Colorado at Oklahoma State Breakdown: Week 8, Oct. 24, 2026

The story

Colorado arrives in Stillwater at 2-4 and on a four-game losing streak, still searching for its first Big 12 win. Oklahoma State is 4-2 and coming off a 35-32 loss at Houston on Oct. 17, the first blemish after two straight wins. For fantasy, the Cowboys' side carries most of the appeal, but Colorado has one player whose volume is impossible to ignore.

The angle

A 56.3-point total points to plenty of scoring. Oklahoma State carries an implied 35 points behind an offense averaging 37.2 a game, while Colorado sits at an implied 21.5. Neither defense grades as soft at any position, so this comes down to usage. Caleb Hawkins dominates the Oklahoma State backfield, and Joseph Williams soaks up Colorado's passing game.

Start 'em

Joseph Williams has become the center of Colorado's offense. He has caught 37 percent of the team's passes over the last three games, up from 19 percent before that, and his 8.7 catches a game in that span are more than double his 3.7 earlier. He has averaged 19.7 points this season and 21.8 over his last three, with a high of 31.7. Oklahoma State is about average against receivers, which does nothing to slow that kind of volume. Quanell Farrakhan has averaged 10.4 points over the same three games, so Joseph Williams is the Colorado receiver to roster. Start him, because a share this large holds up even in an offense projected for modest output.

Caleb Hawkins has taken over the Oklahoma State backfield, with 76 percent of the carries over the last three games and 23.7 carries a game, up from 17.3 before that. He has averaged 19.2 points this season and 22.6 over his last three, peaking at 32.3 in the Houston loss. Oklahoma State Cowboys On SI reported the Cowboys turned to him as a pass catcher in that game, and he finished with seven catches for 125 yards. Colorado's run defense sits in the top 20 percent of FBS, which may cap his rushing efficiency. He has scored at least 10 in each of his last five games, though, so he's a safe floor: the workload is too big to fail.

Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State) has thrown for 353 yards a game over the last three games for an offense averaging 37.2 points. He has averaged 25 points this season and 26 over his last three, with a high of 33.6. Oklahoma State Cowboys On SI noted he avoided a turnover for the first time this season in the Oct. 10 win over UCF, and coach Eric Morris called it probably his cleanest game of the season. Colorado is above average against quarterbacks, in the top 40 percent of FBS, so a ceiling game is less likely. He has scored at least 14 in each of his last five games, which makes him a safe floor because his passing volume keeps him steady.

Wyatt Young has caught 30 percent of Oklahoma State's passes over the last three games, up from 17 percent before that, and he shares the receiving work with Justin Bowick at 21 percent. Wyatt Young has averaged 19.9 points this season and 23.6 over his last three, with a 33.2-point high. Colorado is above average against receivers, in the top 40 percent of FBS, but that is a matchup he can work through with Mestemaker throwing at this rate. His climbing share keeps him ahead of Bowick, who has stayed near 20 percent. Start him, since his recent share in this passing game is too large to bench.

Value

DeAndre Moore holds a steady secondary role, with 23 percent of Colorado's catches over the last three games to Joseph Williams's 37 percent. He has played in five of Colorado's six games and has averaged 11 points this season, with a high of 20.7. He's listed Probable and faces a defense that is about average against receivers. At $5.4M he is projected for about 11, which makes him a reasonable cheap fill.

TL;DR

Lock in Joseph Williams and Caleb Hawkins for their volume, trust Mestemaker and Wyatt Young in a 56.3-point total, and take DeAndre Moore as the cheap fill.