The Oklahoma State Cowboys can now say they’re bowl-eligible for the first time since 2023.

Their 66-28 win over Kansas State propelled OSU (6-3, 4-2 in Big 12) to the final win necessary to ensure a bowl bid. The Cowboys did it in history fashion. They’ve never scored that many points in a game in Manhattan before.

Here are the five things we learned from Saturday’s game. 

Caleb Hawkins, Meet Doak Walker

The Doak Walker award is given every year to college football’s top running back. Since 1990, it has only been given to one Oklahoma State Cowboy — Ollie Gordon II back in 2023.

Yes, Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas likely would have won that award at some point in their career, but sadly it didn’t exist back in the 1980s.

When Gordon won the award, he finished the season with 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns, along with 39 catches for 330 yards and one touchdown. That’s 2,062 yards from scrimmage and 22 touchdowns.

Caleb Hawkins needs to be a prime candidate for the award when it’s handed out in December. One could argue the Oklahoma State sophomore should be considered the front-runner.

Saturday was one might consider to be a Doak Walker kind of game. Hawkins rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns and caught six passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. In his last four games he has 557 yards rushing and 349 yards receiving. That’s 906 combined yards and eight combined touchdowns.

Through nine games Hawkins has rushed for 1,081 yards, which is seventh in the country. He’s caught 37 passes for 424 yards (more than Gordon in 2023) and has 10 combined scores. He is second in the country in yards from scrimmage (167.89), behind only Boise State’s Dylan Riley, who has more rushing yards (1,241), fewer receiving yards (218) and 88 yards off kickoff returns.

To me, at minimum Hawkins should be a finalist if he keeps up this torrid pace. He could be at 2,000 or more yards from scrimmage at this rate. A Heisman is probably out of the question because the nation is hyper-focused on other players. But because Hawkins can’t go to the NFL until at least 2028, he must play next season, and he should be a leading preseason candidate then. But a Walker award is attainable.

This Defense Can Be Taught

But it shouldn’t take giving up 51 points and nearly 600 total yards to Iowa State to trigger a bounce-back. That is part of what has bedeviled this unit all season — consistency.

Before the game head coach Eric Morris said the coaching staff did a lot of self-scouting this week, something they did extensively after the Tulsa loss. That self-scout led to the upset of Oregon. This self-scout led to limiting the Wildcats to 327 total yards and forcing three turnovers, including two interceptions by LaDainian Fields.

Had Kansas State been able to play Avery Johnson at quarterback, it would have been a much more interesting game. It would have been harder for the OSU defense to set the edge with a more athletic Johnson behind center. Blake Barnett has skills, but the Cowboys bottled him up most of the game, and he exited halfway through for Dillon Duff, who didn’t do much better.

Having watched this defense all season, three things really stand out. When the Cowboys’ defensive ends set the edge, it really drives how they’re able to defend the run and rush the passer. Kansas State didn’t get much outside the tackles. Contrast that with Iowa State where setting the edge was impossible at times. Second, positioning when it comes to tackling is key. That sounds fundamental, but some players and defenses are talented enough to make up for bad positioning. This one isn’t. Third, the rush of turnovers of late is the best antidote to inconsistent defensive play.

OSU simplified the scheme on Saturday and it worked. Texas Tech will pose a far more difficult challenge. The Cowboys need to be this disciplined next weekend if they want a shot at winning.

Isaiah Chisom Can be a Star

The Cowboys have three starting linebackers on the depth chart but two starters in reality — Ethan Wesloski and Tate Romney. Isaiah Chisom is the weak side starter but since the Cowboys run a 4-2-5 scheme, he is usually the odd man out. Chisom received plenty of playing time, but he wasn’t a starter until Saturday when Romney couldn’t go due to an injury.

Chisom had a fantastic game. He finished with 11 tackles, nine of which were solo, along with a tackle for loss. His first seven tackles of the game were solo. On Kansas State’s third offensive play of the game, he slowed down Barnett enough for defensive end DeSean Brown to catch up to him and tackle him from behind. It set up a punt, followed by OSU’s first score of the game.

The game pushed his season numbers to 53 tackles (31 solo) with 2.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack. When he transferred from UCLA, he brought with him a redshirt sophomore season in which he had 84 total tackles. So production wasn’t a question. It was just a matter of time before he started.

Looking forward to next year, both Romney and Wesloski are out of eligibility. Chisom sets up as the starter at one of those positions in 2027. He just proved what he can do with real starting time.

Can Drew Mestemaker be Stopped …

Drew Mestemaker with another DOMINANT Day vs. Kansas State

🔺22/28 Passing
🔺313 Passing Yards & 4 Passing TDs
🔺1 Rushing TD

Highlights⬇️@CowboyFB pic.twitter.com/fmhyoUrvjC

— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) November 7, 2026

… from going to the NFL? That’s the question Oklahoma State fans must be asking themselves. I check the press box seating list every home game and while the list of scouts is not what it was for the Oregon game, there are a steady stream of scouts hitting Cowboys games, home and road. Watching video of New York Jets GM Darren Mougey talking with Cowboys quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Sean Brophy wasn’t performative. He was gathering intel.

What Mougey saw on Saturday must have excited him. Mestemaker threw for his usual 300 or more yards, but threw four touchdown passes, rushed for one and caught a touchdown pass. He also made one or two mistakes, but they’re the kind of mistakes that can be cleaned up by good coaching.

Which begs the question — are the New York Jets good at coaching? I must imagine that will be an input for Mestemaker after the season. The Jets could have three of the first 10 picks of the draft, and those picks come with millions of dollars to the selection. That’s more than OSU can reasonably pay Mestemaker in NIL money. But the Cowboys could get him a significant raise.

It will be one of the most intriguing decisions in January — whether he stays or goes. By then he’ll know what the draft order looks like and he’ll have had time to talk with Morris and get his NFL scouting grade. I’m operated under the belief that he’ll move on. But in this NIL era, it adds a layer of clout that allows programs to at least put up a fight for a player like him.

What a Bowl Game Really Means

Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it — bowl games are essentially exhibition games. But there is meaning for Morris and his coaching staff.

Bowl games come with 15 extra practices, ones the Cowboys wouldn’t get otherwise. I’ve heard coaches talk about the meaning of those practices for years. Many divide them up on a 2-to-1 ratio. Ten are for the players that didn’t get to play much during the season to get them ready for next year. The other five are for the full team to get ready for the game. There’s a development aspect that helps any team that reaches a bowl game.

It’s an opportunity for players, coaches, staff and fans to get a nice trip out of it. If you’re Cowboys fans, you’re probably craving a trip to the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando. Warm weather and free pastry. That game gets second choice this year.

For Morris, it’s a chance to show that the program is trending up. He was at a serious disadvantage last offseason — he took over a 1-11 program that had lost its luster to the point where most of the roster transferred out. His first prep class has talent, but none were four-star players in the eyes of analysts. He’s already making inroads. Three of his recruits are four-stars. He’s going to have a better time recruiting talent in the transfer portal, especially on defense. And, if Mestemaker opts to stay, well, then things get REALLY interesting from a portal standpoint.

This is another step. Morris said two weeks ago that bowl games are not his final goal. Playoff games are. That’s the next step. But you must pour the foundation first. Reaching bowl eligibility feels like the cement is starting to cure.