Drew Mestemaker passed for 317 yards with a pair of touchdowns, and added 109 rushing yards with a touchdown to lead Oklahoma State to a stunning 39-31 upset of No. 6 Oregon in a weather-delayed game in Stillwater, Okla. on Saturday afternoon.
The Cowboys (1-1) put up 554 yards of total offense, with Caleb Hawkins adding 110 rushing yards on 23 carries to go with a score.
Oregon (1-1) rallied from a 10-point deficit early in the second half to take a 31-30 lead with Dante Moore’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Evan Stewart on the second play of the fourth quarter. But the Ducks’ defense couldn’t hold the lead and the offense didn’t score another point, the final blow a lost fumble by running back Dierre Hill with 1:55 to play that cost Oregon a final chance to tie the game.
The game was delayed about 90 minutes due to lightning strikes in the area. Oregon took a 7-3 lead in the first quarter on linebacker Devon Jackson’s 96-yard interception returned for a touchdown.
But the Ducks didn’t keep the lead for long. While the Cowboys’ defense flustered Moore and forced Oregon’s high-powered offense to punt or lose the ball on downs over much of the first half, Mestemaker and the Oklahoma State offense scored touchdowns.
Yards after catch and an inability to stop the Cowboys hurt the Ducks, and Mestemaker found Wyatt Young for a 52-yard touchdown pass that included 10 yards after the catch for a 24-14 lead with 3:47 to go in the second quarter.
Oklahoma State led 27-17 early in the third quarter. But Oregon cut the lead to 27-24 when Dante Moore dropped a 36-yard pass into the arms of Dakorien Moore for a touchdown despite tight coverage.
The Ducks’ 12-game road winning streak came to an end. One of those wins was last season’s 69-3 victory over Oklahoma State in Eugene, Ore.
Dante Moore completed 14 of 29 passes for 191 yards with a couple of touchdowns, but Oregon managed only 281 yards of total offense. Oklahoma State had four sacks to none for Oregon, the Cowboys had 25 first downs to 12 for Oregon and the Cowboys had 24 more plays on offense, 83-59.
