Trailing by one point in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker decided to take matters into his own hands. Pressured on third down, Mestemaker pump-faked, put his foot down and dove into the end zone for an acrobatic touchdown through contact. It was a defining play for the Cowboys as they stunned No. 6 Oregon 69-31 for one of the biggest upsets of the 21st century.
Oklahoma State became the first team to ever snap a 10-game losing streak by beating an AP top-10 opponent. For Mestemaker, it was the first start of his career against a Power Four opponent, and a magical one at that. The sophomore threw for 317 yards, ran for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns in the upset victory.
But for Mestemaker, beating the odds has always come easily. Before taking over at North Texas last season, Mestemaker's last full-time starting job came as a freshman … in high school. He was on the B Team at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas.
"We joke about it in-house," Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Sean Brophy told CBS Sports last year. "That must be the best freshman team of all time, right?" It's not far from the truth; Mestemaker led the B Team to a perfect 10-0 record. But since that moment, his path has turned rocky.
He waited his turn behind a veteran starter. A blue-chip transfer moved in, again pushing him to the bench. Scholarship offers never came, but how could they with no real tape?
After his exploits on the Freshman B Team, Mestemaker started a handful of games as a sophomore on junior varsity. The next year, he was the primary backup to Brayden Bohanon, who now plays baseball at Baylor. The program reached its first state title game, losing to DeSoto.
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