The No. 20 Houston Cougars will be facing their biggest test at home all season on Saturday night against the No. 18 Oklahoma State Cowboys. This is the marquee home game for Houston, and it presents a tough Big 12 challenge.
A top-20-ranked matchup like this can come down to just a couple of plays, and Houston will obviously have to be on top of its game to get the win. While many believe this game could be an offensive shootout, it's Houston's defense that could come under the spotlight.
It's no secret that Oklahoma State possesses one of the most explosive offenses in the country, and the Cowboys are currently have the No. 1 total offense in the Big 12 with over 521 yards per game. Additionally, the passing offense is also No. 1 in the conference with over 322 yards. That's good for sixth overall in the nation.
This will be a massive battle for Houston's defense to somehow try and contain. Although the Cougars have the No. 1 rush defense in the Big 12 and the fourth-best in the country overall, it will be the passing defense that will be strained by all the offensive talent Oklahoma State has.
Tough Task for Houston's Defense
Houston's passing defense is 13th in the Big 12 and 118th overall in the country. On paper, that isn't a favorable matchup for the Cougars at all.
Cowboys redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Mestemaker has been one of the top stories in college football this season and has shown why he's one of the best at his position. Mestemaker was a walk-on in 2024 at North Texas and redshirted after playing four games.
The Austin, Texas native then took over the North Texas starting spot in 2025 as a redshirt freshman and led the FBS in passing with 4379 yards and was third in the nation with 34 passing touchdowns. Mestemaker was part of the massive North Texas transfer class from Oklahoma State that saw his coach, Eric Morris, take the job in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound redshirt sophomore had a poor Week 1, but has since been on fire. Mestemaker has 15 total touchdowns and five interceptions this year along with 1575 yards. He was a huge part of OSU's signature win over then No. 6 Oregon, who have since dropped out of the AP Top 25.
Mestemaker leads the Big 12 with 315 passing yards per game. A big part of his quick Power Four success has been the continuity from North Texas. The same playcaller in Morris, as well as a familiar wide receiver target in junior Wyatt Young from last season, has helped. Junior Miles Coleman, who's also an Austin native, transferred to OSU, as did sophomore Terrance Lewis.
That's three receivers who he was already familiar with, along with starting running back in sophomore Caleb Hawkins.
Young has 27 receptions for 462 yards and four touchdowns so far as the leading receiver, but senior wideout Justin Bowick, at 6-foot-5, has five touchdowns.
This will be the toughest challenge in the regular season for Houston's secondary. While its numbers haven't looked good, the back end of the Cougars' defense has looked significantly better over the last two weeks. There's plenty of talent back there, but busted coverages, bad angles, and tackles hurt them.
All those are correctable. If Houston can continue to show that positive growth this week, it might be able to slow down Mestemaker just enough to give Houston's offense some cushion. The Cougars have three fifth-year safeties in Jordan Allen, Kentrell Webb, and Myles Rowser.
Rowser will get more involved this week as a former All-Big 12 member who transferred to Houston late. Additionally, fifth-year corner Jalen Mayo has been great one-on-one, while redshirt junior Will James was also on multiple preseason watchlists. The names are there. If they play as a unit and don't have busted coverage, they honestly can compete.
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