Texas Tech's CFP Hopes Rest On Slowing Down the Oklahoma State Passing Attack

Styles make fights in college football. That’s especially true in a league like the Big 12, which is known for high-scoring passing attacks and defenses constructed to limit damage through the air.

Saturday night, No. 12 Texas Tech will travel to Stillwater to take on an Oklahoma State team with an offense that can’t stop scoring. Led by quarterback Drew Mestemaker and offensive wizard Eric Morris, the No. 25 Cowboys have one of the most lethal offenses in the country.

Texas Tech’s ability to limit the Cowboys’ aerial assault could be the key to winning this game and keeping their Big 12 title game and College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Drew Mestemaker Makes the Oklahoma State Offense Hum

At the heart of the Cowboys’ offense is Mestemaker, one of the most efficient passers in college football. A year after ripping through the American Conference with North Texas, Mestemaker’s strong play has been the catalyst for the Oklahoma State revival.

Through nine games, Mestemaker is doing everything at an extremely high level.

He’s averaged 0.30 EPA/play and 0.28 EPA/pass, while completing 66.7% of his passes, all above league average figures, per Hudl IQ. He’s creating both chunk pass plays (26.3%) and explosive pass plays (10.8%) at a high clip, while averaging 9.1 net yards per pass, per Hudl IQ.

One of the more pronounced aspects of Mestemaker’s game is his ability to nail deep throws while throwing an extremely catchable football on more difficult throws.

It’s incredibly rare to find a quarterback who gashes teams vertically with the deep ball and has excellent touch on his throws. Despite limited starting action at the high school level, in almost two seasons as the starter in college, Mestemaker has displayed both in bunches. It should come as no surprise that he’s expected to be one of the first quarterbacks taken in next year’s NFL Draft if he decides to forgo the rest of his eligibility.

• Drew Mestemaker is Everyone’s New Favorite QB in the 2027 NFL Draft Class. Here’s Why.

With Mestemaker at the helm, the Cowboys’ offense has flourished in big games this season. The Red Raiders’ defense will have to get creative to slow down Oklahoma State’s star signal-caller on Saturday night.

Texas Tech Could Have Trouble Stopping the Cowboys’ Passing Attack

The Texas Tech football program has had an incredibly strange nine months.

All offseason, the focus was centered on the eligibility of Cincinnati transfer Brendan Sorsby as a result of his gambling scandal. After he was ruled ineligible, the focus turned to backup quarterback Will Hammond. Then came more eligibility questions, this time with former Florida State signal-caller Thomas Castellanos. After a legal back-and-forth, he won an injunction against the NCAA, allowing him to join the team early in the season. He’s since become the Red Raiders’ starting quarterback.

Somewhere along the way, attention shifted from the Red Raiders’ offense to how the defense took a marginal step back compared to a year ago. Last season, Texas Tech relied on a fearsome pass rush and ball-hawking linebackers to squash opposing offenses. The system worked, and the Red Raiders made the 12-team CFP field because of it.

This season, however, that unit has not been generating nearly enough sacks or defending the pass at a high enough level.

Through nine games, the Red Raiders’ defense has a 6.0% sack percentage, only a slightly above league average figure, per Hudl IQ. Because the pass rush hasn’t been elite, it’s put added stress on a new-look secondary, with the pass defense suffering similar results.

Currently, the Texas Tech secondary allows 5.9 yards per pass and successful pass attempts 45.8% of the time, per Hudl IQ. Those figures are above league average, but are far from elite.

This defense has allowed 24 or more points in six of nine games and has been prone to give up big plays in spurts. Those two factors make the Oklahoma State matchup incredibly difficult on paper.

The saving grace for Texas Tech is that games aren’t played on paper or in spreadsheets. Games are won and lost on the field, and despite the defensive step back, this team still has eight wins and everything left to play for.

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This story was originally published by Athlon on Nov 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.