Oklahoma State Has the Big 12’s Best Trio of Offensive Superstars

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State’s offense spent most of the last two seasons either stuck in the mud on the field or on the sidelines.

Sometimes it was tough to tell which was worse for the Cowboys, but that shouldn’t be the case in 2026.

Not when the Big 12’s best trio resides in Stillwater, and if history means anything, it might not be close.

When ranked from a production standpoint, the Cowboys are the only team in the conference with a top-five option at quarterback, running back and wide receiver in 2026. BYU is the only team that appears on the list more than once.

All stats obtained using Pro Football Focus database, which might vary from official box scores.

Quarterbacks

1. Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State): 4,381 yards in 14 games
2. Noah Fifita (Arizona): 3,228 in 13 games
3. Bear Bachmeier (BYU): 3,022 in 14 games
4. JC French (Cincinnati): 2,924 in 13 games
5. Alonza Barnett (UCF): 2,811 in 14 games

There are so many elephants in this room, there’s barely room for the five quarterbacks. Let’s get those guys out of here.

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby was one of the most discussed returners before the gambling scandal broke out, which has his eligibility in real doubt. He would rank sixth on this list with 2,782 yards in 12 games.

So his case bears watching, especially since his yard-per-game stats would rank him third among this group, anyway.

Other fanbases and understandably glass-half-empty OSU fans will mention that Mestemaker racked up his yards against a much easier slate than he will face in the Big 12.

Even if he threw for 1,000 yards less in 2026, that would still put him ahead of all returning players and would have ranked 20th in the nation last season.

French and Barnett are also new to the conference. French, a Georgia Southern transfer, faced one Power Conference opponent last season in USC. He completed 54% of his passes for 179 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. As bad as that sounds, he threw for less than 200 yards six times and failed to hit 60% four times.

Barnett, a James Madison transfer, faced two power conference opponents. In week two, he finished with 102 yards while completing 60% of his passes for one touchdown against Louisville. He then threw for 273 and two touchdowns while completing 48% of passes against Oregon in a weird playoff game.

Mestemaker didn’t face any power conference opponents, but he completed 80% of his attempts as often as he finished under 60%, three times. His worst passing yardage total (211) came against Washington State in week three when he completed 86% and threw four touchdowns and zero interceptions.

His biggest competition through the air this year will likely be Fifita, who has now thrown for 2,800-plus yards in three consecutive seasons, and Bachmeier, the latter of whom wasn’t expected to be the starter for the Cougars until they found themselves in need of one late last offseason. As a true freshman last season, it’s easy to imagine him making a leap this fall and putting BYU in conference title contention.

Although it might be hard to put the Pokes in that same conversation, this is also Mestemaker’s first offseason as a starter. So it’s just as possible he makes a leap in year two, which might more than make up for the additional challenges of playing power conference football.

Running backs

1. Cam Cook (West Virginia): 1,650 yards in 13 games
2. Caleb Hawkins (Oklahoma State): 1,431 in 13 games
3. LJ Martin (BYU): 1,299 in 13 games
4. Cameron Dickey (Texas Tech): 1,135 in 14 games
5. Wayshawn Parker (Utah): 992 in 13 games

Hawkins isn’t the only Big 12 newcomer on this list. Cook transferred in from Jacksonville State, a program West Virginia Rich Rodriguez coached before returning to his alma mater.

When adjusted for yards per attempt, Hawkins ranked ninth in the nation, averaging 6.2 yards per carry among backs with at least 146 carries. That’s how many attempts Parker finished with when he averaged 6.8, which put him fourth in the nation last season.

Cook, Martin and Dickey averaged 5.6, 5.5 and 5.4, respectively, last season, ranking 25th, 28th and 34th.

All together, it sounds like the Big 12 title will come down to which offense has the best season. From a pure production standpoint, Hawkins led the way with 370 receiving yards, followed by Cook (291), Martin (251), Dickey (217) and Parker (185).

Receivers

1. Danny Scudero (Colorado): 1,299 yards in 12 games
2. Wyatt Young (Oklahoma State): 1,264 in 14 games
3. Eric McAlister (TCU): 1,173 in 13 games
4. Nik McMillan (Kansas): 983 in 12 games
5. Amare Thomas (Houston) 966 in 13 games

Most of this list includes newcomers to the conference. Scudero transferred in from San Jose State, Young obviously from North Texas and McMillan from Buffalo.

Young stands out on the list as the most reliable target, hauling in 72% of his 97 targets. Thomas led the others with 68%, followed by McMillan (64%), McAlister (60%) and Scudero (56%).

All five proved capable of making some big plays last season.

Deep Targets 20-plus yards downfield

Young finished third in yards but second in catch percentage and fourth in deep targets. He will have to prove he can win those battles and get loose against better defenses this fall, but based on these numbers, it wouldn’t take a lot of additional deep targets for Young to establish himself as the Big 12’s frontrunner for the receiving title.