Oklahoma State football scores monster win vs K-State behind Caleb Hawkins | Report card

MANHATTAN, KS — Oklahoma State football needed a bounce back after last week's disappointment at Iowa State.

The woeful Wildcats were no match for the Cowboys , offensively or defensively. OSU rolled up 49 points in the first half alone, the most any Cowboy team has scored in a half since a 49-point explosion at Texas Tech in 2011.

Oklahoma State Cowboys vs Kansas State Wildcats in Week 10 college football, see photos

Hawkins finished with 246 total yards and four touchdowns. On the ground, he had 175 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries and added 71 receiving yards and one touchdown on six catches.

He did most of his damage before halftime when the Cowboys built a huge lead. He had 159 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns on only 17 carries in the first half.

That was never more evident than with his first touchdown of the day, a 21-yard scamper punctuated by him lunging and stretching the ball toward the goal line. Initially, he was ruled short, but after review, Hawkins kept his body off the ground, using the defender who was tackling him to avoid putting down a knee or elbow.

If not for a pick-six, the Cowboy quarterback would've had a nearly perfect day.

He was 22 of 28 for 313 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. That pick was returned for a K-State touchdown, and it came at a time the Wildcats were already down three touchdowns and searching for answers.

Mestemaker and Co. more than bounced back from it, but an interception-free day would've been ideal.

Still, Mestemaker was superb. It was his eighth consecutive game with at least 300 yards passing, a program record.

Mestemaker didn't throw his first incompletion until almost five minutes into the second quarter, and he completed almost 80% of his passes.

The Cowboy secondary was not perfect. The Wildcats' first touchdown, for instance, was a 73-yard pass to a wide-open receiver who simply ran by the cornerbacks and went by the safeties without so much as a glance.

But the secondary also had three interceptions, two by LaDainian Fields and one by Quinton Hammonds.

Fields now leads the country with seven picks this season, and he has six in the past four games. His seven interceptions through the first nine games of the season is the most for a Cowboy since Darrent Williams in 2003.

If the secondary can be more boom than bust, it's good news for the Cowboys.

The Cowboy defense was credited with one sack, seven quarterback hurries and three tackles for loss.

Still, the OSU defense was in the backfield a lot more than those numbers indicate.

Early in the second quarter, for instance, the Cowboys brought a safety blitz around the edge, and even though Evan Jackson didn't get home for the sack, he disrupted the timing of the play. The result was a running play that didn't go anywhere.

Getting into the backfield made life difficult on K-State quarterback Blake Barnett, who made his first career start on Saturday. He gave way to Dillon Duff after halftime after being roughed up in the first half.

Up 56-21, the Cowboys ran a trick play for a touchdown late in the third quarter.

OSU coach Eric Morris said after the game that he felt like another touchdown at that point was a good idea. But it sure felt like the Wildcats could've played another four quarters and not gotten to 56 points, so it wasn't the greatest look for Morris and his Cowboys.

Now, the play was super cool. Terrence Lewis got the handoff and ran left, then pitched the ball to Wyatt Young who was headed right. After Young took a few steps, the receiver stopped and floated the ball to a wide-open Drew Mestemaker.

It was the Cowboy quarterback's first career catch and first career receiving touchdown.

But going to the bag of tricks to go ahead 63-21? It feels like rubbing it in, but even worse, it wastes a fantastic trick play that could've been used, oh, I dunno, next week against Texas Tech.

OSU cornerback LaDainian Fields and K-State tailback Rodney Fields had only ever been on a football field as teammates before Saturday.

The cousins faced off for the first time, and while LaDainian got the best of the matchup, both on the scoreboard and on the stat sheet, both had successful moments. LaDainian had two interceptions in addition to three tackles and one quarterback hurry while Rodney finished with 87 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.

They even went head-to-head a couple of times.

The first time came late in the first quarter when LaDainian tracked down Rodney and tackled him along the sideline for an 8-yard gain. LaDainian pulled Rodney off the ground and gave him a super quick pat on the back.

Cowboy coach Eric Morris knows the impact Wildcat fans can have in Manhattan.

He recalled playing games at K-State when they've been bonkers.

But Saturday, his Cowboys not only kept the fans under control but sent a lot of them home early. The Wildcat fans cleared out in droves at halftime, and the exodus only continued as the game progressed.

OSU's early control of the game was huge. K-State won the coin toss and opted to take the ball instead of deferring to the second half. Morris said defensive players were fired up on the sidelines at what felt like an affront, but then, they went out and did something about it, getting a three-and-out.

Three plays later, the OSU offense was in the end zone, the rout was on and the crowd was never a factor.

K-State doesn't have a very good football team, but it provided a perfect day for football.

There might been better days for a college football game, but maybe not.

​ Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.