10 Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 42-28 Victory Against UCF

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STILLWATER — It took the Cowboys a bit to separate from the Knights, but in the end, the Pokes picked up their fourth straight win.

Oklahoma State beat UCF 42-28 on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. Here are 10 Thoughts on the game.

1. When the Dam Broke

UCF had been perfectly implementing its gameplan and was hanging around with the Cowboys, but the dam broke when OSU scored a defensive TD.

Keyone Jenkins threw a quick pass early in the fourth quarter, but the somewhat elementary throw went haywire, drifting backward.

Christian Bodnar had blown up his block, causing a pileup of humanity near where the ball landed. OSU safety Evan Jackson coolly skipped over the pile, scooped the ball up and ran it in for a touchdown.

scoop, there it is

📺: ESPN2 | @TheEvanJackson https://t.co/LPQaiVpggM

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 10, 2026

It gave the Cowboys their first two-score lead of the game, and it forced the Knights to start throwing the ball more. What was once a close game quickly got away from the Orlando-based squad.

2. Not the Most Ideal Defensive Performance

The Cowboys killed West Virginia with the outside zone play two weeks ago, but Saturday, it was the Cowboys’ D seemingly getting gashed by the concept.

UCF methodically moved down the field in the first half, staying on schedule and taking chunks out of the clock while keeping Drew Mestemaker and Co. on the sideline. With their ability to stay ahead of the chains, it felt like UCF was constantly getting a first down by a yard or two each time.

The Knights finished with north of a 10-minute advantage in terms of time of possession. They were 7-for-16 on third down but also 4-for-5 on fourth down.

UCF ran for 80 yards in the first half and just 30 in the second.

With UCF having injuries up front and a backup quarterback in, it felt like everything went as best as the Knights could’ve imagined until the big defensive touchdown forced them to attack differently.

3. But Another Good Second Half

After getting gashed in the first half in Morgantown, OSU’s D bowed up and got stops in the second half. That happened again Saturday.

UCF’s offense scored three touchdowns and punted twice in the first half. In the second, the Knights scored one touchdown, punted once, missed a field goal, lost a fumble, turned the ball over on downs and threw an interception.

Halftime adjustments reign supreme again.

4. Mestemaker Made It Look Routine

Drew Mestemaker finished with 304 passing yards and was responsible for three total touchdowns.

It wasn’t his most eye-popping of games, but that probably speaks more to how routine Mestemaker has made things look that he can slice up a Big 12 team like that and it go somewhat under the radar.

It felt like one of those days Mason Rudolph would throw for 300 yards and Mike Gundy would say he played “avruge” after the game.

That doesn’t mean he had a bad day by any means. I think his most impressive play to me was his touchdown pass to Justin Bowick, where Mestemaker seemingly read that the Knights were in Cover 2, and right when the corner dropped off Bowick to cover a route under him, Mestemaker fired the ball into a window before the safety could make it over.

always open @justinbowickjr

📺: ESPN2 https://t.co/x1yKcGJkC2

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 10, 2026

Mestemaker has now thrown for at least 300 yards in four straight games. The last time OSU did that was when Taylor Cornelius did so late in the 2018 season.

5. Justin Bowick Is a Pro

It was another day where opposing defensive backs had to be thinking, “this dude is an alien” in reference to Justin Bowick.

The 6-foot-5 speedster finished with a team-leading six catches for 98 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.

He had catches of 18 yards (the TD), 19 yards and 32 yards, but his most impressive snag of the day was no doubt a 12-yard reception in the first half where Bowick brought in a ball on a slant route with one hand while in traffic.

How did Justin Bowick catch this?🤯

📺 ESPN2 x @Big12Conference https://t.co/rRPrQR676q

— CFP (@CFBPlayoff) October 10, 2026

How the heck do you defend a guy who is bigger than you, stronger than you and needs only one paw to grab a ball?

6. Coleman in the Passing Game

Miles Coleman had his most impactful receiving game as a Cowboy on Saturday, as he brought in four passes for 69 yards.

It was an especially big performance considering Wyatt Young (Coleman’s fellow slot receiver) was questionable coming into this game.

Coleman had a 48-yard reception early in the third quarter after a crispy route left him in a lot of open space. He also picked up a nice block from Bowick downfield.

It continues to be a deep receiver room. It almost feels like a lock that Bowick and/or Young is going to have a big day, but then it always feels like there’s someone else who joins them.

7. Hawkins’ Fumble Seemed to Tick Him Off

Star tailback Caleb Hawkins lost a fumble on OSU’s second play from scrimmage on Saturday, but it seemed to only fire him up.

The Cowboys didn’t go away from him despite the mistake. Hawkins touched the ball on OSU’s next three plays — an 8-yard rush, a 23-yard reception and a 5-yard rush.

Even with the early mishap, Hawkins continued taking on contact and fighting for extra yardage. It wasn’t his best statistical day, but his 23 carries for 83 yards were impactful nonetheless.

8. Tackling Machine Ethan Wesloski

Facing back-to-back run-first teams, Ethan Wesloski has been earning his NIL money with back-to-back 17-tackle performances.

That pushes him to 53 total tackles this season — a 10-tackle lead among Cowboys.

“It’s never something to be tired of, (getting tackles),” Wesloski said. “But, I’ll sacrifice as many tackles as I need to be able to have our guys execute better at a higher level. I think you probably take away 10 of them if we’re executing at a higher level, so it’s my job to get in there tomorrow and Monday, get our guys on the same page.”

He was again joined in the double-digit category, as Tate Romney wasn’t too far behind with 14 tackles and Quinton Hammonds added 11.

9. Keltner Remains Perfect

The first sign that the Knights might not be able to keep up with the Pokes came early in the second half — even before the catastrophic fumble.

OSU kicked a field goal on its first possession of the second half, when Sam Keltner hit from 40 yards out.

UCF got in field-goal range on its ensuing possession, but Will Stone hooked a 45-yard attempt.

Keltner hit another field goal on OSU’s next possession, and the Knights would never be that close again.

An SMU transfer, Keltner is now 12-for-12 on field-goal attempts this season. Half of those attempts were from 30 or more yards.

He’s bound to miss at some point (right?), but it’s hard to ask for much more than perfection to this point.

10. Big Showdown in H-Town

For the first time in two years, the Cowboys seemed destined for a ranked matchup next week.

As of writing, Houston is taking care of Kansas State in Manhattan, which should lead to ranked vs. ranked under the lights next Saturday in Houston.

The Cowboys last ranked matchup came in 2024 when OSU went to Manhattan and lost to Kansas State 42-20. That was loss No. 2 in what would become an 18-game Big 12 losing streak. With how downhill that season went, it’s hard to remember that the Cowboys were at one point ranked.

It’s cool how quickly the stakes of these games have returned, and whether there is more red or more orange in the crowd in Houston, it ought to be a fun one.