Drew Mestemaker throws for 317 yards and runs for 109 more as the Cowboys become the first FBS team to snap a double-digit losing streak against an AP top-10 opponent
Oklahoma State beat No. 6 Oregon 39-31 on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, surviving a fourth-quarter lead change seven days after losing its season opener at Tulsa. The Cowboys entered as 24.5-point underdogs carrying a 12-game overall losing streak and a 21-game skid against FBS competition dating back to 2024 — both of which ended Saturday.
Oregon, meanwhile, arrived in Stillwater carrying the nation's longest active road winning streak, and left it there, too; head coach Dan Lanning also saw a 35-0 record against unranked teams and a 42-0 mark when leading after the first quarter both end in the same afternoon.
It's OSU's first win over a ranked opponent since a 27-24 victory over No. 10 Oklahoma on Nov. 4, 2023 — the last Bedlam game before the Sooners left for the SEC — and its first over a top-six team since beating No. 6 Notre Dame in 2022.
ESPN noted during the game that no FBS team had ever snapped a losing streak of 10 or more games by beating an AP top-10 opponent.
"They played fast. That was one of our goals. Everybody counted them out, told them how bad they were. Proud of those kids," Morris told ESPN's Taylor McGregor after the game.
The announced crowd of 51,035 watched OSU outgain the Ducks 554 yards to 281 and hold the ball for nearly 37 minutes, but the game was never as comfortable as those numbers suggest.
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The turnaround is hard to overstate. A week ago in Tulsa, OSU outgained the Golden Hurricane 368-361 and led in first downs 27-15, and still lost 24-10 — undone by a 4-1 turnover margin, a 5-of-16 showing on third down and a red-zone trip that produced points just twice in four chances. The Cowboys' opening drive of that game went 13 plays to the Tulsa 3 and ended on a failed fourth-and-1. They did not score a rushing touchdown all afternoon.
On Saturday, OSU again lost the turnover battle, 2-1, including a pick-six. It didn't matter. The ground game went from 127 yards at 3.4 a carry against Tulsa to 237 at 5.9 against a top-10 defense. The red-zone number flipped from 2-of-4 to 7-of-8. Mestemaker, sacked twice and intercepted twice in Tulsa, wasn't sacked once by Oregon and accounted for three touchdowns.
Against Tulsa, the Cowboys moved the ball and had nothing to show for it. Against Oregon, they finished nearly everything.
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OSU struck first, but Oregon answered almost immediately.
Kicker Sam Keltner (16) opened the scoring with a 20-yard field goal, capping a five-play, 76-yard drive set up by quarterback Drew Mestemaker's (17) 75-yard scramble on OSU's first play from scrimmage. Oregon took the lead minutes later with OSU driving for another score, Mestemaker's third-down pass was intercepted at the Oregon 4 by linebacker Devon Jackson, who returned it 96 yards for a touchdown — a 10-point swing that put Oregon ahead 7-3.
The Ducks held that lead into the second quarter before OSU scored on three of four possessions. Mestemaker found tight end Carson Kolb (44) for a 1-yard touchdown to reclaim the lead at 10-7, and running back Caleb Hawkins (24) punched one in from 5 yards out to make it 17-7.
Oregon answered when Mestemaker's second interception — picked off by linebacker Matayo Uiagalelei and returned to the OSU 1 — set up a Jordon Davison (0) 1-yard touchdown run. Mestemaker responded by connecting with wide receiver Wyatt Young (10) for a 52-yard score, and a late Gage Hurych field goal was as close as the Ducks would get before halftime — OSU led 24-17 at the break.
The third quarter went back and forth. Keltner's 24-yard field goal pushed OSU ahead 27-17, Oregon answered with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Dante Moore to Dakorien Moore to cut it to 27-24, and Keltner's 44-yarder with 31 seconds left in the quarter made it 30-24.
Then came the game's tensest stretch: Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart (7) hauled in a 38-yard touchdown catch nine seconds into the fourth quarter, giving Oregon its first lead since the second quarter, 31-30.
OSU didn't blink. The Cowboys answered with a 12-play, 75-yard, four-and-a-half-minute drive that Mestemaker finished himself with a 10-yard touchdown run, restoring the lead at 36-31 (a two-point conversion attempt failed).
After trading punts and a turnover on downs, Keltner's fourth field goal of the day made it 39-31 with 3:11 left. Oregon's final threat ended when running back Dierre Hill Jr. (6) fumbled at the Oregon 40 with 1:55 to play, recovered by OSU defensive end James Williams (10). The Cowboys knelt out the clock.
Mestemaker finished 26 of 43 for 317 yards and two touchdowns through the air, added 109 rushing yards and a touchdown on six carries, but also threw two interceptions — including the pick-six. Hawkins carried 23 times for 110 yards and a touchdown. Young led all receivers with five catches for 121 yards and a score; wide receiver Justin Bowick (0) added five catches for 81 yards, and wide receiver Chris Barnes (2) had two catches for 51 yards.
Defensively, linebacker Ethan Wesloski (32) led OSU with nine tackles and half a sack, and linebacker Tate Romney (3) and safety Quinton Hammonds (7) each had seven tackles. Defensive end Malik Charles (0), defensive end Keviyan Huddleston (11) and defensive end Jaleel Johnson each recorded a full sack, with Wesloski and linebacker Isaiah Chisom (2) splitting a fourth — part of a four-sack, 19-yard afternoon that helped offset OSU's turnovers.
For Oregon, quarterback Dante Moore threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and Hill Jr. led the ground game with 74 yards on 15 carries. Stewart caught four passes for 78 yards and a score, and wide receiver Dakorien Moore added three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown.
OSU held commanding edges in first downs (25-12), total offense (554-281) and time of possession (36:54-23:06), and converted 7 of 8 red-zone chances to Oregon's 1 of 1. The Cowboys were outdone on third down, converting just 5 of 17 to Oregon's 5 of 14, and were penalized only twice for 30 yards compared to Oregon's seven for 66.
OSU actually lost the turnover battle, 2-1, but overcame it with the yardage and red-zone gap.
At 1-1, the Cowboys have a win over a top-10 team and a loss to an unranked in-state rival in the same eight-day stretch — a season that has already refused to settle into a shape. OSU hosts Murray State 6 p.m. next Saturday, Sept. 19, at Boone Pickens Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.