The Oklahoma State Cowboys are going to have to make some adjustments after their loss to the Houston Cougars on Saturday.
The Cowboys (4-2, 2-1 in Big 12) are preparing for the Colorado Buffaloes (2-4, 0-3) on Saturday for homecoming and it's the program's second straight night game. Colorado is coming off pushing Utah in a 27-24 loss and hasn't won since a 2-0 start to the season.
After the Houston game, several players really helped themselves in the eyes of the coaching staff, while a few took a step back.
Reflecting on the game, here are five players that boosted their stock and three players that lost some ground based on how they played and how they were used against the Cougars .
Oklahoma State Cowboys wide receiver Miles Coleman. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Coleman always seems to start ahead of Wyatt Young, but Young is the one who puts up the eye-popping numbers. That said, Coleman is a reliable third option even when he doesn't get many snaps. It seems like he makes one or two impactful plays every game and he did the same against Houston. Just three catches but he had 77 yards and his 47-yarder was important.
He's only scored once this year, but you get the sense that in the back half of the season the touchdowns could start coming in bunches.
His 75-yard run and 109-yard game against Oregon was certainly an aberration. But it's interesting to note that in the three games afterward Mestemaker rushed four times for minus-4 yards. Head coach Eric Morris has talked about his athletic ability, but he wasn't allowed to show it after the Oregon game.
That changed against Houston as he rushed for 34 yards on six carries. Not big numbers but they don't need to be. You can see Oklahoma State starting to use him in designed runs just a bit more and that could make it harder on defenses to defend.
The North Texas transfer is starting to pick up some steam after managing just two combined tackles against Oregon and Murray State. In the three games since then he has 11 tackles, including four solo tackles. More important, nine of those tackles have come in the last two games. He had a couple of big tackles against Houston, too. Pegged as a starter to being the season by most outsiders, he's starting to provide starter's production.
It's not for his running back ability. While Morris praised him for his work late in the Murray State game, he's barely touched the ball in a game since then. But he's one of those "four-team special teams" players who gets a spot on the bus because he can help everywhere. He was great in that capacity against Houston as he had two tackles, both solo, in coverage on punts and kickoffs.
The former Tulsa star - who began his career at Oklahoma State in 2022 - is back with the Cowboys after a temporary restraining order allowed him a fifth year of eligibility. He joined the team after the bye week, and it took him two weeks to find a role as a kickoff returner. He returned two kicks for 27 yards against Houston. If nothing else, he takes some pressure off Miles Coleman. The curious part? The other kick returner is supposed to be Chris Barnes.
Oklahoma State Cowboys safety Christian Bodnar. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
This is the second straight week Barnes has been listed here, and the Colorado game could be a huge pivot point for his time in Stillwater.
Barnes didn't have a catch against Houston, and he was the intended receiver on Drew Mestemaker's interception. It appeared Barnes lost his footing and fell to the ground as the ball was intercepted. But Morris had words for him afterward and it's unclear if there was more to it than simply him slipping and falling.
With Miles Coleman and Terrence Lewis getting more playing time, it's time to wonder what Barnes' place is in the offense.
Per Pro Football focus, no Cowboys offensive lineman had as poorly graded a pass blocking outing as Shaun Torgeson, who scored a 34.4 on its 100-point scale. He also gave up a sack of Mestemaker that led to a fumble, which he fortunately picked up, returned three yards and the drive culminated in a touchdown.
Torgeson played the whole game, and he was only spelled by Braydon Nelson on five plays. But if he grades out on Oklahoma State's scale as he did with PFF, he's left an opening for Nelson to get more playing time against Colorado.
The former Liberty star had a rough game. He committed an unnecessary penalty, only had one tackle and his PFF score for the game was below 50%. By that metric, it was his worst game of the season and the second time in three games his overall score was at 50 or below. It could be an aberration. Or it could be a trend. It's time to watch how much playing time he gets against Colorado.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahomastate as Oklahoma State Stock Report: Which Wide Receiver Giving Cowboys Boost? .
