Drew Mestemaker Put Up All-Time Record-Setting Numbers That Matter Even Against Murray State

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STILLWATER — It only took Drew Mestemaker one half to do what no Oklahoma State passer could accomplish last season.

OSU’s QB1 walked into the locker room with 266 passing yards. That’s 31 more yards than any Cowboy had in an entire game last season.

Whoa, whoa, quiet down. Yes, OSU was plagued by severe question marks at quarterback last season. That’s likely a big reason athletic director Chad Weiberg went after Eric Morris in the first place.

But 266 passing yards would have topped OSU’s passing leader in 7-of-12 games in 2024.

And 7-of-14 times in 2023.

And 7-of-13 times in 2022.

And 11-of-14 times in 2021.

It goes on like that until 2018.​

Despite playing only one series in the second half, Mestemaker finished the game 20-of-22 for 324 yards and five touchdowns.

That was enough to break two single-game school records (with a minimum of 20 attempts). His 90.9% accuracy tops previous record holder J.W. Walsh, who hit 88.9% at UTSA in 2013, and runner-up Brandon Weeden, who completed 85.7% against Kansas in 2011.

Mestemaker also set a new record for pass efficiency (289.6) when he shattered Taylor Cornelius’ previous record day (262) against Kansas in 2018.

“I thought some of his layered throws today were phenomenal,” Eric Morris said. “That’s not easy to do. He had two balls on the second level – 30, 40 yards down the field – one with pressure to (Justin) Bowick that were pretty phenomenal throws. He just continues to take great pride in the way he prepares and goes out there and executes at a really high level.”

His big day doesn’t stop there. The last OSU quarterback to throw for five touchdowns in one game was Alan Bowman, who hit that mark against Tulsa in 2024. That was just before the team began its two-year slide to rock bottom, but even if you’re fortunate enough to erase those two seasons from your mind, five touchdowns in one game is still pretty rare for a Cowboy QB.

Before Bowman did it, Cornelius did so twice in 2018, and Mason Rudolph did so four times between 2015-17.

Then you go back to Weeden, who did so three times across 2010-11. That’s only eight times in 14 years in our alternate timeline.

Murray State doesn’t look like a Goliath at the FCS level, much less a team that can hang with a power conference team. But OSU has overmatched teams before, even if it’s been a while. And still, those quarterbacks rarely hit the mark Mestemaker did in less than 2.5 quarters of action.

Mestemaker has thrown for 882 passing yards this season, and he’s averaging 294 a game. That’s a 12-game pace of 3,528 yards.

Even just hitting that would put Mestemaker seventh on OSU’s single-season passing yards record book, and he could finish even higher if the Cowboys capitalize on this potential and return to the postseason.

Morris said, “He’s been the same guy since the day that he became the starter and went out and played the bowl game for us (at North Texas in 2024). … Is he getting better and continuing to grow? Absolutely. I mean, he takes great pride in what he does, and he’s his own worst critic, and he’ll be the first one to tell you.”