This Trait Makes Oklahoma State Cowboys Kicker Sam Keltner So Clutch

When breaking down Oklahoma State’s 39-31 win over Oregon, the flat stat sheet will say that the Cowboys were 6-of-7 in the red zone.

That means that Oklahoma State (1-1) scored nearly every time the Cowboys got inside the Ducks’ 20-yard line. What that doesn’t tell you is the type of points OSU came away with.

The six times that the Cowboys scored inside the red zone, four of those scores were field goals. While head coach Eric Morris would have liked more touchdowns, he appreciated how kicker Sam Keltner handled each of those situations, including the last one, a 31-yard field goal with 3:11 left in the game that made it an eight-point contest.

Fans only see Keltner on gamedays. Morris sees him every day. He knew he was built for those moments and one word describes Keltner — consistent.

Sam Keltner’s Big Day

Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris runs onto the field before the game. — Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Coaches will tell you that the only thing they love more than talent is consistency. If they can count on a player, that’s worth as much, if not more, than the talent they possess. Morris sees a blend of both in Keltner that leads him to believe he’s built for those moments.

“Sam's a super consistent individual,” Morris said. “How he handles life every day, and I think that's what came through during the game, right? That's how he handles his business.”

His consistency on Saturday wasn’t unexpected. Keltner played for SMU for two seasons before transferring to OSU. He redshirted in 2024 and watched from the sideline as the Mustangs won the ACC title game and made the College Football Playoff for the first time. Last year he was their full-time kicker, scoring 78 points and going 14-for-20 on field goal attempts, including six from 40 or more yards.

Keltner was already in rhythm before that final field goal, as he made attempts from 20, 24 and 34 yards. Each had importance. They helped the Cowboys maintain their lead. His 31-yarder ensured that all Oregon could do was tie the game and send it to overtime, a scenario that never came to be after the Ducks fumbled away the ball on the first play atter the two-minute time out.

Morris had little doubt in Keltner in that moment, that final field goal. He’s been there before — both in practice and in games.

“We put him in [those] situations, but you can never replicate going out against a top 10 team in front of 60,000 people with a game on the line,” Morris said. “We try to put them in situations in practice where that can happen. But I think his work and his preparation allowed him to go out there and have the confidence. He’s played a ton of football. It’s not the first time he's been out there. He kicked at SMU. He’s been in those situations.”

But consistency never hurts — in practice, on gameday and in those clutch moments when three more points matters.

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