The Oklahoma State Cowboys will attempt for the second straight week to win the game that will send them to a bowl game for the first time since 2023.
Call it a do-over? The Cowboys (5-3, 3-2 in Big 12) are coming off a 51-49 loss to the Iowa State Cyclones, a win that would have kept them in the race to get to the Big 12 Championship Game. Instead, those realistic hopes are out the door. The Wildcats (4-4, 1-4) come into the game without quarterback Avery Johnson and hoping to get to a bowl game under first-year coach and program legend Collin Klein.
Here are the five biggest questions the Cowboys have - and must answer - going into Saturday's game, with comment on each from head coach Eric Morris.
The Oklahoma State defense tackles a ball carrier during a game. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
They will in body. But what about spirit?
The Cowboys had better hope that game represents bottoming out. OSU gave up nearly 600 yards and 51 points. There were multiple mental errors, blown assignments and so much more. It was worse than Houston and worse than Tulsa. Head coach Eric Morris said on Tuesday that they're not approaching this week as a chance to completely reset, which is what they did after losing to Tulsa.
But he knows what didn't work.
"We did a poor job tackling," Morris said. "You know, took some poor angles. They beat us at the point of attack a couple different times."
Morris believes that defensive Skyler Cassity is equipped to fix the defense. But what needs to change? That's what Cassity needs to figure out. It won't be a change in scheme, but it could be changes in alignment, personnel and diagnosis. Oh, and the tackling needs to get better.
For reference, the Cowboys gave up 505 yards and 35 points to Houston one week and then 399 yards and 24 points against Colorado the next week. That's good improvement. Working against OSU is that they've allowed 500 or more yards in each of their last two Big 12 road games. Plus, West Virginia dropped 467 on the Cowboys in the Big 12 road opener.
Maybe the road is the problem?
Oklahoma State Cowboys kicker Sam Keltner. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Against Iowa State, the Cowboys failed to recover a surprise onside kick, punt returner Bobby Deal Jr. muffed a punt and placekicker Sam Keltner missed a field goal. Those miscues cost OSU 13 points. It was the first bad game on special teams for Oklahoma State and the Cowboys need to respond, Morris said.
"I thought they [Iowa State] did a great job executing the surprise onside kick," Morris said. "We've got to get that fixed on our side of things, and it's something we practice. But at the end of the day, we didn't go out there and execute it."
Morris went on to say that they didn't like how the kickoff team was positioned on the play.
The expectation is that the Cowboys get back to having a "boring" game on special teams - no mistakes and no points surrendered.
Oklahoma State Cowboys running back Caleb Hawkins. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Well, maybe? The Cowboys went 4-for-4 in the red zone and scored touchdowns on all four possessions. That was 28 of the team's 49 points. Morris said the big plays outside the red zone helped unlock things offensively.
But fixed? The Cowboys are No. 25 in the country in the category. But this was the rare game where every red zone trip ended with a score. That's what has Morris cautiously optimistic. But the Cowboys must keep proving it.
"We were kind of in that 10-yard-line in, and I thought Drew [Mestemaker] was able to throw some really good accurate passes to get us in [the end zone] down there, and then Caleb [Hawkins] was able to punch us in on a good, tough run when we got to the 1-yard line. I mean, I thought we were efficient and did a nice job of getting the ball in the end zone."
Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Drew Mestemaker. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Quarterback Drew Mestemaker had another fine game against Iowa State, as he threw for five touchdown passes for the first time this season. But he also gave away a possession late in the game as he made a bad read, according to Morris. He redeemed himself by leading a go-ahead touchdown drive after that.
But with a Kansas State team that loves to change coverages from man to zone, how Mestemaker reads defenses this weekend will be critical.
"We're going to have to do a good job at taking the back on some things and some checkdowns and things of that nature," Morris said.
The wide receiver's late "selfish" penalty - those were Morris' words again on Tuesday - cost the Cowboys 15 yards on a kickoff after Young scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the game. With the return, Morris believed it cost the Cowboys 12 yards of field position, which was followed by a 30-yard pass that put the Cyclones in Cowboys territory and set up the game-winning field goal.
Young apologized publicly to fans. He texted an apology to Morris, met his coach early in the AM with the desire to speak to his teammates and has practice like he plays this week. Those are all good signs, Morris said.
"He's a great kid that made a mistake, and he'll learn from it and he'll grow from it," Morris said. "Wyatt practices like he plays, so I mean, he's practiced extremely hard these last two days."
Young could see this game as an opportunity for redemption. If so, it could be a huge afternoon in Manhattan.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahomastate as Eric Morris Speaks on Oklahoma State's Five Biggest Questions Against Kansas State .
