10 Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 51-49 Loss to Iowa State

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AMES, Iowa — A slippery, Halloween night at Jack Trice Stadium — what could possibly go wrong? A lot.

Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State 51-49 on Saturday in Ames. Here are 10 thoughts on the game.

1. Ames, Iowa, Where OSU National Title/CFP Hopes Go to Die

How does this keep happening?

When a Cowboy team with dreams of postseason glory comes to Ames, it doesn’t go well.

The Cowboys were 10-0 when they came to Ames in 2011 and lost 37-31 in double-OT.

The Cowboys finished the regular season 11-1 in 2021 — the loss being a 24-21 heartbreaker in Ames.

And now, this OSU squad still well in the mix for a Big 12 title (and thus, a CFP berth) comes in and loses in one of the wilder shootouts I’ve seen (and OSU has had some wild ones over the years).

The Cowboys were somewhat in control of their own destiny coming into Halloween, as part of a group of one-loss teams battling it out for the final spot in Arlington. Now, OSU is reliant on others clearing that path — just like in 2011 and 2021.

2. Young’s Fire Got the Better of Him

Inexcusable. Can’t have it.

Wyatt Young has played with a fire throughout the year, and on Saturday, it finally burned him.

After scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute, Young strutted all the way to the wall to let some fans know of his touchdown. He was flagged, moving OSU’s ensuing kickoff back.

Iowa State’s drive started on its 37-yard line with 50 seconds to play. One 33-yard pass later, and the Cyclones were already in field-goal range. All the Cowboys could do was hope for a miss, and Kyle Konrardy didn’t miss it, hitting a 34-yarder as time expired.

There were many reasons OSU lost this football game — some of them we’ll get into — but in terms of backbreaking, crucial moments, it’s hard to not put that one at the top.

3. I’m Losing Faith in the OSU Defense

A week after being pulled against Arizona, Iowa State quarterback Jaylen Raynor threw for a season-high 309 yards and three touchdowns while running for another 48 yards and another score.

Iowa State was averaging 18.8 points in Big 12 play going into Saturday before erupting for 51 against the Cowboys. It’s the most points Iowa State has scored in a Big 12 game all year — surpassing the 45 the Cyclones hung on noted bad defense West Virginia.

Last week against Arizona, the Cyclones had two pass plays longer than 20 yards. Against OSU, Iowa State had six — three of which were more than 40 yards.

Iowa State had 581 yards of total offense — another season-high.

For those reasons and more, I’m losing (or maybe has lost?) faith in what I once thought was a better-than-anticipated OSU defense.

4. Another Rough First Half

The Cowboys have not led a Big 12 game at the half.

Thus far in conference play, OSU has been outscored 97-91 in the first halves. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have outscored foes 140-65 in the second half.

I guess if you could only have one, you’d prefer a second-half team, but those slow starts have proven to be tougher to come back from away from home, as OSU is now 1-3 away from the friendly confines of Boone Pickens Stadium.

This game felt a lot like the Houston games at times, where OSU fans were pleading for a stop in the second half. It was a better second half than the Houston game, but still not a great one, giving up 27 points.

5. The Ball Continues to Find LaDainian Fields

LaDainian Fields reminds me of Ramon Richards in that the football just seems to find him.

Fields picked off his fifth pass of the season and fourth in the past three games on Saturday when he darted in front of a Jaylen Raynor pass in the first quarter.

Fields now sits one INT away from making a little bit of history this season. Only 21 players in program history have intercepted six passes in a season. Of those, only Justin Gilbert (seven in 2013), Jason Taylor (six in 2022) and Darrent Williams (six in 2003) have done so since the turn of the century. That’s certainly not bad company.

6. Blocking Receivers

The Cowboys wideouts were blocking their tails off for Caleb Hawkins in this game.

Hawkins had a 59-yard catch and run in the first quarter in which Young knocked his defender to the grass and all 5-foot-7, 169 pounds of Chris Barnes sealed his guy on the edge.

Log that run on Strava 💨

Caleb Hawkins goes 59 YD to the house

📺 @cfbonfox https://t.co/x7UKN8B1bO

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 31, 2026

Then Hawkins broke a 75-yard run in the third quarter, in which I think Justin Bowick blocked — or at the very least got in the way of — four Cyclone defenders.

Peep the stiff arm 👀

Caleb Hawkins 75 yards to the house!

📺: @CFBONFOX https://t.co/hh81lA8CR7

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 1, 2026

7. Speaking of Bowick

Justin Bowick had perhaps his best game of the season on Saturday despite the loss.

We’ve already hit on his blocking, but Bowick also caught seven passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

He has finesse catches and grown-man catches, and Saturday was filled with the latter. His 6-foot-5 frame and long arms are enough for him to essentially box out defenders, and when that doesn’t work, he jumps over them, like on his 41-yard TD early in the fourth quarter.

That’s that MESTEMAKER ➡️ BOWICK connection 😮‍💨

📺 @CFBONFOX https://t.co/Hj38ZwXoW9

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) November 1, 2026

After starting in the FCS and bouncing around various schools, Bowick has proven that he is an NFL player this year in Stillwater.

8. That Dang Goalpost

Sam Keltner missed his first field goal of the season on Saturday, and of course it came on that goalpost.

Kicking to the north in the first quarter, Keltner missed a 45-yarder. It was the same end zone where OSU’s “miss” in 2011 happened, wiping away the Cowboys’ national title hopes.

Keltner’s streak had to come to an end eventually, and of course it came there of all places. And of course OSU lost this game by two points.

9. Worst Special Teams Half of the Season

The Cowboys’ special teams have been quite good this season, but they were flat bad in the first half of this one.

Along with Keltner’s miss, the Cowboys failed to hop on a surprise onside kick, and then Bobby Deal Jr. tried to field a punt while diving forward (for some reason) and couldn’t corral it.

So, it wasn’t just one aspect of special teams, it was just about all of it.

10. Recipe Was There for an ISU Upset

There was a lot of ugly football from the Cowboys, but Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers did what it took to win this game.

The onside kick swiped a possession from the Cowboys, as the Cyclones tried their best to keep OSU’s high-powered offense on the sideline.

There was a very narrow path to an Iowa State win. It took Iowa State playing outstandingly and OSU making some bonehead plays. Both of those happened on Saturday, and Rogers — an FCS national champion coach — concocted a winning gameplan.