The Oklahoma State Cowboys don’t have a lot of room for slip-ups on their 2026 schedule, and two home dates stand out as the kind of games that can quietly wreck a season.
That’s a different problem than the one OSU has dealt with the past two years. When you’re going 3-9 in 2024 and then 1-11 in 2025, trap games aren’t really the issue. Losing is.
The Cowboys’ 2025 season hit a breaking point in Week 3, when a home loss to Tulsa cost Mike Gundy his job and opened the door for Eric Morris, who was hired away from North Texas.
Now there’s real optimism around Stillwater heading into 2026. On paper, Oklahoma State looks like a team that can bounce back and at least get to a bowl game. But that path gets a lot trickier if the Cowboys stumble in two Big 12 games they’re expected to handle.
The first one comes at home against UCF on Oct. 10.
The Knights finished 5-7 last season and beat Oklahoma State 17-14 in Orlando a year ago. UCF has faced the Cowboys twice and won both meetings.
Still, this version of Oklahoma State looks more talented than the team that took the field a year ago. The catch is that the timing of this game makes it dangerous.
It lands right after the Cowboys’ only bye week, which means they’ll have two weeks to prepare. That can help, but it can also disrupt momentum if OSU is rolling - and the best-case scenario here is a 3-1 start.
Sometimes teams would rather keep playing than stop.
UCF also has a chance to be better than it was in 2025. The arrival of quarterback Alonza Barnett III should lift the Knights’ passing game, much like Drew Mestemaker is expected to do for Oklahoma State. And in theory, UCF enters the season with a stronger base thanks to more returning talent and the success it already had last year.
The other danger spot is another home game, this one against Colorado on Oct. 24.
That matchup comes after Oklahoma State travels to Houston on Oct. 17.
If the Cowboys come back from that trip with a win, they’ll be in the Big 12 race and riding a wave of confidence - maybe too much confidence.
Colorado wasn’t much better than Oklahoma State last season, finishing 3-9 with one conference win. The Buffs don’t return a single starter from last year, though they do have some continuity on offense with quarterback Julian Lewis back in the mix. Deion Sanders also changed both of his offensive coordinators, which means there will be plenty of adjustment in Boulder.
For Oklahoma State, that’s exactly the kind of game it has to win. A loss there could do serious damage to bowl hopes and leave the Cowboys staring at their toughest stretch of the schedule with little margin left.
In Other News...
These 3 Oklahoma State Problems Will Define Eric Morris' Reset
After a 1-11 season, Oklahoma State is turning to Eric Morris and defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity to help steady a program that needs fixes in a hurry. The Cowboys are looking for progress in three areas that often travel together: a better scoring defense, a more dependable rushing attack and a cleaner turnover margin, all while trying to give the reset some traction in 2026.
There is at least a familiar blueprint here from North Texas, where Morris and Cassity helped build a staff reputation for getting more out of both sides of the ball. Oklahoma State also has pieces to work with, including running back Caleb Hawkins and a secondary that features LaDainian Fields, Mo Horn and Cameron Epps, but the real test is whether those names can help turn a long list of problems into something more manageable before the pressure around the program starts to build again. [Read more 🡒]
This Oklahoma State Transfer Just Changed The Rebuild Conversation
A major piece of Oklahoma States roster reset has come with familiar faces from North Texas, where Drew Mestemaker and head coach Eric Morris helped turn a program into one of the more interesting stories in the league. Mestemaker arrives after a breakthrough season that put him among the most productive passers in the country and earned him the Burlsworth Trophy, giving the Cowboys a proven quarterback at the center of a sweeping overhaul.
Morris has rebuilt fast, bringing in 87 newcomers after a rough 2025 season, and the optimism around Stillwater is tied to more than just one transfer. Caleb Hawkins and Wyatt Young also followed from North Texas, while other impact additions have helped change the tone of the conversation before the Big 12 season even starts, though the real test is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Eric Morris Is Already Seeing Potential Starters Emerge In Fall Camp
Fall camp has given Eric Morris and his staff a first real look at how Oklahoma States roster might take shape after a busy offseason of turnover, and a handful of newcomers and returners are already separating themselves. Morris pointed to Barnes, Sexton, Williams, Romney and Horn as players who have flashed enough to suggest they could become significant pieces this season, with the coaching staff encouraged by how quickly some of the new faces are settling into key roles on both sides of the ball.
For a team still sorting out its depth chart, those early signs matter because so much of the Cowboys success will depend on how fast the offense and defense can identify reliable starters. Barnes has shown the kind of versatility that can help an Air Raid attack, Williams is in the mix as a potential edge presence, and Horn brings veteran experience to a young secondary. The biggest question now is how many of those camp standouts can turn promising reps into jobs once the pads stay on and the competition tightens. [Read more 🡒]