Oklahoma State got a break before it even kicked off against Colorado.
Texas Tech, one of the Big 12’s unbeaten teams heading into Saturday, went down in Cincinnati, where the Bearcats beat the No. 8 Red Raiders 37-24 and handed the defending league champions their first loss of the season. For the Cowboys, that result matters a whole lot in the Big 12 Championship chase.
Oklahoma State is 4-2 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play, and every little bit helps in a race this tight. Texas Tech’s stumble is especially useful because the Red Raiders are the only one of the three unbeaten Big 12 teams entering Saturday that the Cowboys are scheduled to face. OSU hosts Texas Tech on Nov. 14 in Stillwater, and if both teams keep stacking wins, that game suddenly looks like a massive elimination matchup for the conference title picture.
The timing of the loss matters, too. The Big 12 went into Saturday with three undefeated teams ranked in the AP Top 25: No.
2 BYU, No. 8 Texas Tech and No.
10 Utah. BYU was set to play at UCF in Orlando, while Utah was hosting Houston later in the day in a game featuring two Top 15 teams.
What makes Texas Tech’s loss such a boost for Oklahoma State is the way the rest of the schedule lines up. The Cowboys don’t play BYU or Utah, which leaves the Red Raiders as the lone direct link to that group. If both OSU and Texas Tech were to take another conference loss, the winner of their meeting would still be in the hunt, depending on what BYU and Utah do the rest of the way.
That’s because BYU and Utah are on a path to meeting undefeated in the Holy War on Nov. 7 in Salt Lake City, assuming they keep winning. The winner would stay perfect, while the loser would have a loss but could still have a route back to the Big 12 title game through the schedule.
So Texas Tech’s defeat in Cincinnati opens a door for Oklahoma State, especially in Eric Morris’s first year as head coach. The Cowboys still have to win their games, and even that won’t lock anything up. But the path is a little clearer now, and a two-loss Big 12 team is going to have a tough time getting to Arlington unless the race gets messy in the final month.
For now, Texas Tech’s loss means Oklahoma State controls its destiny a little more than it did before kickoff.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Gets A Big 12 Chance It Cant Waste Against Colorado
Oklahoma State is heading into a midseason Big 12 matchup that carries a little extra weight, with Colorado coming to Boone Pickens Stadium in Week 8 of the 2026 college football season. The Cowboys will get the chance in Stillwater on Saturday, Oct. 24, in a game that gives them another shot to make a statement in conference play, with the national audience able to follow along on FS1 and via Fubo.
The timing matters, because both teams arrive with their own recent results and the league picture already taking shape entering Week 8. For Oklahoma State, this is the kind of home opportunity that can nudge a season in the right direction or leave a lingering what-if, and the stakes only get sharper when a conference opponent like Colorado walks into town. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Keeps Rolling But One Offensive Issue Still Looms
Oklahoma States offense has been humming for more than a month, and the results have shown up on the scoreboard as well as in the national rankings. The Cowboys have topped 30 points in five straight games, and their overall production has put them among the countrys most efficient attacks, setting up another opportunity to stay on a roll when Colorado comes to Stillwater.
Even with all that firepower, there is still a wrinkle worth watching: the offense has not always been as clean in the red zone, and slow starts in the first half have occasionally kept games closer than they should be. That leaves a little tension inside an otherwise encouraging stretch, especially with several columnists expecting Oklahoma State to handle Colorado at home, even if the exact margin varies from one prediction to the next. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Cracks Down After Disturbing Student Section Incident
Oklahoma State is moving the Cowboy Marching Band out of its usual spot in Boone Pickens Stadium for the upcoming homecoming game, a response to a troubling scene in the student section that left two band members injured by thrown cans and water bottles. The university is also stepping up security and camera monitoring as it looks to prevent a repeat of the kind of behavior that crossed well beyond the edge of game-day passion.
The band will be relocated to Section 223 when the Cowboys face Colorado, a change that underscores how seriously the school is treating the incident. It comes after the university took action against several students connected to what happened, while trying to make sure the stadium remains a place where the crowd can be loud without becoming dangerous. [Read more 🡒]