The Final Draw: Comparing Mestemaker to NFL QBs and Which Defender Ruined Dante Moore’s NFL Audition

STILLWATER — What. A. Game.

Oklahoma State looked definitively better than Oregon for much of Saturday’s “upset,” which made this rewatch a much different experience than pretty much all other OSU vs FBS games in recent years.

It feels like EVERYTHING is back on the table this season, but we won’t know how good (or bad) Oregon is for a few more weeks.

Still, deep-diving this game should give us a sense of where Drew Mestemaker is as a quarterback and what the Cowboys have already proven will show up once Big 12 play starts in less than two weeks.

Today’s Final Draw will examine:

• How much did Mestemaker struggle or succeed when forced to move off his first read?
• The offensive player primed for a breakout perhaps as soon as this weekend?
• Oregon QB Dante Moore didn’t look awesome. Which Cowboy pass rushers ruined his day the most?

But first, are receiver Wyatt Young’s big performances all part of the plan, or was Saturday just an example of two guys with lots of chemistry falling back into old routines?

Wyatt Young Undisputed WR1 or the Ultimate Comfort Blanket?

There’s no question that Wyatt Young is tearing up college football once again. His 205 receiving yards through two games rank 26th nationally and put him only 46 yards short of 10th place.

Young has also created clear separation between himself and the rest of the Cowboys from a production standpoint, as he’s beaten all teammates by at least 40-plus receiving yards in both games this season despite finishing second in targets (16) behind receiver Justin Bowick (17) and just ahead of Miles Coleman (13).

The new fan-favorite torched the Ducks for 121 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches Saturday.

Editor’s note: Some formations and/or route combinations make it tough to identify the primary read based on broadcast footage. In those circumstances, both players were awarded what we’re calling “a possible first read.”

Young’s first definitive route as the first-read for Mestemaker came on the quarterback’s 15th dropback. That play went down as a 33-yard catch on the flea flicker. I had him with one possible first read when Mestemaker was staring down both him and Bowick who ultimately got the target.

Young didn’t have to wait long to get back in the action. He hauled in a 16-yard catch on the very next play, though this time Mestemaker worked through his progressions to find him.

Young finished 1-of-2 for 16 yards when he wasn’t the primary read and hauled in 4-of-6 targets for 105 and a touchdown when he got the first look. Both incompletions came on plays where Mestemaker was under some duress after left guard Desmond Magiya and right guard Johnny Dickson allowed defenders to get through.

Overall, Young finished with seven first reads, resulting in six targets, and three possible first reads resulting in zero targets.

I didn’t rewatch the entire Tulsa game, but I did rewatch all nine targets Young saw in the opener. He caught 5-of-6 for 35 yards as the primary read, plus there was a 20-yard reception where Young was most likely the first read.

Half of those targets, if not more, came while OSU appeared to be running RPOs.

Young also caught two passes when Mestemaker bailed on his first read. Young turned those two plays into 29 yards, including a 27-yard catch which put the Cowboys just outside the red zone trailing 14 points with 6.5 minutes left at TU.

Bowick Breakout Coming?

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