Jackson's Scoop-and-Score Lifts No. 18 OSU Past UCF 42-28
Cowboys win fourth straight, move to 2-0 in Big 12 play
OSU safety Evan Jackson's fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown broke open a one-score game, and No. 18 Oklahoma State beat UCF 42-28 Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium for its fourth straight win.
The Cowboys improved to 4-1 and 2-0 in the Big 12, their first 2-0 conference start since 2022, according to OSU Athletics. It was Oklahoma State's first win over UCF in three meetings and the Knights' first trip to Stillwater. The win was also the 50th of head coach Eric Morris' career.
Oklahoma State won without the ball for much of the afternoon. UCF ran 83 plays to Oklahoma State's 60 and held the ball for 35:15, more than 10 minutes longer than the Cowboys. Oklahoma State won on efficiency instead, averaging 6.9 yards per play to UCF's 4.5, and on turnovers — the reverse of the season-opening loss at Tulsa, where OSU outgained the Golden Hurricane and lost the turnover battle 4-1.
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A back-and-forth first half
The game started badly for the Cowboys. On their second play from scrimmage, OSU running back Caleb Hawkins fumbled at the Oklahoma State 42, and UCF quarterback Keyone Jenkins found Grayson Brousseau for a 1-yard touchdown nine plays later.
Morris went right back to Hawkins on the next drive.
"There's nobody in that stadium, including myself, that was more upset about that play than Caleb Hawkins," Morris said in his postgame news conference. "I told him, hey, I'm coming right back to you."
OSU quarterback Drew Mestemaker tied it with an 11-yard touchdown run, and the teams traded scores the rest of the half. Tight end Morgan McPhaul punched in a 1-yard run early in the second quarter out of a heavy goal-line package the Cowboys installed during the bye week, Morris said.
"He's 250 pounds, he's a great athlete," Morris said of McPhaul. "He's going to pull his way in there."
Mestemaker hit wide receiver Justin Bowick for an 18-yard touchdown with 2:03 left before halftime for a 21-14 lead. UCF answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive in 1:50, and Jenkins' 3-yard pass to Tyren Hornes with 13 seconds left tied it at 21. Jenkins completed 15 of 18 first-half passes for 118 yards and three touchdowns.
Morris said the defense struggled to set the edge early, and that the staff challenged the players at halftime.
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The swing
UCF changed its approach after halftime, Morris said, huddling through the third quarter to slow the game and keep Oklahoma State's offense on the sideline.
OSU kicker Sam Keltner made field goals of 40 and 29 yards, the first set up by Mestemaker's 48-yard completion to Miles Coleman. Between them, UCF's Will Stone missed a 45-yard try that ended a 13-play drive lasting 7:02.
Leading 27-21 early in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma State got the play it needed. On second-and-8 from the UCF 39, Jenkins lost 11 yards and the ball came loose. Jackson scooped it up at the UCF 28 and ran it in. The play was upheld on review, and Mestemaker's 2-point run made it 35-21 with 10:32 left.
"I scooped it, the crowd was kind of silent for a little bit and then as I'm running, you just hear a big pop from the crowd," Jackson said, according to an OSU Athletics release.
It was the first fumble-return touchdown by a Cowboy since Malcolm Rodriguez in 2021, according to OSU Athletics.
"Super close play, he didn't hesitate," Morris said. "He saw the ball on the ground, he picked it up, scooped it, and went and made a play with it."
UCF head coach Scott Frost called it the difference in the game.
"We can't have a catastrophic play like that, particularly on the road against a good team," Frost said in his postgame news conference. "And if you take that one away, I don't know what the game looks like."
UCF's next drive died on fourth-and-1 at its own 34, when OSU defensive tackle Luke Webb stopped Landen Chambers for no gain.
"Something just told me he was going to run it up the middle and I was like, all right, here we go, and I just went forward," Webb said, according to OSU Athletics.
Three plays later, Mestemaker found Wyatt Young for a 5-yard touchdown and a 42-21 lead. UCF added a late score, and OSU's Cameron Epps intercepted Jenkins on the final play.
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Key performances
Mestemaker completed 19 of 28 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Morris said the quarterback room had "let's not turn the ball over" posted in large type all week.
"I thought his ball placement and his eyes were phenomenal today," Morris said.
Frost offered similar praise. "I think their quarterback, I'll be surprised if he's in college next year," he said.
Bowick led the receivers with six catches for 98 yards, and Coleman added 69 yards on four catches. Hawkins finished with 83 yards on 23 carries.
On defense, linebacker Ethan Wesloski made 17 tackles for the second straight game, and linebacker Tate Romney added a career-high 14 with two tackles for loss. UCF running back Duke Watson, who entered averaging 8.2 yards per carry according to OSU Athletics, finished with 79 yards on 21 carries.
"Such a blessing to have those two side by side," Morris said of his linebackers. "They communicate at a high level."
By the numbers
- 6.9 — Oklahoma State's yards per play, against 4.5 for UCF
- 35:15 — UCF's time of possession
- 5 for 5 — OSU's red-zone scoring
- 12 for 12 — Keltner on field goals to start his OSU career, the longest such start in school history, according to OSU Athletics
- 20 — Straight games with 200 or more passing yards for Mestemaker, the longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision, according to OSU Athletics
Looking ahead
Oklahoma State held at No. 18 in Sunday's Associated Press poll and debuted at No. 20 in the coaches poll.
Next up is a ranked matchup. The Cowboys play at No. 20 Houston at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas. The game will air on FOX.
The Cougars (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) have won three straight and moved up two spots in this week's AP poll. Their wins include a 27-17 victory over UCF on Oct. 3.
Houston leads the all-time series 11-10-1 and won the last meeting 39-17 on Oct. 11, 2025, in Stillwater, according to OSU Athletics. Morris said after Saturday's win that he hoped the trip would be "a top-25 matchup at Houston at night."
The open date is gone. Oklahoma State plays its final seven regular-season games without a break.
"There's no more bye weeks, here we go with seven straight," Morris said, "and we gotta be tough enough to handle those situations and these places that we're about to play."
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