The Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Iowa State Cyclones did not disappoint when it came to their Halloween showdown.

It came right down to the wire, as Iowa State’s Kyle Konrardy kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give the Cyclones a 51-49 win over the Cowboys at Jack Trice Stadium.

For OSU (5-3, 3-2 in Big 12) it probably eliminated their hopes of reaching the Big 12 title game. But the Cowboys racked up 533 yards of total offense and saw quarterback Drew Mestemaker throw for 323 yards and five touchdowns, while wide receiver Justin Bowick had seven catches for 124 yards and two scores.

Here are four immediate takeaways from Saturday’s game.

Caleb Hawkins Had a Signature Game

Peep the stiff arm 👀

Caleb Hawkins 75 yards to the house!

📺: @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/hh81lA8CR7

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 1, 2026

In my bold predictions piece, I wrote that Oklahoma State running back Caleb Hawkins and Iowa State running back Aiden Flora would have at least 300 yards of combined total offense. I was way off.

Hawkins rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns. He caught six passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. He had 275 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. Flora rushed for 221 yards and two scores. He didn’t catch a pass. They combined for nearly 500 yards in total offense. Just incredible.

Hawkins has had some great games of late, but this was his most dynamic performance of the season. He did just about everything. He grinded out yards. He had a 59-yard touchdown reception and a 75-yard touchdown run. It was a shootout that harkened back to the old Big 12 days, and he was right at the center of it.

Hawkins has 660 yards of total offense in the last three games. Who knows what quarterback Drew Mestemaker does after the season. But Hawkins is only a true sophomore and must come back to college football. That must make Cowboys fans feel great, even as much as the loss stings.

The Defensive Shortcomings

Losing defensive end Jaleel Johnson in game to an injury didn’t help. He was seen on the sideline in street clothes with his arm in a sling. But the problems started long before that.

This game played out much like the West Virginia and Houston games. Those teams wanted to run the ball. For West Virginia, it worked until quarterback Michael Hawkins showed he just didn’t have the accuracy downfield that night. For Houston, once the Cowboys started solving for the run game, quarterback Conner Weigman picked them apart downfield.

Iowa State had a good mix. Both quarterback Jaylen Raynor and running back Aiden Flora can run the ball well. Raynor has a good enough arm to keep defenses honest. Plus, he was coming off a game in which he was benched and was looking to atone.

OSU just couldn’t slow the Cyclones down. Flora had a big night from the start, rushing for 221 yards and two scores. His 75-yard touchdown run — right after Oklahoma State cut the lead to three points early in the fourth quarter — felt like a backbreaker. Raynor threw for 309 yards and rushed for another 48 yards, accounting for four total touchdowns.

The defense couldn’t slow the Cyclones down on third down (8-for-15) or fourth down (1-for-1). Iowa State held the ball for nearly 35 minutes. OSU had one sack and LaDainian Fields had another interception.  

All of that said, the unit almost did ENOUGH in the fourth quarter. Iowa State’s final four possessions were a punt, a touchdown, a punt and a field goal. The stop for a field goal was huge because it made it a six-point game and gave OSU a shot to rally for the win. The Cowboys did.

And then the defense gave up the game-winning field goal. It also allowed 581 yards of total offense. The OSU offense delivers some “cushion” for this unit. But not that much.

Three Huge Mistakes

There he go pic.twitter.com/TT6EB36hPm

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 1, 2026

Oklahoma State made three big ones.

One: The Cyclones went for an onside kick early in the game and the Cowboys didn’t recover it. It led to an ISU touchdown.

Two: OSU punt returner Bobby Deal Jr. muffed a punt, and Iowa State recovered it. That led to a Cyclones field goal.

Three: OSU wide receiver scored what was the go-ahead score with less than a minute and then was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for what appeared to be taunting the Iowa State crowd. It pushed kicker Joseph Kim back 15 yards and he was unable to kick a touchback. It gave the Cyclones ideal field position to drive the field for the game-winning field goal.

Those are the kinds of things you can’t do on the road. That’s 13 points that directly led to a loss.

Realistic Big 12 Hopes are Done

Drew dart 🎯

📺: @CFBONFOX pic.twitter.com/9tagi3msf8

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) October 31, 2026

As long as Oklahoma State kept winning, the Cowboys had a shot at the Big 12 Championship game. Any realistic hopes are dead.

The Cowboys are now among a group of 3-2 teams in league play. Now, they’re not dead. But Utah hasn’t lost a game, and both BYU and Texas Tech have each lost one game. Even if BYU beats Utah next week, that doesn’t help the Cowboys.

What helps OSU now is if Utah loses two games, and BYU and Texas Tech each lose one more (ideally OSU beats Texas Tech on Nov. 14 for tiebreaker purposes).

It was going to be a tough needle to thread anyway, given that OSU doesn’t play BYU or Utah. But this loss makes it almost impossible.