10 Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 35-32 Loss to No. 20 Houston

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HOUSTON — As good as the Cowboys have looked over the past month, there were some consistent bugaboos lingering, and they costed the Cowboys on Saturday.

Oklahoma State lost to Houston 35-32. Here are 10 thoughts on the game.

1. OSU’s Worst Defensive Game

The Cowboys’ defense had been perhaps the most pleasant of surprises this season, but the group was flat bad in Houston.

It felt like the Cowboys needed one stop for most of the second half and just agonizingly couldn’t get it.

The Cougars had 10 offensive drives in the game — only three of those ended in a punt or turnover. Five ended in Houston touchdowns, and the final drive ended with the Cowboys scrambling to get a stop that just wouldn’t come.

The Cowboy offense scored in its first drive out of the half to cut Houston’s lead to 14-10. Houston responded with a touchdown.

OSU scored later in the third quarter to cut Houston’s lead to 21-17. The Cougars responded with a touchdown.

OSU scored at the start of the fourth to cut Houston’s lead to 28-25. Houston responded with a touchdown.

The Cowboys scored to make it 35-32. Houston secured three first downs and ran out the clock.

It felt like a single stop in any of those instances could’ve done it, but the Cowboys couldn’t get off the field.

OSU allowed 505 yards of total offense — a season high. The Cowboys allowed Conner Weigman to throw for 343 yards and five touchdowns — both season-highs against the OSU defense. Houston rushed for 4.1 yards per carry — one of three games above 4.0, joining Tulsa (4.1) and West Virginia (5.1).

2. More Inside the 5 Woes

The Cowboys offense is elite, but there’s no doubt it’s a group that struggles when things get tight near the goal line.

OSU made it inside Houston’s 5-yard line three times on Saturday, and those instances resulted in 10 OSU points.

The Cowboys promptly marched down the field on their first drive of the game but had to settle for a Sam Keltner 23-yard field goal.

OSU again drove the field on their second drive put rather than setting up for another short field goal, Eric Morris left his offense out there and shades of Tulsa, the Cowboys didn’t get it.

Those 3 points obviously would’ve been nice in a game that ended 35-32, but in the moment, I was team go-for-it. I thought it’d be tough to win a game kicking what were essentially extra points. Hindsight is very much 20/20, but I’m not mad at trying to get 7 there.

The Pokes scored a touchdown in their final trip inside the 5. It came on a contested catch from Wyatt Young.

They have to figure something out down there. The Cowboys have now been bitten by their short-distance offense woes in their last two losses.

3. Slow Starts Finally Bite the Cowboys

OSU is a second-half team, and players and coaches alike have said there aren’t some grandiose epiphanies happening in the halftime locker room.

The Cowboys had 3 points at the half on the road against a Top 20 opponent. Going to be tough winning those types of games with that type of output.

Here’s a breakdown of the halves:

Given the second half, it doesn’t feel right pinning much on the offense, but the point remains that if you play just a little bit better in the first half, you’re probably not trying to run the Cougars down all night.

4. Penalties Were a Problem

Another area the Cowboys shot themselves in the foot: they had nine penalties that provided 71 yards to the Cougars.

I think the worst of which was probably Christian Bodnar’s personal foul in the third quarter. OSU had just forced the Cougars into a third down, but away from the play, Bodnar blindsided a Houston player, giving Houston 15 yards and a first down.

On the next play after that, Conner Weigman hit Amare Thomas for a 51-yard gain, and Houston had its mojo again. That drive also featured two Cowboys nearly intercepting a Weigman pass but neither came down with the ball. Either catching the pick or not committing the foul could’ve gotten the Cowboys off the field.

Then a penalty against the Houston long-snapper in the fourth quarter meant the Cougars were able to kick off from the 50-yard line. Houston took advantage of that and sent a worm-burner down the field that momentarily skipped past Miles Coleman, and Coleman was able to get it to only the OSU 4-yard line.

That meant a longer drive, with OSU burning 4:51 off the clock and leaving just 4:54 that the Cougars had to burn to win it.

Also in the fourth quarter, Drew Mestemaker hit Caleb Hawkins for a 24-yard gain. A holding brought it back.

5. Houston Is a Good Team

All Willie Fritz does is win, and he has the horses to do it in Houston.

Weigman is a feel-good story of college football given some of the trials and tribulations he faced as a young player at Texas A&M before keeping his head down and turning into a dang good college quarterback.

Wide receiver Amare Thomas was open all night. He finished with seven catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns.

Houston was relentlessly pounding the rock in the first half. It felt like they could turn around and hand it off to get 5 yards all night.

Even Houston’s first-half punt was impressive, as it pinned the Pokes on their own 3-yard line.

The Cougars can eat clock. They can run. They can pass. They can keep a team guessing. I was impressed.

6. A Few More Back-Breaking Plays

One second-half drive a microcosm of the game.

Houston had a 3rd-and-7 on its 28-yard line late in the third quarter. It was one of the few times the Cougars were behind the chains all night. But then with everyone covered, Weigman scampered for a gain of 44. So close.

Then later in the drive, Houston had a 4th-and-3 on the OSU 21. Get off the field there, and you’re in it. Houston scored a 21-yard touchdown on that fourth down. So close.

Time and time again, the Cougars made the plays when they needed, and the Cowboys just couldn’t.

7. Good, Not Great Game from Mestemaker

Despite the loss, I still thought Drew Mestemaker gave his team every chance to win that football game.

He finished with 365 passing yards, three touchdowns, an interception and 34 rushing yards.

His interception came when Chris Barnes slipped on a route in the first half. Barnes played very little after that.

Mestemaker fumbled in the second half. Never ideal to fumble, but Mestemaker was hit off both edges and then a guy came up the middle for good measure.

There were a few balls that could’ve used some better placement, but I don’t leave this game being worried about the Cowboys’ quarterback position in the slightest.

Plus, this was sick.

Drew Mestemaker oh my goodness

He did the Zach Wilson Pro Day throw in a live game https://t.co/JGzIe48e3r

— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) October 18, 2026

8. Hawkins Contributed by Land, but Mostly Air

Caleb Hawkins’ 125 receiving yards were the second-most from an OSU running back ever — just two yards shy of Terry Brown’s 127 against Kansas in 1968.

The Cougars boast the top rushing defense in the Big 12, and the Cowboys were struggling against in in the first half. So, OSU started throwing its running back the ball.

Throwing Hawkins the ball almost makes him more deadly because it often puts him in space.

In one instance, Hawkins turned a flew over a defender with an Ollie Gordon-esque hurdle.

Caleb Hawkins takes FLIGHT 🤯

@CowboyFB https://t.co/a7ZygfP6EE

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 18, 2026

On another instance, Hawkins took a swing pass 66 yards to the house.

Caleb Hawkins takes it 66 yards to the HOUSE for @CowboyFB 🏠 https://t.co/I4YOoUHCCD

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 18, 2026

He also decleated a guy in a pass protection rep when Drew Mestemaker completed a big fourth-down pass.

Hawkins finished with 193 all-purpose yards.

9. Old School Big 12 Football

OSU punted one time on Saturday and lost the game. OSU had 499 yards of total offense and lost.

Track meets are back on for the Stillwater-based team. It’s a lot more fun than what we’ve been subjected to of late.

10. Gotta Respond and Might Need Some Help

The last time the Cowboys lost, they turned around and beat a Top 10 team.

This team is in a different spot now than they were after that loss to Tulsa, but OSU will have to respond similarly.

With one conference loss, the Cowboys are still very much alive in the Big 12 title race, but they could need some help now.

I consider OSU, Houston, Texas Tech, BYU and Utah as contenders in the Big 12 at this point. It’s a league where anyone can beat anyone, but here’s how those five teams match up in the coming weeks:

OSU (1 conference loss):
vs. Texas Tech on Nov. 14

Houston (1 conference loss):
at Utah on Oct. 24

Texas Tech (0 conference losses):
at OSU on Nov. 14

BYU (0 conference losses):
at Utah on Nov. 7

Utah (0 conference losses):
vs. Houston on Oct. 24
vs. BYU on Nov. 7

So, the path is still there. That game against Tech will be massive. But in the meantime, the Cowboys need to get back in the lab and handle their business.