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UCF Knights at Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oct 10, 202611:00 AM CTESPN2Stillwater, OK
By JR·3 min read
UCF(3-2)
#18 Oklahoma State(3-1)
11:00 AM

TLDR: Oklahoma State has scored 39 on Oregon and 41 in Morgantown under Eric Morris, and it gets an extra week to prepare for a UCF team still not sure who is playing quarterback. The Knights come to Stillwater on Saturday, October 10 with a defense that can keep them in games and an offense that has not given that defense much help against good teams.

Week 6 · 10/10, 11:00 AM CTESPN2
UCF
(3-2)
LWWLW
#18 Oklahoma State
(3-1)
WWWL
Kickoff80°

Oklahoma State, with its North Texas imports at quarterback, running back and receiver, has won 3 straight since losing to Tulsa and comes off an extra week of rest. UCF has a defense that can play with good teams, but its offense has struggled against power-conference opponents, and it is still waiting to learn whether starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III can return from his hamstring injury. The game likely comes down to whether the Knights can score enough to keep up with a Cowboys offense that has topped 39 points in 3 of its 4 games.

UCF Knights
  • Held Pitt to 12 and TCU to 13
  • Barnett III may be back from his hamstring injury
  • Jenkins went 2-0 in his first 2 starts
  • Scored 45 total in 3 games against power-conference teams
  • LB Carter out, TE Wade questionable
  • Short week after the loss at Houston
Oklahoma State Cowboys
  • Mestemaker threw for 389 yards at West Virginia
  • Hawkins ran for 180, and the run game is working
  • Extra week of rest before UCF visits
  • Lost 24-10 at Tulsa in the opener
  • Gave up 31 to Oregon and 24 to West Virginia
  • OG Sexton questionable, TE Hammond out

The quarterback matchup sets up the whole game, and only one side of it is settled. Drew Mestemaker came with Morris from North Texas and threw for a season-high 389 yards and 3 touchdowns at West Virginia, after the Cowboys had fallen behind 14-3. UCF has started Keyone Jenkins, the former FIU starter, while Alonza Barnett III recovers from the hamstring injury he suffered in the Week 2 loss at Pitt. Barnett is listed as out and there have been mixed reports on him: one called the injury significant, while others had him aiming to return in Stillwater. That target could also be too soon. Until Scott Frost says otherwise, assume Jenkins starts.

The Cowboys' offense is built around the 3 players Morris brought from Denton. Caleb Hawkins ran for a season-high 180 yards against West Virginia, and Wyatt Young is the third piece. Morris said afterward that sticking with the run and adjusting on defense at halftime were what turned the game. The schedule helps Oklahoma State too. Its last game was September 26, so it gets 2 weeks between games, while UCF plays a 7-day turnaround after losing at Houston. There is no number on this game yet.

Both teams have had their surprises. Oklahoma State lost its opener 24-10 at Tulsa, then beat Oregon 39-31 at home a week later, and has won 3 straight since the Tulsa loss. UCF's season has gone the other way: 73 points against Bethune-Cookman, but only 7 at Pitt, 21 in a win over TCU and 17 in the 27-17 loss at Houston. Against teams from power conferences, the Knights have scored 45 points in 3 games.

UCF Knights
(3-2)
10/03L@#22 Houston17-27
09/26WvsTCU21-13
09/19WvsGeorgia State44-30
09/12L@#25 Pittsburgh7-12
09/03WvsBethune-Cookman73-6
#18 Oklahoma State Cowboys
(3-1)
09/26W@West Virginia41-24
09/19WvsMurray State59-0
09/12Wvs#13 Oregon39-31
09/05L@Tulsa10-24

That gives you the matchup. UCF's defense has done enough to win games, holding Pitt to 12 and TCU to 13. Now it faces an offense that has topped 39 points in 3 of its 4 games. Last time the Cowboys trailed by 11 on the road, they finished on a 38-10 run. If UCF wants to slow that down, it has to win time of possession and keep Mestemaker on the sideline. With 3 points or fewer per drive, that's a difficult way to play.

Both injury lists include a tight end. UCF tight end D. Wade is questionable with a shoulder injury, and linebacker L. Carter is out with an undisclosed injury, which leaves the Knights' front 7 a player short against a team that just ran for a lot of yards. Oklahoma State has been without tight end O. Hammond, and guard J. Sexton is questionable with a leg injury. Sexton is the one to watch for the Cowboys, because the run game Morris credited for the West Virginia comeback depends on the interior line holding up. The forecast is mild, 76 and cloudy with little wind, so weather shouldn't affect either offense.

Both teams are unranked, and this is a Big 12 game between a UCF team at 1-1 in conference and an Oklahoma State team at 1-0 that wants to show the West Virginia win was not a one-off. The Barnett decision is the biggest open question of the week. If he plays, UCF's offense could look different from the one that scored 17 at Houston. If he doesn't, Jenkins has to keep up with a team that has scored at least 39 in 3 of its last 4 games.

UCF Knights at Oklahoma State Cowboys — Mestemaker and the Cowboys Host a UCF Team Waiting on Its QB | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush