Oklahoma State football: Josh Stewart, Charlie Moore step up to fill Cowboys' WR void

Still, Stewart didn't quite understand the panic spreading among the masses.

“It actually motivates you,” Stewart said. “You've got all these people saying, ‘Oh, what are we going to do without Tracy and Isaiah?'

“So you've got to show that we're still a good team. We've got to step up and show we're good just like they are.

“That's the mindset we take. And it helped us today.”

Apparently, don't offend Josh Stewart.

Or, perhaps, do offend him, by all means Cowboys fans, if Saturday is any indication of what you get.

Stewart struck for a career-high 13 receptions for 89 yards on a day when OSU was committed to the pass. Against an Iowa State defense known for clogging running lanes and with a history of halting the Cowboys a year ago, Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said the goal was to get quarterback J.W. Walsh “to throw it 50 times.”

Who would those throws go to?

Stewart, for sure. And he wasn't alone. Charlie Moore, for the second straight week, provided the game's big play, a 74-yard scoring reception that sent the Cowboys into the lead for the first time at 17-10. Moore finished with eight catches and a career-high 129 yards. Blake Jackson added four catches for 96 yards.

By the time the day was done, OSU threw it and caught it enough for Walsh to post a career-high 415 yards, the ninth-best passing total in program history.

“We knew they'd come out and play well,” Walsh said. “We harped on it all week that, ‘We're going to come out and play fearless, no matter who's played and who hasn't. We're going to come out and play ball.'