Oklahoma State’s home opener against Oregon has been delayed by lightning in Stillwater. While kickoff is delayed, NFL executives and scouts have descended on Boone Pickens Stadium, and Shaun Torgeson is expected to start at left tackle for the Cowboys.
Oklahoma State's highly anticipated home opener against No. 6 Oregon will have to wait a little longer.
Lightning in the Stillwater area delayed pregame warmups Saturday morning at Boone Pickens Stadium, pushing the game beyond its originally scheduled 11 a.m. CT kickoff.
Pregame warmups were halted around 9:45 a.m. CT with approximately 75 minutes remaining on the stadium's game clock. Because of the 30-minute lightning rule, the earliest players initially could have returned to the field was 10:38 a.m. The kickoff time is pushed back to 12:30 p.m. CT as officials continue to monitor the weather.
While the teams wait, there is no shortage of NFL attention surrounding the matchup. A significant group of NFL personnel made the trip to Stillwater, with Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort, Atlanta Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham, Falcons president of football Matt Ryan and approximately 20 NFL scouts reportedly in attendance.
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore is one of the biggest attractions. Moore enters Saturday after completing 28 of 37 passes for a career-high 378 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in Oregon's season-opening victory against Boise State.
On the other sideline is Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who is attempting to bounce back after throwing for 241 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in the Cowboys' 24-10 loss at Tulsa.
Mestemaker entered the season with significant attention after following Eric Morris from North Texas to Oklahoma State. His matchup with Moore provides NFL evaluators an opportunity to see two intriguing quarterbacks on the same field.
Oklahoma State will also have a change along its offensive line. Portland State transfer Shaun Torgeson is expected to start at left tackle in place of Jacob Sexton, who suffered a season-ending broken leg during Oklahoma State's opening series against Tulsa.
Torgeson started 12 games at Portland State last season before transferring to Oklahoma State. He is expected to rotate Saturday with North Texas transfer Desmond Magiya.
Oklahoma State listed Magiya or Torgeson as its potential starter at left tackle on its Week 2 depth chart after both received snaps following Sexton's injury against Tulsa.
Whenever the weather clears, Oklahoma State will face one of its biggest home nonconference tests in decades.
