Meet Your Insider
Well, howdy, Cowboy fans. I'm Dusty Lockridge, your Oklahoma State insider at The Cover Window. I'm an ag-econ grad, I wear orange from my hat to my boots, and I travel and live with this team. I explain offense with rodeo timing. A quick slant is a two-second ride. A long touchdown drive is the full eight seconds, with a good score from the judges.
Here's my word as a cowboy. Every number I give you has a source. When I do math myself, I'll tell you. If I don't know something, I'll say so. No bull, so to speak. I celebrate our players as young men first, I respect every opponent, and I thank the good Lord for homecoming weekend in Stillwater. Ride 'em, Pokes.
The School in 60 Seconds
Oklahoma State football started in 1901 and plays at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. CFBD lists 55,509 seats. The Cowboys claim the 1945 national championship, awarded by the AFCA, plus eleven conference titles. They've played in 34 bowl games and gone 22-12, including five New Year's Six wins. Running back Barry Sanders won the Heisman in 1988. The program counts 66 All-Americans.
The last five seasons have been a bucking bronco: 12-2, 7-6, 10-4, then 3-9 and 1-11. That's why a 4-2 start feels like the buckle at the end of the ride.
The Coach and the Scheme
Eric Morris is our first-year head coach. Wikipedia says he was introduced on Dec. 8, 2025, while CFBD lists his hire date as Nov. 25, 2025. I'll flag that small difference. Before Stillwater he was head coach at Incarnate Word and North Texas, and offensive coordinator at Washington State.
His offense rides hard. By my math from CFBD totals, OSU averages about 518 yards and 37.2 points per game. It has thrown 17 touchdown passes and run for eight more. The defense allows about 358 yards and 23.7 points per game. Opponents convert 34.9% of third downs. The Cowboys average about 52 penalty yards per game.
Coming into the Houston game, AP noted that defense was a big reason the Cowboys won four in a row. Then Houston converted 7 of 13 third downs, and OSU had a season-high nine penalties. Clean that up, and this outfit is dangerous.
Players to Know
QB Drew Mestemaker: 1,940 yards, 16 touchdowns, six interceptions. He went 22 of 34 for 365 yards and three touchdowns at Houston. Our athletics department says he's thrown for 300-plus yards in five straight games, the second-longest active streak in FBS. UCF coach Scott Frost said he'd be surprised if Mestemaker is in college next year. High praise from the other side of the arena.
WR Wyatt Young: team-best 32 catches for 561 yards and five touchdowns. That's 17.5 yards a catch by my math.
RB Caleb Hawkins: 592 rushing yards on 123 carries. At Houston he caught seven passes for a career-high 125 yards, two shy of the school record for a running back.
WR Justin Bowick: six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown against UCF, and an 8-yard touchdown catch at Houston.
Ethan Wesloski: team-high 62 tackles, including nine at Houston.
Malik Charles: team-high 2.5 sacks.
Evan Jackson: returned a fumble 28 yards for the turning-point touchdown against UCF.
The Conference Picture
Oklahoma State is 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12. The Cowboys are 3-0 at home and 1-2 on the road. They lost the opener 24-10 at Tulsa. Then came four straight wins: 39-31 over Oregon, 59-0 over Murray State, 41-24 at West Virginia and 42-28 over UCF. Last week brought a 35-32 loss at Houston.
OSU was ranked No. 18 going into Houston. Our athletics department says the Cowboys are still in the Big 12 hunt, though they'll need help. After Colorado come Iowa State and Kansas State on the road, Texas Tech at home, Arizona State on the road and Kansas at home.
This Week: Game Preview from Both Sides
Colorado (2-4) at Oklahoma State (4-2) · Saturday, Oct. 24, 6 p.m. CT · Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Okla. · FS1
Last time out. Houston led 14-3 at halftime, and OSU scored 29 second-half points but fell 35-32. Mestemaker went 16 of 19 for 241 yards after halftime. Early red-zone trips ended in a field goal and a turnover on downs. Colorado lost 27-24 to Utah the same weekend.
OSU's offense vs. Colorado's defense. By my CFBD math, Colorado allows about 357 yards and 25.7 points per game. Its pass rush has 13 sacks, with Lamont Lester Jr. leading at four. Protect Mestemaker, and let Young and Bowick work. Hawkins keeps defenses honest on the ground and through the air.
Colorado's offense vs. OSU's defense. Colorado scores about 19.5 points per game and has lost 13 turnovers, by my math from CFBD totals. The Buffs averaged roughly 84 penalty yards per game. But Isaac Wilson threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns against Utah, and Colorado gained 324 yards after halftime. Joseph Williams has 508 receiving yards. Respect that.
Series. Colorado leads 27-20-1 all-time, per our athletics site. The last meeting was a 52-0 Colorado win in Boulder on Nov. 29, 2024. OSU won the time before, 38-8 in San Antonio in 2016. Nobody in orange has forgotten 2024.
Availability. No official conference availability report has been published. I found no confirmed OSU injury news.
Three questions that decide it:
1. Can OSU finish red-zone trips with touchdowns?
2. Can the Cowboys cut down on penalties after nine at Houston?
3. Can the defense get off the field on third down?
Moss, the Colorado insider, runs a quant model from a hammock. I time plays with a stopwatch from a saddle. We'll both be counting.
Local Flavor
It's America's Greatest Homecoming, and the game is listed as sold out. Stillwater will be orange from the rooftops to the parking lots. Come early, take it all in, love your neighbor and welcome the Buffs fans with real Oklahoma manners. Not an ad. Ride 'em, Pokes.
My call: Oklahoma State Cowboys 31, Colorado Buffaloes 21.