Quarterback to Back: Drew Mestemaker Faces a Different Challenge against Murray State

The Cowboys’ QB1 position has been set since Drew Mestemaker announced he was going to follow Eric Morris to Stillwater last year. But FCS opponent Murray State is still figuring out who their top passer is.

Mestemaker is coming off a big-time bounce-back performance after leading the Cowboys to an upset win over then-No. 6 Oregon. The question is how he will follow up a marquee QB matchup against Dante Moore now facing an FCS opponent that seems to have a quarterback competition.

On the opposite sideline, Murray State has been splitting reps between VMI graduate transfer Collin Shannon and returning junior Jim Ogle. Both have seen significant reps so far this season, but Shannon leads the way, so he’ll get top billing for our comparison.

Here’s a look at the QB numbers side-by-side before we get into matchup.

Still a QB Competition?

Although Shannon was the Week 1 starter, he has had to share reps and workloads with junior QB Jim Ogle, son of co-offensive coordinator Jimmy Ogle. The pair have been going back and forth as far as usage goes, but both have seen significant reps in the last two games.

Shannon was the Racers’ lone QB in a Week 1 loss to Eastern Illinois before taking the back seat to Ogle in Week 2 to Middle Tennessee State. In that game, Ogle got the lion’s share of snaps going 11-for-16 versus Shannon’s just 2-of-6.

Things seem to have shifted back in Shannon’s favor ahead of last weekend. He got the start and the Racers earned their first win against Valparaiso. Shannon went 11-for-17 for 121 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions. He was sacked twice. But Ogle came off the bench to complete 7-of-13 attempts for 73 yards. He had a TD and a pick but wasn’t sacked.

Shannon spent four seasons at the Virginia Military Institute where he was named team captain in 2023 and 2025 with a 2024 season that was shortened due to injury. There he threw passes to OSU transfer tight end Morgan McPhaul.

Shannon appears to be the most likely the guy to start based on the reps distribution, but he also got banged up last week, with Murray State coach Jody Wright calling him a game-time decision earlier this week. Don’t be surprised if we see multiple QBs.

The Racers do most of their scoring on the ground led by the likes of junior running back Tyrell Campbell. They have five rushing touchdowns to three passing on the year.

A Different Kind of Test for Mestemaker

We’ve witnessed Mestemaker go through highs and lows already in this young season. Each game will teach us more and more about him, but this will provide a specific challenge.

Fresh off a performance against No. 6 Oregon that earned him all the weekly awards, how will the sophomore look against an FCS opponent? Will he be steady and efficient? Hopefully the Cowboys won’t be in the situation where he feels needs to hurdle defenders all that often. Will he relax facing a lesser opponent? Ideally, the Cowboys are in a position to give someone else a few snaps by the fourth quarter.

In most situations, facing Murray State the week before your first Big 12 road game would be considered a potential trap. But the Cowboys seemed to have already been through that scenario. I think the best-case scenario is for Mestemaker to spend most of the fourth quarter on the sidelines.