Postgame Notes: Oklahoma State 32 - Houston 35

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No. 18/20 Oklahoma State vs. No. 20/18 Houston

October 17, 2026  |  TDECU Stadium (Houston, Texas)

Final Score: No. 20/18 Houston 35, No. 18/20 Oklahoma State 32

Updated Records: Oklahoma State (4-2 overall; 2-1 Big 12), Houston (6-1 overall; 3-1 Big 12)

Attendance: 42,544

Game Flow

• A slow first half doomed Oklahoma State in the contest. Houston held a 14-3 lead at half, which enabled the Cougars to hold off the Cowboys when the OSU offense came to life with 29 points in the second half.
• The first two offensive possessions of the game for Oklahoma State got the Cowboys down to the Houston 5-yard line, where OSU had to settle for a field goal and then to the Houston 2-yard line, where the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs.
• Houston dominated time of possession in the first half, amassing an advantage of 21:58 to 8:02. The Cougars ran 42 offensive plays to Oklahoma State’s 23 before intermission.
• Oklahoma State scored touchdowns on four of its five second-half possessions, but Houston countered with three touchdowns of its own after intermission to ward off the Cowboy charge.

Key Stats

• Houston won the turnover battle, 2-1.
• Oklahoma State matched a season high by committing nine penalties.
• Houston was successful on 7-of-13 third down attempts.
• Of Houston’s five touchdowns in the game, three came on third-down plays and a fourth came on a fourth-down play.
• Houston entered the game ranked fourth nationally in rush defense. The Cougars limited Caleb Hawkins to 68 yards rushing, but Hawkins still made his mark on the game by setting a career high with 125 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.
• Hawkins’ 125 receiving yards were just two yards shy of the OSU running back record of 127, set in 1968 by Terry Brown against Kansas.
• It was only the eighth 100-yard receiving game for an Oklahoma State running back since 1945.
• His 125 receiving yards marked the first 100-yard receiving game for an OSU running back since Ollie Gordon II had 116 against Kansas in 2024.
• Drew Mestemaker erupted in the second half, completing 16-of-19 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns.

Game Notes

• Saturday’s contest was the first AP ranked-vs.-ranked matchup for Oklahoma State since 2024.
• Drew Mestemaker completed 22-of-34 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns in the game. Including Saturday’s performance, he has thrown for at least 300 yards in five straight games, the second-longest active streak in the FBS (Braden Atkinson from Oregon State has eclipsed 300 yards in his last six).
• Five consecutive 300-yard passing games is the second-longest streak in school history, trailing only the seven straight 300-yard games by Mason Rudolph spanning from the end of the 2016 season through the beginning of the 2017 season.
• Drew Mestemaker’s 365 passing yards Saturday extended his FBS-best streak of consecutive 200-yard passing games to 21.
• He's passed for at least 250 yards in 10 of his past 11 games.
• Kicker Sam Keltner made a 23-yard field goal to open the scoring. Including Saturday’s performance, he is now 13-for-13 on field goal attempts to start his Oklahoma State career. 13 consecutive field goals made is the seventh-longest streak in school history and the longest to start a Cowboy career. It’s the longest streak for an OSU kicker since Tanner Brown made 16 straight spanning the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Keltner is also 22-for-22 on PAT attempts.
• Linebacker Ethan Wesloski entered the game leading all Power 4 conference players with 10.6 tackles per game. He added nine on Saturday.
• In OSU’s three Big 12 games, Wesloski has averaged 14.3 tackles per contest (17 vs. West Virginia, 17 vs. UCF, nine vs. Houston).
• Senior Braylin Presley made his season debut as a kickoff returner. The fifth-year senior started his career at Oklahoma State in 2022 before transferring to Tulsa, where he played three seasons with the Golden Hurricane. He returned to OSU on October 5.
• Losing a one-possession game is a rarity for Oklahoma State, who entered Saturday ranked second nationally with 36 wins in one-possession games since 2015.
• Saturday snapped OSU’s three-game streak of scoring 40 or more points.

Notable Streaks and Trends Through the Houston Game

• Drew Mestemaker has passed for at least 300 yards in five straight games.
• Mestemaker has thrown at least one touchdown in 20 of his past 21 games.
• OSU is 41-24 in its past 64 games decided by fewer than 10 points.
• Miles Coleman has at least one catch in each of his past 25 games played.
• Wyatt Young has at least one catch in each of his past 21 games played.