Mestemaker and Hawkins lead Oklahoma State's dominant effort over Kansas State

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- — Drew Mestemaker became the first Bowl Subdivision player with four touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown since Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong against BYU in 2021 as Oklahoma State trounced Kansas State 66-28 on Saturday.

Mestemaker, who finished 22-of-28 passing for 313 yards, had three first-half touchdown passes, and Caleb Hawkins had three first-half rushing touchdowns for the Cowboys.

Hawkins rushed for 175 yards with three rushing touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown for Oklahoma State (6-3, 4-2 Big 12).

Kansas State dropped its third straight game to fall to 4-5, 1-5.

After forcing a three-and-out on K-State's first possession, Oklahoma State went 72 yards on three plays to take the early lead. Mestemaker hit Justin Bowick for a 32-yard touchdown.

Kansas State answered with its own three-play drive, with 73 of the 77 yards coming on a TD pass from Blake Barnett to Derrick Salley behind busted coverage.

Hawkins' 21-yard touchdown run gave the lead back to the Cowboys. Hawkins then raced 37 yards for another score, putting him at 96 rushing yards with 5 minutes left in the first quarter.

Mestemaker hit Morgan McPhaul for a 3-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 28-7. His first mistake was a pick-6 made by Logan Bartley.

Mestemaker ran it in from the 1-yard line to stretch the lead to 35-14, and Hawkins' third touchdown of the half made it 42-14. Mestemaker then found Miles Coleman on a 19-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left in the half for a 49-14 lead.

In the third quarter, Mestemaker added a 5-yard TD pass to Hawkins and then caught a 5-yard TD from Wyatt Young.

The takeaway

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys' offense was humming from the start. They were driving for their 28-7 first-quarter lead when they faced their first third down.

Kansas State: The Wildcats allowed touchdowns on OSU's first six red-zone possessions.

Up next

Oklahoma State: returns home next Saturday to host Texas Tech.

Kansas State: plays at TCU next Saturday.

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