Oklahoma State is trying to climb back to bowl relevance, and the path is clearer than the recent record suggests.
The Cowboys haven’t played in a bowl since the 2023 season, when Mike Gundy guided them back to the Big 12 championship game for the second time in three years, fell to Texas, and still finished 10-4 with a win in Houston. Since that victory, though, the slide has been brutal: Oklahoma State is 4-20, has not won a Big 12 game, and is coming off a 1-11 season. Gundy was dismissed after a 1-2 start last year, and the program turned to former North Texas coach Eric Morris.
Morris arrives with plenty of ambition. This is his first power conference head coaching job, though he was a player and assistant coach at Texas Tech.
He has already talked about competing for Big 12 championships sooner rather than later, and he’s brought in nearly 90 new players through the transfer portal. The offense should be lively, and Morris comes from the Mike Leach coaching tree.
Outside projections have Oklahoma State as an average Big 12 team, but the real question is whether that’s enough to get the Cowboys back to six wins. Based on the roster Morris inherited and the one he’s building, the answer looks more realistic than it did a year ago.
Under Gundy, bowl trips were practically routine. He took over in 2005, went 4-7 in his first season, then guided Oklahoma State to a bowl every year until the Cowboys missed out in 2024 with a 3-9 finish. Last year’s team may have been the least talented of Gundy’s tenure, and Morris has already raised the ceiling.
A big part of that comes from the transfer haul. Among the newcomers are three players who helped Morris turn North Texas into a 12-2 team last season: quarterback Drew Mestemaker, running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young.
Those three alone may already be more talented than most of the players who were on Oklahoma State’s roster in 2025. The results at North Texas back that up.
Still, those additions won’t carry the Cowboys by themselves. Morris needs more transfers to hit, and he needs holdovers like cornerback LaDainian Fields and defensive end Jaleel Johnson to become difference-makers on defense. He also needs defensive coordinator Skyler Cassidy to get that unit organized quickly.
That’s the key. If Oklahoma State’s offense reaches the level it could, the Cowboys may not need anything spectacular on the other side - just a competent defense. The pieces are there, but they have to come together early, not halfway through the season.
The schedule gives Oklahoma State a real shot. To reach a bowl, the Cowboys need six wins.
That starts with going 2-1 in nonconference play. Assuming a loss to Oregon, wins over Tulsa and Murray State would put them on the right track.
From there, they need four Big 12 victories. Texas Tech, the defending champion, and Houston, a team many view as a contender, are on the slate.
But there are also games that look winnable. Oklahoma State has four matchups against teams that finished with losing records last season: West Virginia, UCF, Colorado and Kansas.
All four should be improved, but so should the Cowboys. They were competitive against UCF late last season even as everything around them was unraveling.
If Oklahoma State takes care of those four games, it’s bowling. That’s not a stretch.
The final three conference road games - Iowa State, Kansas State and Arizona State - are tougher, and they come late. But if the Cowboys are better than the outside view says, those games can still matter.
A middle-of-the-pack Big 12 team won five league games last season, and that may be the number Oklahoma State needs to chase. With a new staff, a wave of transfers and a schedule that leaves room for progress, the Cowboys look closer to a bowl return than their recent collapse would suggest.
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This Texas Tech Test Will Say Everything About Oklahoma State
The first real measuring-stick game for Oklahoma State arrives Nov. 14 against Texas Tech, and it comes with both programs carrying a lot of change into the matchup. The Cowboys are building almost from scratch under Eric Morris, leaning on a roster packed with transfers and new faces, while the Red Raiders bring back a more established core on defense and have added more help up front to keep that side of the ball aggressive.
For Oklahoma State, the question is whether the offensive line can hold long enough to let the new skill talent settle in, because Texas Tech should make life difficult in the trenches and on the back end. If the Cowboys cant keep the pocket clean, it gets harder to involve targets like Wyatt Young, Chris Barnes and Justin Bowick, and that is exactly the kind of stress test this game is supposed to provide. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Fans Will Get An Early Look At Steve Lutzs New Team
Oklahoma States trip to Puerto Rico is giving fans their first real look at Steve Lutzs latest roster, and it comes at a useful time for a team still learning one another. The Cowboys are set for three exhibition games against professional teams, a chance to get live reps, build chemistry and start sorting out roles before the season begins.
The roster makeup makes the timing even more interesting, with only a small group of returners and a lineup largely built from freshmen and transfers. For a program trying to keep moving forward under Lutz, the work in Puerto Rico is less about the final score than about seeing how quickly a new group can come together, and Cowboys fans will be able to follow along through free live and on-demand streams on BallerTV. [Read more 🡒]