Oklahoma State’s 2026 football season is going to revolve around one thing: how quickly Eric Morris can turn a roster full of transfers into a real team.
That’s a massive ask, even with the buzz building around the Cowboys. Morris walks into a reboot with nearly 90 new transfers, including nearly 20 who came with him from North Texas, and only a small group of holdovers.
The talent influx is obvious. The question is whether the pieces click fast enough to meet the expectations now following Oklahoma State.
The opener should give the Cowboys a chance to settle in. Tulsa won four games last season, and even though the Golden Hurricane should be better, Oklahoma State has a big talent edge compared with a year ago. Morris also gets the advantage of making his first real statements on opening day, and that should matter in a game where the Cowboys are expected to handle business.
Week 2 brings a tougher test with Oregon visiting Stillwater. The Ducks are a much harder team to predict because a lot of their NFL-level talent that still had eligibility returned for what they called “unfinished business.”
That makes this one more competitive than the matchup was a year ago, when the answer was basically decided early. Still, Oklahoma State gets Oregon at home, and that keeps things within reach.
The Cowboys’ first FCS opponent of the season comes against Murray State, and this is the kind of game that should be over quickly. Oklahoma State and the Racers have never met in football, and Murray State won only one game last year.
That’s a far cry from Oklahoma State’s 27-7 win over Tennessee-Martin a season ago, which reflected the limitations of that team. This version of the Cowboys should put Murray State away early.
A trip to Morgantown follows, and that one has the ingredients for a tighter finish. Both Morris and West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez want to play fast, so the pace could open things up.
But Oklahoma State has continuity at quarterback with Drew Mestemaker and the OSU staff, while the Mountaineers may not know their starter until late in the fall. On the road, that kind of edge matters, even if the game stays close.
Oklahoma State lost to UCF last year, 17-14, in Orlando, and this year’s meeting brings different quarterbacks into the picture. James Madison transfer Alonzo Barrett III should be a major upgrade for the Knights.
Still, the key figure for the Cowboys could be running back Caleb Hawkins. Oklahoma State likes to play at pace, but Hawkins has the kind of legs that can slow a game down and control it.
The first real Big 12 measuring stick comes at Houston. The Cougars won 10 games a year ago and bring back important starters on both sides of the ball.
They also have stability at quarterback with Conner Weigman, at wide receiver with Amare Thomas and throughout the defense. Oregon transfer Makhi Hughes is another piece who could swing things Houston’s way.
This is a serious road test for Oklahoma State.
Colorado comes next, and the Cowboys should have an edge in talent, especially on offense. The Buffaloes may be better than they’re getting credit for, but Oklahoma State’s run-pass balance should help it control the game. By this point, the Cowboys defense should also be showing real signs of life, and that matters in a game where Oklahoma State can lean on possession.
Halloween in Ames brings another tricky one. Iowa State has a new coach in Jimmy Rogers, just like Oklahoma State has Morris, and both programs have loaded up on transfers while installing new systems and new ideas.
Ames is never an easy stop, and the date adds its own weird energy. The Cowboys make it interesting, but they survive on a last-minute touchdown drive from Mestemaker.
The schedule then tightens up in a hurry, and Kansas State could be one of the best quarterback matchups of the season. Mestemaker and Avery Johnson give that game real star power, and with Oklahoma State in the hunt for a shot at the Big 12 Championship Game, the margin gets thin. In the end, a big defensive play tips it to the Cowboys.
Texas Tech turns into a high-stakes offensive battle. Oklahoma State enters in prime position if it’s sitting on just one Big 12 loss, and the Red Raiders will have taken their lumps and grown through the season. That one comes down to a last-second Texas Tech field goal, which keeps Boone Pickens Stadium from getting the kind of storming that would have followed a Cowboy win.
Then comes the letdown spot against Arizona State. After the Texas Tech loss, Oklahoma State comes out flat, makes mistakes it usually wouldn’t, and the Sun Devils jump ahead early before closing it out. Kenny Dillingham’s team is expected to be much more settled by then, especially with a roster that starts the season nearly brand-new.
The regular season ends on Thanksgiving weekend against Iowa State, and the setting favors the home team. By then, Oklahoma State has dropped two straight and is hanging on to faint College Football Playoff at-large hopes that never really come through.
Even so, the Cowboys respond. Mestemaker has a big game, and that’s enough to finish the season on the right note.
In Other News...
Oklahoma State Is Sending A Clear Big 12 Message With NIL Spending
Oklahoma States latest roster move says plenty about where the program sees itself in the Big 12 race. An ESPN report on estimated NIL payments put a spotlight on the Cowboys push to stay aggressive in the transfer market, with quarterback Drew Mestemaker landing a significant deal after coming over from North Texas. It also pointed to added investment in players such as Wyatt Young and Caleb Hawkins, a sign that the staff is not treating roster building like a wait-and-see exercise.
For a program trying to keep pace in a conference that keeps getting deeper, the message is clear: spending is part of the plan now. Under new head coach Eric Morris, Oklahoma State appears intent on using NIL to supplement the kind of talent upgrades that can matter in a hurry, especially at quarterback, where the position often defines whether a team can hang around in the Big 12. The real question is how far that willingness to pay can carry the Cowboys once the games start and the rest of the league responds in kind. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Is Leaning On Program Legends To Spark This New Team
Eric Morris has been looking for ways to connect this new Oklahoma State group with the standard that came before it, and inviting program figures Brandon Weeden and Terry Brown to a recent practice fit that approach. Both former Cowboys came away impressed by what they saw, pointing to the energy in the building and the way the current roster carried itself through the workout.
For a team trying to establish its identity before the games count, those kinds of outside checks can matter as much as any schematic tweak. Oklahoma State opens against Tulsa on Sept. 5, then gets Oregon at home a week later, and the early part of the schedule will quickly show whether that practice-field buzz translates once the lights come on. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Freshmen Are Suddenly Pushing For Real Fall Camp Roles
As Oklahoma State rebuilds after a 1-11 season, Eric Morris has already had one of the more encouraging early camp developments a coaching staff can ask for: true freshmen showing they belong before the calendar has even turned to fall. With roster turnover and the new eligibility rules opening the door for immediate competition, the Cowboys are taking a long look at newcomers who would normally need more time to develop, and that has made the opening workouts feel more like an audition than a standard first step of camp.
Morris has pointed to a handful of first-year players who are making noise at the right time, including running back KD Jones and wide receivers Jaxon Standard and Thornton. For a team trying to build back from the bottom, those kinds of early impressions matter because they can speed up the path to real playing time and help fill out a depth chart that needs fresh answers. The challenge now is turning those promising reps into something more lasting once the pace and competition of camp intensify. [Read more 🡒]