into CU territory and followed that with a 28-yard pass to Wyatt Young. But the drive sputtered at the 5-yard line and OSU settled for a 30-yard field goal by Keltner with 4:18 left in the quarter. That came after a 5-yard false start penalty.

Up 21-20, the Buffs started what would be their final meaningful drive of the half. Wilson hit Moore for a 45-yard pass into Cowboys territory. But that drive sputtered from there and the Buffs had to settle for a 45-yard field goal by Elliott Arnold with 2:30 left to give CU a 24-20 lead.

OSU’s final drive of the half started at its own 25-yard-line. The Cowboys went for it on fourth-and-one at their own 34-yard-line and induced an offside and got a pass interference down the field as Mestemaker threw the ball downfield. That moved the ball to the OSU 49-yard line with 1:50 left.

But the Cowboys were unable to get the ball in the end zone and had to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Keltner with 14 seconds left to cut the lead to one point.