No. 18 Oklahoma State broke a 21-21 halftime tie with 21 straight points and beat UCF 42-28 on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, five weeks after a season-opening loss at Tulsa.
Quarterback Drew Mestemaker threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover, and the Cowboys (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) pulled away in the fourth quarter after safety Evan Jackson returned a fumble for a score.
It was Oklahoma State's fourth straight win under first-year coach Eric Morris, who took over a program that went 1-11 last season.
UCF quarterback Keyone Jenkins threw three first-half touchdown passes, the last a 3-yard toss to Tyren Hornes with 13 seconds left that tied it at 21. The Knights were shut out in the third quarter, though, and kicker Sam Keltner's field goals from 40 and 29 yards put Oklahoma State up 27-21 early in the fourth.
UCF was driving early in the fourth when a backward pass from Jenkins hit the ground. Jackson scooped it up and went 28 yards for the touchdown, and Mestemaker ran in the 2-point conversion for a 35-21 lead.
Tight end Morgan McPhaul said he thought the pass was incomplete, but Morris credited the officials for letting the play run and praised Jackson's awareness. "He saw the ball on the ground, he picked it up, scooped it and went and made a play with it. I thought that was kind of where we were able to capture the momentum."
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Jackson, who had never scored a defensive touchdown in college, said the crowd went quiet when he picked up the ball, then erupted as he ran. It was the Cowboys' first fumble-recovery touchdown since Malcolm Rodriguez scored one in 2021.
Linebackers Ethan Wesloski and Tate Romney finished with 17 and a career-high 14 tackles, and the defense stopped UCF on fourth-and-1 midway through the fourth quarter. Three plays later, Mestemaker found receiver Wyatt Young for a 5-yard touchdown and a 42-21 lead.
One fan wrote that whatever happened at Tulsa, Morris and Oklahoma State "sure do run a real offense."
Mestemaker completed 19 of 28 passes, threw touchdowns to receiver Justin Bowick and Young and ran for an 11-yard score. It was his fourth straight 300-yard passing game, following 317 against Oregon, 324 against Murray State and 389 at West Virginia, and his first game this season without a turnover.
UCF coach Scott Frost singled out the Cowboys' signal-caller afterward. "I think their quarterback, I'd be surprised if he's in college next year, some of the plays and throws that he made."
Entering Saturday, Pro Football Network's PFN Impact grade for Mestemaker this season was 79.8, tied for 47th of 165 graded and qualified FBS quarterbacks.
Morris gave Mestemaker his start as a walk-on at North Texas, where the quarterback led the FBS with 4,379 passing yards last season before following his coach to Stillwater. "I feel like we're a force to be reckoned with, honestly, and I'm glad we're making Oklahoma State what it usually is," Mestemaker said.
Morris brought in 91 newcomers, 18 of them from a 12-2 North Texas team. The winning streak began with a 39-31 upset of then-No. 6 Oregon a week after the 24-10 loss at Tulsa.
Saturday's victory was the 50th of Morris' head coaching career and the Cowboys' first over UCF in three meetings, and it gave them a 2-0 Big 12 start for the first time since 2022. Morris said his team is learning to win in different ways, and Frost said Morris has done well since arriving.
Another fan credited the coach directly, writing, "Life comes at you fast in a good way. What a job by Eric Morris."
Oklahoma State visits Houston in next Saturday's Week 7 game. As of Oct. 10, PFN's College Football Playoff Meter gives the Cowboys a 50.9% chance to win that game and an 8.6% chance to make the playoff, a figure that rises to 13.6% with a win in Houston and falls to 3.4% with a loss.
"There's going to be so much to clean up, but we've got to reset really fast and get ready to go on the road and hopefully be a top-25 matchup at Houston at night," Morris said.
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PFN's College Football Playoff Meter gives 5-0 BYU a 36.7% chance to win the Big 12 and 5-0 Texas Tech a 22.9% chance as of Oct. 10, compared with 6.4% for Oklahoma State. These numbers may be on the rise after this week's results, that's for sure.
A Utah fan offered a more measured view, writing, "I don't see Oklahoma State winning the Big XII this year, but they look way better than the last two years."
Oklahoma State does not play BYU or Utah in the regular season, and Texas Tech comes to Stillwater on Nov. 14.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
