Oklahoma State may not be planning a national championship parade just yet, but the Cowboys joined some pretty impressive company on Saturday.
The Cowboys became just the fourth team to score at least 39 points against Oregon since Dan Lanning took over the program. The other three? Indiana in 2025, Georgia in 2022 and Ohio State in 2024.
All three went on to win the national championship.
That’s some remarkable company for Oklahoma State, even if nobody should start booking hotel rooms for the College Football Playoff just yet.
Georgia scored 49 points against Oregon in 2022, Ohio State put up 41 in 2024 and Indiana scored 56 in 2025. Each of those teams eventually finished its season by winning the national championship.
For Oklahoma State, the significance is obviously much different. But putting 39 points on a Dan Lanning-coached Oregon team is still an impressive offensive showing for the Cowboys, and apparently puts them on one of the strangest lists in college football.
Whether Oklahoma State can turn that offensive performance into something bigger as the season moves along remains to be seen. But if history is any indication, scoring 39 points against Lanning’s Ducks has been a pretty good omen.
How Oklahoma State Beat Oregon
Drew Mestemaker looked like a first-round pick on Saturday, as he started the game with a 75-yard keeper and finished the game with an impressive 109 yards rushing. Running back Caleb Hawkins had 110 yards rushing. Both had a touchdown, with Mestemaker’s gravity-defying 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter serving as the go-ahead score for the Cowboys.
Mestemaker also threw for 317 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Both interceptions were on tipped passes at the line of scrimmage by the Oregon defensive line.
The Ducks (1-1) and the Cowboys were delayed 90 minutes by lightning in the area. Whether that had an impact on Oregon or not, the Ducks did not look like an improved team from last week. For most of the game the Cowboys defense bottled up Ducks quarterback Dante Moore, who threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns but only looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate on two drives.
Oklahoma State outgained Oregon, 554-281, and possessed the football for nearly 37 minutes, even though Cowboys head coach Eric Morris wants his players to play fast.
