Oklahoma State Needs This Kansas Game To Prove The Slide Is Ending

Will the Oklahoma State Cowboys redeem themselves against the Kansas Jayhawks after their stinging defeat in 2025?

The last time Oklahoma State and Kansas lined up, the Cowboys struck first and still walked away with a loss.

That Nov. 1, 2025 meeting in Lawrence ended 38-21 in favor of the Jayhawks, a result that fed into Oklahoma State’s current 18-game Big 12 losing streak. The Cowboys built a quick lead, but Kansas took over after that and kept pulling away.

Zane Flores opened the scoring for Oklahoma State with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Shamar Rigby in the first quarter. Kansas answered with a 39-yard Laith Marjan field goal, then grabbed the lead for good when Daniel Hishaw Jr. punched in a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to make it 10-3 at halftime.

The second half followed a pattern that showed up too often for Oklahoma State in 2025. Kansas came out of the break and delivered the knockout stretch in the third quarter, with Jalon Daniels finding Boden Groen for a 3-yard score and Bryson Canty for a 5-yard touchdown to stretch the margin to 24-7.

OSU did get a response before the quarter ended. Flores connected with Gavin Freeman on a 10-yard touchdown pass to trim the deficit to 24-14.

But Kansas kept control in the fourth quarter, adding rushing touchdowns from Hishaw and Leshon Williams. Oklahoma State also found the end zone again, with Sesi Vailahi scoring on the ground.

Flores finished with 235 passing yards and two touchdowns, one of his better outings of the season. Rodney Fields Jr. ran for 56 yards, and Freeman led the receivers with seven catches for 78 yards.

Daniels only threw for 110 yards for Kansas, but the Jayhawks got steady production on the ground from Williams, who rushed for 77 yards, and Hishaw, who added 65. Canty’s touchdown grab was one of his two catches on the day.

Now the teams are set to meet again on Nov. 28, 2026, in Stillwater in the final regular-season game of the season. Oklahoma State will be trying to make sure it has more football left after that.

New head coach Eric Morris is trying to speed up the turnaround in 2026, while Kansas coach Lance Leipold enters his sixth season looking to get the Jayhawks back above .500. Neither program has been bowling since 2023.

The series itself has deep roots from the Big 8 days, and Oklahoma State leads it 42-31-2. At home, the Cowboys have a 19-14-1 edge, which gives Stillwater real weight heading into this one.

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