Steve Young broke from the GameDay panel on Houston versus Oklahoma State, picking Houston while Desmond Howard and Kirk Herbstreit chose Oklahoma State. The split came during a lively segment on October 17, 2026, as the crew was in Provo for BYU versus Notre Dame.
That is why the OSU football schedule is drawing attention now: a nationally watched pregame show used the matchup to frame a Big 12 test with real weight. Young leaned on Houston quarterback Connor Weigman, calling him a true dual-threat, while Howard and Herbstreit made their case for Oklahoma State, turning a routine prediction segment into a quick debate over which side had the better quarterback play.
Young pointed to Weigman’s 15 touchdowns throwing and five rushing before correcting himself to six rushing, saying he is a passer who can run rather than a runner who can pass. Howard went the other way because he liked Drew Mestemaker and what Mestemaker was doing offensively for the Cowboys, and Nick Saban also backed Houston, calling it one of the most underrated teams in the country. Pat McAfee joined that side too, saying he liked Coach Fritz and Houston.
Herbstreit ultimately made the sharpest counterargument. He said Mestemaker was playing as well as any quarterback in college football and called Oklahoma State the pick in a high-scoring shootout, adding that it felt like an old-school WAC game. The disagreement matters because it leaves Houston and Oklahoma State as a true Big 12 matchup with no consensus from the desk that sets the tone for so many weekend conversations.
For now, the picks themselves are the story: Houston has support from Young, Saban and McAfee, while Oklahoma State has Howard and Herbstreit. The next answer comes on the field, where Weigman and Mestemaker will have to settle the argument that GameDay started in Provo.
