The Oklahoma State Cowboys are going home in a much better mood after their 66-28 win over the Kansas State Wildcats.

The Cowboys (6-3, 4-2 in Big 12) flew home after last Saturday’s 51-49 loss to Iowa State lamenting what could have been. This time around the Cowboys left little to chance, blowing up for 49 points in the first half while forcing three first-half interceptions to put the Wildcats (4-5, 1-5) in a hole too deep to crawl out of.

Plus, the Cowboys are going bowling for the first time since 2023, and they kept their longshot hopes of a berth in the Big 12 Championship game alive.

Here is how each position group grades out after Saturday’s game.

Quarterback: B+

Passing touchdown ✅
Rushing touchdown ✅
Receiving touchdown ✅

What can't he do? @DrewMestemaker

📺: TNT pic.twitter.com/wrlRH8eDeV

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 7, 2026

You must dock Drew Mestemaker for the interception, even though it took a tremendous effort by that safety to pick the pass off. Plus, he made a bad decision that could have led to another interception had the ball not landed on the ground before it was picked off.

But it was another great game for the potential first-round NFL Draft pick. He went 22-of-28 for 313 yards to extend his 300-yard passing game streak to eight straight games, which is now an OSU record. He threw four touchdown passes, scored a rushing touchdown and even caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Wyatt Young on a double reverse. He became the first player to have at least four passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown in a Big 12 game.

He even got part of a quarter off, thanks to the blowout.

Running Back: A

Caleb Hawkins with a 4 TOUCHDOWN DAY vs. Kansas State

🔥175 Rushing Yards
🔥3 Rushing TDs
🔥71 Rec Yards & 1 Rec TD

Highlights⬇️@CowboyFB pic.twitter.com/nEiv9XyoOu

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

Caleb Hawkins passed 1,000 yards rushing for the season and finished the game with 175 yards rushing with three touchdowns and 71 yards receiving with a touchdown. The offensive line created holes for him and he broke off chunk play after chunk play. He now has 906 total yards in his last four games, which means nothing to Saturday’s grade but just shows how incredible he’s been the last month.

William Mason and Tre Page III each got some time and the team rushed for 6.6 yards per carry. The Cowboys finished with 223 yards rushing well over what Kansas State allows (166 ypg) this season. OSU took advantage of its best matchup of the game.

Wide Receiver: B+

6️⃣ ON THE BOARD

Drew Mestemaker pass to Justin Bowick for a 32-yd TD

📺 TNT/HBOMAX pic.twitter.com/DHAwNaWtct

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) November 7, 2026

If we’re doing to downgrade Drew Mestemaker for the interception, then we must downgrade the receiving group for Wyatt Young’s fumble. It was the only mistake the group made, though. Miles Coleman (six catches, 95 yards, TD) had an excellent game and showed why he and Young (three catches, 50 yards) are an “OR” on the depth chart, even though Young’s season numbers are much better.

Justin Bowick had three catches for 59 yards and another incredible touchdown catch, giving him 10 touchdowns for the season. The receivers had 168 yards after catch and even worked in Israel Polk, who got his first catch of the season.

Tight End: B

Morgan McPhaul had one catch, which was for a touchdown on a nifty third-down play-action bootleg that led to his second touchdown catch of the season. Oscar Hammond also had a catch and helped Hawkins “levitate” as he was lunging forward for a rushing touchdown in the first half. They capably helped the offensive line block, especially in the run game, and the unit had one of its better games of the season.

Offensive Line: A

There isn’t much else you can say about how the offensive line played on Saturday. They helped pave the way for 565 total yards, a 300-yard passing game from Mestemaker and a near-200-yard rushing game from Hawkins. They excelled with the inside zone run and made sure to exploit the biggest weakness on the Kansas State defense. Mestemaker had time to throw the entire game and was never sacked.

The line helped the Cowboys score 49 points in a half for the first time since 2011. Without that excellent work, much of what happened offensively on Saturday doesn’t happen.

Defensive Line: A

Everything the Cowboys did on Saturday started with the way the defensive line played to start the game, as DeSean Brown’s tackle from behind of K-State quarterback Blake Barnett forced the Wildcats to punt and started the Cowboys’ offensive onslaught. Unlike the Iowa State game, the line did a great job of setting the edge against the run and the pass. The Wildcats rarely got anything outside, and they rushed for just 127 yards. The Cowboys took away what the Wildcats do best.

Oklahoma State only had one sack and three tackles for loss. But the unit had seven quarterback hurries and helped forced Barnett into big mistakes in the first half as the game got away from Kansas State.

Linebacker: A

Without Tate Romney due to injury, Isaiah Chisom got a chance to show out and he did not disappoint. He finished the game with 11 tackles, nine of which were solo, including his first seven tackles of the game. On that first third-down defensive play of the game, he was the one that slowed Barnett down so Brown could tackle him from behind. He also had a tackle for loss and quarterback hurry. It was his best game of the season.

Ethan Wesloski finished with five tackles and a quarterback hurry. Romney’s injury opened more time for Gunnar Wilson, who had a tackle.

Secondary: B

got a guy there

📺: TNT | @FieldsLadainian pic.twitter.com/MhPZRTZytq

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 7, 2026

The Cowboys had two significant coverage busts that led to touchdown receptions by Derek Salley Jr. The first had the Cowboys playing different coverages on different sides of the field. That seemed to spark the Cowboys’ defense back to locking in for the rest of the game.

LaDainian Fields had two interceptions in the game and Quinton Hammonds had an interception. If the Wildcats had designs on unlocking the passing game, it never happened. Kansas State quarterback Blake Barnett threw for three touchdown passes and no interceptions last week against Colorado. He was under duress the first half and left in the second half. Dillon Duff didn’t do much better.

This was the kind of game the unit needed after having an awful game against Iowa State. The Wildcats had just 200 passing yards.

Special Teams: B-

There were some issues, but this was a game where those issues didn’t hurt the Cowboys, unlike last week. William Mason was called for a penalty for interfering with a punt return catch. They gave up a long kickoff return to start the game but were fortunate that a Wildcats penalty called the play back.

But, Kansas State did try a surprise onside kick, and the Cowboys covered it well this time. Sam Keltner made his only field goal attempt.

Coaching: B+

It’s hard to argue with how the coaching job on Saturday. The offense executed at a level high enough to be considered its best game of the season — even with the pick six and the fumble. There were scheme alterations to exploit what the Wildcats don’t do well and it paid off in a spotlight game for Hawkins.

On defense, the players executed far better than a week ago. Yes there were two huge coverage busts in the secondary. But after the first one the unit adjusted and had perhaps its best half of the season. The sack and pressure numbers weren’t gaudy. But the Cowboys ensured the two big plays the Wildcats offense got were the only two they got in the game. Much of that had to do with execution of a more simplified game play.