CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell has a new No. 1 quarterback in college football, and he gave the top spot to a former high school punter who came to Oklahoma State after leading FBS in passing yards at North Texas.

Kanell released his latest rankings Thursday and put Cowboys quarterback Drew Mestemaker at No. 1, ahead of Miami’s Darian Mensah and SMU’s Kevin Jennings. Mestemaker was third in Kanell’s previous edition, then accounted for six touchdowns in a 66-28 rout of Kansas State.

Why did Kanell pick Mestemaker?

Mensah had held the top spot since late October. Then Miami lost 31-24 to Notre Dame, and that opened the door. Without top target Malachi Toney, Mensah threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns, and Kanell dropped him to No. 2.

Mestemaker gave Kanell plenty of reason to make the change. The Austin, Texas, native completed 22 of 28 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns in Manhattan. He also ran for a score and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass on a trick play. He became the first Bowl Subdivision player with four touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown since Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong did it against BYU in 2021. He also set a school record for consecutive 300-yard passing games.

Through nine games, Mestemaker has thrown for 2,962 yards, 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 66.7 percent passing. The quarterback change comes days after Kanell named a new No. 1 team ahead of Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings.

Drew Mestemaker’s unlikely path to Stillwater

Few quarterbacks have taken a stranger road to the top of anyone’s list. Mestemaker never started at quarterback at Vandegrift High School in Austin. He was mainly the team’s punter there and played in the secondary as a senior. He walked on at North Texas and opened fall camp as the fifth-string quarterback. By 2025, he was leading FBS with 4,379 passing yards.

Oklahoma State coach Eric Morris brought him along when he took over a program that went 1-11 last season. The Cowboys lost their opener to Tulsa, then upset No. 6 Oregon a week later. Morris said his quarterback was “off the charts” in the program’s cognitive testing and recall evaluations.

What’s next for Oklahoma State?

The Cowboys (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) are bowl eligible after their win at Kansas State. Mestemaker thought the blowout came at the right time.

“Playing a game like that gets everyone back on track,” Mestemaker said. “I felt like we had a really great game plan going into it.”

Kanell’s new No. 1 now faces the toughest opponent left on Oklahoma State’s schedule. Quarterback Will Hammond leads a Texas Tech team that could ruin the Cowboys’ season, and the Red Raiders beat Oklahoma State 42-0 in Lubbock last year. Oklahoma State hosts No. 10 Texas Tech (8-1) at Boone Pickens Stadium at 9:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.