Oklahoma State didn’t crack the Associated Press preseason Top 25, but the Cowboys did get a little respect from the voters.
When the poll was released Monday, OSU had eight votes, enough to show up on the radar even if it fell short of the rankings. Those votes came from three AP panel members: Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury-News, Dylan Sinn of the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette and Jamar St. Cyr of WJXT-4 television.
Two of those voters explained their thinking to Oklahoma State on SI.
Sinn was the most aggressive of the group. He didn’t just slide Oklahoma State in at No. 25 - he put the Cowboys at No. 19, which accounted for six of the eight votes. Sinn, who covers college football for the Journal-Gazette with a focus on Indiana, Notre Dame and Purdue, said he sees a team that could change fast because of the transfer era.
“In the era where coaches can import almost entire rosters it's not particularly surprising anymore to see a team change its fortunes entirely in a single offseason,” he wrote exclusively to Oklahoma State on SI. “That's what I believe OSU has done here with the addition of the three most important pieces from what was the No.
1 SP+ offense in the country last year (an opponent-adjusted metric!). I was wildly impressed with Drew Mestemaker and Caleb Hawkins at UNT last year and the defense is likely underrated to start the season with Skyler Cassity giving OSU a version of "continuity" on that side of the line of scrimmage too.
I'm excited to see how big of a national profile LaDainian Fields can build once OSU is back on the radar.
“Overall, OSU strikes me as having the highest ceiling of any team in the Big 12 outside of Texas Tech and BYU. Whether they'll hit it in Year 1 under Eric Morris remains to be seen, but a lot of pieces are in place already.”
Wilner’s view was more restrained, but he still saw enough upside to include the Cowboys at No. 25 in his ballot. In his explanation, he pointed to Oklahoma State’s recent struggles in league play, the quarterback situation and a favorable schedule.
“Our top sleeper pick is coming off back-to-back winless seasons in Big 12 play. (That's not easy in any conference.)
Quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who followed coach Eric Morris from North Texas to Stillwater, should be one of the best in the nation and a high NFL draft pick. The Cowboys get Texas Tech at home and miss BYU and Utah.
Could they win the Big 12? The likelihood is non-zero.”
Oklahoma State will face three ranked teams on its schedule this season: Oregon on Sept. 12, Houston on Oct. 17 and Texas Tech on Nov. 14.
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Oklahoma State has spent the start of the week settling into a different rhythm, one that Eric Morris believes can pay off once the season starts piling up. The head coach pointed to a 6 p.m. scrimmage as part of the effort to get players used to different kickoff times, while the teams practices have shifted to a more consistent morning window that fits around class schedules and gives the roster a better chance to recover properly.
Morris is also building in a tighter weekly structure designed to keep players fresher for Saturday games. The Cowboys will be in pads on Thursdays before getting Fridays off entirely, a routine that puts a premium on recovery while still giving the staff one last physical workday before game week turns into game day. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State's Air Raid Is Making A Big Philosophical Shift
Eric Morris spent years in the Mike Leach tree, so the expectation around Oklahoma States offense was always going to lean heavily toward tempo, spacing and a pass-first identity. But Morris has been open about how his thinking evolved, and the version of the Air Raid he is bringing to Stillwater now makes room for a much stronger run game without abandoning the volume passing attack that defined his background.
That shift did not happen by accident. Morris said he studied how balanced elite teams were built and then carried that lesson into previous stops at Incarnate Word and North Texas, where the offense kept piling up yards through the air while also becoming harder to defend on the ground. For Oklahoma State, the appeal is obvious: a more complete attack that can keep defenses guessing and, in Morris view, put a team in a better position to win consistently and chase bigger goals. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Just Landed A Massive Chance To Change Its Future Backcourt
Oklahoma State is getting a crack at one of the countrys most intriguing backcourt prospects this fall, with Moussa Kamissoko set to take an official visit to Stillwater on Sept. 12-13. The shooting guard has built a reputation as a polished scorer who can also create for others, the kind of perimeter talent that can change the ceiling of a recruiting class almost by himself.
Kamissoko has lined up a long list of official visits as he works toward a decision that could come during the early signing period in November, so the Cowboys will have to make their pitch count. For a program looking to keep building toward a stronger future in the backcourt, landing a player with his blend of skill and upside would be a major step, even if the final call still sits a few weeks away. [Read more 🡒]