The Nov. 21 meeting in Tempe between Oklahoma State and Arizona State has the feel of a game that could matter in a hurry for both teams.
For the Cowboys, the path starts on the ground. Caleb Hawkins gives Oklahoma State an experienced, productive backfield centerpiece, and he’s chasing another 1,000-yard season.
That’s the matchup the Cowboys have to win: Hawkins getting rolling, the offensive line controlling the line of scrimmage, and Arizona State tackle C.J. Fite getting pushed out of the picture.
Fite is one of the Big 12’s best run stoppers, and he’ll have help behind him from linebacker Owen Long, who led FBS in tackles and tackles per game last season. If Oklahoma State can’t handle that front for four quarters, it’s going to be a rough afternoon.
Arizona State, though, brings its own problems for the Cowboys to solve. The Sun Devils’ receiver group looks loaded with Colorado transfer Omarion Miller, Boston College transfer Reed Harris and Washington transfer Raiden Vines-Bright.
That gives transfer quarterback Cutter Boley a deep group of targets, and it puts real stress on an Oklahoma State secondary that has plenty to prove after a bad 2025. LaDainian Fields returns as a starter, Mo Horn arrives at cornerback, and the safety mix should include Quinton Hammonds, Evan Jackson and Vincent Holmes, among others.
If that group doesn’t play at a much higher level, Arizona State’s passing game could take over.
Boley himself is another key piece. At Kentucky, he put up solid numbers, but the numbers also told a story: nearly as many touchdowns as interceptions, and not much production as a runner.
That’s a different profile from former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, who did run the ball well before transferring to LSU. For Oklahoma State, that means one thing above all else - pressure.
Jaleel Johnson and James Williams will be central to that effort off the edge, and the Cowboys need more than just sacks. They need heat on Boley snap after snap.
If they can’t make him uncomfortable, those receivers could have a long day.
The bigger backdrop makes the stakes easy to see. Arizona State has won 19 games over the last two seasons and captured a Big 12 Championship.
Oklahoma State has won four games in the last two years, including a 1-11 finish in 2025. The Cowboys should be better in 2026, with a bowl game as the baseline and, if things break right, a push for the Big 12 title game.
Arizona State is chasing a third straight strong season under Kenny Dillingham and a second trip to the Big 12 Championship in three years.
So this one comes down to whether Oklahoma State can handle the pressure that comes with a game like this. The Cowboys may need it for bowl eligibility.
They might need it to stay alive in the Big 12 race. And if a program that hasn’t been to a Big 12 title game since 2023 and has so little of that team left can’t meet that moment, the result could be a loss.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Enters Camp With Key Starting Jobs Still Up For Grabs
Fall workouts are getting underway in Stillwater, and Oklahoma State is using the stretch before its opener in Tulsa on Sept. 5 to sort out a roster packed with competition. Eric Morris and his staff are evaluating more than 100 players as they try to settle on a starting lineup, with several spots still very much in flux after a wave of past performances and transfers reshaped the roster.
What should help speed up the process is familiarity. The Cowboys are expected to line up in a 4-2-5 on defense and lean on an Air Raid offense, and plenty of players already know Morris system from previous stops. Even so, the next few weeks will be about more than comfort level, because the staff still has to decide which players have done enough to secure the jobs that matter most. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Could Suddenly Get Former Standouts Back After New Ruling
A new federal ruling could suddenly reshape the roster picture for Oklahoma State, at least for a handful of former Cowgirls and Cowboys who thought their college careers were finished. The decision gives an extra year of eligibility to college athletes who graduated high school in 2022, and the NCAA says it plans to appeal, leaving the whole situation in a familiar state of uncertainty.
For Oklahoma State, the potential ripple effect is the part worth watching. Several former standouts now appear to have a possible path back, including players who had moved on after what looked like the end of their eligibility window, while athletes who started college before 2022 are not affected. There is still a big question about how the ruling will hold up and how the NCAA will apply it, but for now it has created at least a faint opening where there had been none. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Needs This Kansas Game To Prove The Slide Is Ending
The final weekend of the regular season brings Oklahoma State back to a familiar Big 12 measuring stick, with Kansas set to visit on Nov. 28, 2026. The last time these teams met, the Jayhawks controlled the matchup in a 38-21 win on Nov. 1, 2025, a result that fed into the Cowboys' ongoing skid in conference play and left another reminder of how far the program still had to climb.
This time, the game carries a little more weight because of what it can say about where Oklahoma State is headed under its current coaching setup and how it stacks up against a Kansas program with its own sideline questions. The series history has usually leaned one way or another, but for the Cowboys, the bigger issue is whether this meeting can finally show the slide is ending instead of just continuing in a different form. [Read more 🡒]