Oklahoma State to Evaluate Drew Mestemaker’s Injured Shoulder After Texas Tech Loss
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STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker didn’t have much of a chance to get into a groove against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
It had nothing to do with the review of his first completed pass, either.
Mestemaker appeared to hurt his right shoulder when he was sacked on the No. 25 Cowboys’ first possession of the game in Saturday’s 52-27 loss to the No. 12 Red Raiders (9-1, 6-1 in Big 12). The Cowboys (6-4, 4-3) quarterback had his shoulder worked on twice in the first quarter, including a time when TV cameras caught a trainer stretching out the shoulder.
He gutted through the game but clearly wasn’t 100% percent as the Cowboys sat him with 8:12 left in the game. Broderick Vehrs replaced him.
Drew Mestemaker’s Injury
Mestemaker takes it himself for 6⃣
— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 15, 2026
📺: ESPN | @DrewMestemaker pic.twitter.com/IxGXSgOQ0o
After the game, head coach Eric Morris said that Mestemaker “banged up his shoulder a little bit.” It was obvious for the next two possessions that he was working through something. He said that Mestemaker will continue to be evaluated this week leading up to the Arizona State game.
“We’ll re-evaluate him when we get back in here on Monday and we’ll see how he feels after that,” Morris said. “He’s sure to be sore after the game.”
Mestemaker described the injury as a “stinger” and didn’t talk like someone that was going to miss time because of it.
Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker talks about his banged- up shoulder and his performance after the Cowboys lost to the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday. #OkState #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/0nomdbjUWE
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) November 15, 2026
“I landed on my shoulder weird, and it was just a stinger,” he said. “So they were just trying to work with me, keep the shoulder warm and just keep it feeling good out there.”
He refused to blame his performance — which included two interceptions — on the shoulder.
“There were multiple plays where I could have made a better throw or a better decision,” he said.
Scouts for a dozen NFL teams were in the press box for Saturday’s game, including two from the Minnesota Vikings. Both New York teams were represented, which meant the Jets — who have three first-round picks — saw Mestemaker play for the second straight week.
This was a much different performance than the one he put on against Kansas State a week ago. Mestemaker was under duress all night as the Red Raiders sharpened up their pass rush after a sluggish performance against West Virginia last week.
Mestemaker finished 27-of-42 for 277 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also scored a rushing touchdown. He was sacked three times and hurried five times. He saw his OSU record streak of eight straight 300-yard passing games come to an end. But he did extend his longest active FBS streaks of 200-yard passing games to 25.
He did pass the 3,000-yard passing mark for the season and now has 30 touchdown passes, the latter of which led FBS when he left the game. He still has a chance to approach the numbers he put up a season ago with North Texas, when he led FBS with 4,379 passing yards and was second in the country with 32 touchdown passes. Earlier this week he was named a Maxwell Award semifinalist.
The Cowboys have two more games left in the regular season, starting with next Saturday’s game with Arizona State in Tempe. The regular season ends with a home game against Kansas on Nov. 28. Oklahoma State is bowl-eligible and should know its bowl selection the day the College Football Playoff bracket is set.
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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