The Cowboy Defense’s Two Biggest Plays Came from Unlikely Sources

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STILLWATER —When Oklahoma State’s defense needed answers on Saturday, the Cowboys first turned to the team’s No. 3 safety, who was playing roughly 25% of snaps.

If that wasn’t incredible enough, the other defensive hero from Saturday’s 42-28 win over UCF was the Cowboys’ No. 7 defensive tackle, who had only 19 total defensive snaps against the first three FBS opponents.

“We challenged those guys at halftime,” coach Eric Morris said, referring to the entire defense. “I thought we weren’t very good on the perimeter, setting edges of our defense early.”

Nickel Christian Bodnar set the edge and then some in the second half when he forced UCF’s would-be blocker into the intended pass catcher on a play that just so happened to be a backward pass.

With no UCF player standing anywhere near the ball, it just rolled on the turf.

“My eyes just got real big,” OSU safety Evan Jackson said. “It’s like, words can’t even describe it. Like just the feeling from the crowd and the emotions on the sideline just played a big part.”

Somehow Jackson hopped over a UCF player and scooped up the ball all without breaking stride in his 28-yard sprint into the end zone.

“I can’t even tell you,” Jackson said of how he managed to make that whole play look so smooth. “It’s just all adrenaline. Seeing the ball on the ground, and they tell you to see ball, get ball. Just pull the trigger.”

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

Jackson played a much bigger role than usual on Saturday following an in-game injury to starter Mose Phillips, who had his shoulder wrapped during halftime. Morris said Phillips would be okay after praising the big play by Jackson.

“It was just a really heads-up play by Evan,” Morris said. “He was Johnny on the spot. We teach that, and it was super close. … He didn’t hesitate.”

As previously referenced, Jackson played 51-of-211 possible defensive snaps against Tulsa, Oregon and West Virginia. Quinton Hammonds played all 211, while Phillips played 160. Jackson finished as the No. 3 safety last season at North Texas as well, but he was more involved in the rotation, playing more than 40% of snaps.

Morris and several other Cowboys described his big play as a momentum changer, but none put it quite like linebacker Ethan Wesloski.

“You feel the crowd come back alive, and then the next drive, it was the fourth-down stop,” Wesloski said. “That’s another huge momentum piece. The offense scores, we’re going up now, everyone’s getting a little bit of energy. Momentum is the biggest drug in college football these days. For us to have it on our side, huge.”

Speaking of the fourth-down stop, defensive tackle Luke Webb, a third-year Cowboy, grabbed hold of UCF running back Landen Chambers by the leg on 4th-and-1 and just refused to let him go, pulling him to the ground at the line of scrimmage.

“It was a got-to-have-it play,” Webb said. “If they get that, there’s a good chance they score, and they’re still in the game.”

Webb finished sixth on the team in tackles on Saturday, but his only solo play came on that fourth down. That tackle gave Oklahoma State the ball back on the UCF 34-yard line up 14 points with only 8:55 to play. The Cowboys all but put the game on ice three plays later when the offense found the end zone.

Webb played only 19 combined snaps against Tulsa, Oregon and West Virginia. Six defensive tackles had more, with four guys playing at least 37 snaps while Braylon Rigsby played 33 snaps despite missing one of those three games.

Between that and his postgame interview, it feels safe to say his play on Saturday might have meant something extra to him.

“Well, for me, so I’ve been rotating in here and there,” Webb said. “And I’ve really been trying to make plays where I can, and it’s just finally like a breakout play, I guess for me. Just finally able to feel like being a part, like not necessarily a part of the team, but like making an impact.”