STILLWATER, Okla. (Interstat) — Oklahoma State broke open a tie game after halftime and pulled away from visiting UCF for a 42-28 victory in an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision game on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium. The Cowboys improved to 4-1. The Knights dropped to 3-3. An announced attendance of 52,168 watched Oklahoma State win its fourth game of the season and hand UCF its third loss. Drew Mestemaker led the Cowboys at quarterback, while Keyone Jenkins directed the Knights.

Mestemaker, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound quarterback from Austin, Texas, completed 19 of 28 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score. He was Oklahoma State’s top star, guiding an offense that found its rhythm after a back-and-forth first half. Justin Bowick was his favorite target, finishing with six receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown. Miles Coleman added four catches for 69 yards, Chris Barnes had one catch for 27 yards and Terrence Lewis had one reception for 26 yards. Mestemaker also connected with Wyatt Young for a 5-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and ran 11 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Jenkins, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound quarterback, completed 30 of 42 passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed 10 times for 13 yards. Jenkins threw touchdown passes to Grayson Brousseau, Josh Derry, Tyren Hornes and Caden Piening. Derry led UCF with 11 receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown. Piening had seven catches for 60 yards and a score, Ric’Darious Farmer had four receptions for 52 yards, Waden Charles had two catches for 30 yards and Hornes finished with three receptions for 25 yards and a touchdown. Duke Watson carried 21 times for 79 yards. Taevion Swint added seven rushes for 27 yards, one reception for 3 yards and a 22-yard kickoff return. Landen Chambers had two rushes for 1 yard and one catch for 10 yards. Brousseau’s only reception was a 1-yard touchdown.

UCF struck first. Jenkins found Brousseau for a 1-yard touchdown with 10:08 remaining in the first quarter, and Will Stone’s extra point gave the Knights the lead. Oklahoma State answered when Mestemaker rushed 11 yards for a touchdown with 6:19 left in the quarter. Sam Keltner’s kick tied the game. UCF regained the advantage on Jenkins’ 12-yard touchdown pass to Derry with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter. Stone’s kick made it a seven-point game.

The Cowboys responded in the second quarter. Morgan McPhaul scored on a 1-yard run with 13:03 left before halftime, and Keltner tied the game again. Mestemaker then hit Bowick for an 18-yard touchdown with 2:03 remaining in the second quarter, giving Oklahoma State its first lead. UCF answered just before the break when Jenkins connected with Hornes for a 3-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left. Stone’s kick sent the teams into halftime tied at 21.

Oklahoma State took control in the third quarter. Keltner made a 40-yard field goal with 7:19 remaining. UCF had a chance late in the quarter, but Stone missed a 45-yard field goal with 17 seconds left. The Cowboys extended their lead in the fourth quarter when Keltner made a 29-yard field goal with 12:11 remaining.

The decisive sequence came moments later. Jenkins lost a fumble while rushing left, and Oklahoma State’s Evan Jackson recovered at the UCF 28 and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown with 10:32 left. The Cowboys added a two-point conversion to push their lead to 35-21. Mestemaker then threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Wyatt Young with 7:30 remaining, and Keltner’s kick made it 42-21. UCF added a late touchdown when Jenkins found Piening for 4 yards with 3:57 left. Stone’s extra point capped the scoring.

Oklahoma State’s defense produced several standout performances. Ethan Wesloski recorded 17 tackles. Tate Romney had 14 tackles and half a sack. Quinton Hammonds added 11 tackles, and Isaiah Chisom finished with nine tackles and one quarterback hurry. Saadiq Clements had five tackles, Luke Webb had four, Kollin Lewis had three and Jaleel Johnson had three tackles and one quarterback hurry. Evan Jackson’s fumble return for a touchdown was the game’s biggest defensive play.

UCF’s defense was led by Jahleel Culbreath, who made 11 tackles and one quarterback hurry. Jeffson Lafontant had six tackles and one sack. Tackett Curtis and Isaiah Nixon each had six tackles. Caleb Flagg and Jayden Williams each had four tackles. Antione Jackson had one punt return for 11 yards and three tackles. Thomas Collins and Jayden Bellamy each had three tackles. Brad Gurley Jr., Ty Bartrum, Horace Lockett, Jayden Jennings and Braeden Marshall each had two tackles. RJ Jackson Jr., Ken Talley, DJ Bell, Cole Kozlowski, Aymeric Koumba, Demari Henderson and Rukeem Stroud each had one tackle.

UCF punter Atticus Bertrams had two punts for 78 yards, while the team had one punt for 43 yards. Oklahoma State punter Lachie Pozzobon had one punt for 40 yards. The Knights were coming off a loss at Houston and had beaten Texas Christian, Georgia State and Bethune-Cookman while losing at Pittsburgh. Oklahoma State had beaten West Virginia, Murray State and Oregon while losing at Tulsa. UCF will next host BYU and Baylor before traveling to Kansas and hosting Arizona State and Iowa State before a road game at Colorado. Oklahoma State will visit Houston and then host Colorado before trips to Iowa State and Kansas State, a home game against Texas Tech, a road game at Arizona State and a home game against Kansas.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected UCF 38, Oklahoma State 28, and its ELO system gave UCF a 51.3 percent probability to win. UCF had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +10.5. The total score of 70 went under the over/under line of 53.5.