The Oklahoma State Cowboys kept themselves in the race to get to the Big 12 Championship game with a 57-24 win over the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday.

The Cowboys (5-2, 3-1 in Big 12) have won five games this season, giving them more wins than they had in the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined. It came in a game where Oklahoma State had nearly 600 yards of total offense and its defense played two very different brands of football in the first half and in the second half. That made it a little difficult to grade that unit properly.

But with the Cowboys coming off a victory, here is the grade for every position group after the Cowboys blew out the Buffaloes.

Quarterback: A-

defense ➡️ offense

📺: FS1 | @MorganMcPhaul1 pic.twitter.com/X466oJAsC4

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 25, 2026

It's hard to complain about what Drew Mestemaker did on Saturday. He was near perfect in the first half, made sounds decisions and ended up with 386 yards passing with four touchdowns. We can quibble about the 58 percent completion rate but some of that was due to him throwing the ball away when he needed to. Head coach Eric Morris has been on him about decision-making and ball possession, and he did both things well on Saturday.

He took four sacks on Saturday. Some of that was on his offensive line but a couple were about his internal clock not going off when it should have.

Running Back: A

Last one for the night. Caleb Hawkins talks about Drew Mestemaker, William Mason and patience with the run game. #OkState #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/qQJO7mJJHK

— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) October 25, 2026

The Cowboys went back to Caleb Hawkins in the screen game early and I think it helped open things up in the offense. Hawkins said the Cowboys gave him a hint that more passes were coming his way a few weeks ago. He caught 5 passes for 72 yards and rushed for 120 yards and 19 carries as he kept to the inside zone game from much of the contest. It was his second straight game of nearly 200 total yards.

William Mason got his first meaningful playing time in a meaningful game, and he rushed for 27 yards on six carries with a touchdown. Morris said Mason earned that with his work on special teams. The question is where Ayo Adeyi went? He wasn't on the player availability report and Morris did not talk about him after the game. That's a good question for Tuesday.

Wide Receiver: A

Start your day with a @justinbowickjr TD 🤠 pic.twitter.com/VaAAZRHrtI

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 25, 2026

Justin Bowick had another huge game with five catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. Wyatt young also caught a touchdown on four receptions for 78 yards. Mestemaker spread the ball out among 10 different pass catchers. Only one receiver was credited with a drop.

This group did some under the radar blocking too that helped push plays down the field. Morris credited them after the game for doing a better job of sealing off would be tacklers in open space. The only two debits were Young's near fumble in the third quarter and Mestemaker’s intentional grounding call which was more on the receiver because he inexplicably cut off a route. This unit did just about everything right.

Tight End: B

What a view 😍 pic.twitter.com/tuHcfJMCIQ

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 25, 2026

The Cowboys lost starter Carson Kolb to a left foot injury during the game. Oklahoma State on SI saw him walking around in a boot and with crutches after the game. Morris said he had no update on Kolb’s condition.

For the first time this year the rest of the tight end group stepped up and did meaningful things in the passing game. Donovan Green, Oscar Hammond and Morgan McPhaul each caught a pass, with McPhaul catching a touchdown pass. Morris spread out the playing time among the remaining tight ends and it worked. Now the question for next week is, assuming Kolb is out, who becomes that go to receiver in that unit? For now, it looks like McPhaul.

Offensive Line: B

The line was part of an offense that finished with 598 total yards, including 410 passing yards as backup Broderick Vehrs got some action late in the game. The offense averaged 7.9 yards per play and 17.8 yards per completion. Three different players had more than 100 yards of offense, with Mestemaker finishing with nearly 400 passing yards. OSU even finished the game with more time with the football than Colorado, though just barely.

Oklahoma State continued to rotate Braydon Nelson at left tackle and Desmond Magiya took over at left guard when Johnny Dickson III had to leave the game. The only thing driving down the grade was the four sacks. As noted, some of those were on the quarterback but others were clearly on the offensive line.

Defensive Line: B-

Defensively this was a strange game period the entire unit couldn't do much right in the first half and gave up 24 points. Then, in the second half, like a light came on, the unit pitched a shutout. So, we'll be generous and give the defensive line a slightly above average grade for picking things up in the second half.

Tackle Jerry Lawson turned the momentum of the game in Oklahoma State’s favor by forcing a fumble on the first play of the second half. You could argue he was the spark that began the blowout. Defensive linemen had 6.5 of the nine tackles for loss and two of the four sacks in the game. Defensive end James Williams was a huge spark in the second half with a key tackle for loss on the second possession of the second half.

Linebacker: B

Oklahoma State’s Ethan Wesloski talks after his eight-tackle, two-sack performance against Colorado. #OkState #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/9X97wSxl3Q

— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) October 25, 2026

Ethan Wesloski Might have had the best all-around game of any Oklahoma State defender. He finished with eight tackles, four of which were solo, along with two tackles, two tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. He was everywhere, and once the defensive lines started working on Colorado’s offensive line in the second half, he had pursuit lanes to work with.

Tate Romney had three tackles. Isaiah Chisom only had one tackle. This game was all about what Wesloski was able to do all over the field.

Secondary: B-

Ladanian Fields INT wow amazing omg@FieldsLadainian pic.twitter.com/TBN9wNe6OI

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 25, 2026

As with the defensive line one must balance the grade between what the secondary did in the first half, which was help give up 222 passing yards, and what it did in the second half, which was essentially locked down Colorado’s wide receivers. It was the kind of statistical flip you rarely see in games.

Morris credited both LaDainian Fields and Mo Horn for changing their mindsets in the second half and getting more aggressive. Fields finished with two interceptions, his first two-interception game of his career. He also had eight tackles. Horn finished with six tackles and broke up a pass. Last week Morris talked about still needed to “find” his two corners. Based on how much Fields and Horn played, it looks like he’s found them.

Special Teams: A

Sam Keltner said he thought he broke Oklahoma State’s record for most made field goals in a row to start a season tonight. But he only tied it. More from him after the game. #GoPokes #OkState pic.twitter.com/kB2bDj0hxt

— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) October 25, 2026

Sam Keltner has turned Morris into a head coach that loves kickers — or at least it seems that way, based on how he talked about him on Saturday. Keltner made five field goals on Saturday, including a long of 47, to tie Oklahoma State’s record from most made field goals in a row to start a season. Funny thing is Keltner thought he overtaken the record during the game.

Meanwhile punter Lachie Pozzobon had two punts for an average of 44 yards, and both were good pins along the sideline. Again, the coverage units were exceptional and gave Colorado little opportunity to break a special teams play.

Coaching: B+

“What happened?”

When #GoPokes Coach Eric Morris was asked if he knew what happened in the Big 12 today. #Big12FB pic.twitter.com/8SG8pAFPlH

— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) October 25, 2026

The coaching staff must take a bit of a hit for the first-half performance. While some of that is on execution some of that must be scheme. At one point, defensive coordinator Skyler Cassidy sent a full-on blitz on third down and Colorado quarterback Zach Wilson managed to evade it just by stepping aside.

But the coaching staff made significant adjustments in the second half, both in scheme and mindset, and trusted their players to make plays. Once Lawson forced the turnover everything changed and the Cowboys were able to get more aggressive offensively and put the game away. The defense was exceptional in third quarter and how Cassidy coached that group I've had something to do with it.