The next chapter for Oklahoma State has a kickoff time and a TV window.
No. 19 Oklahoma State will host UCF on Oct. 10 at Boone Pickens Stadium, with the game set for 11 a.m. and slated for ESPN or ESPN2. The Cowboys are idle this week, but the Big 12’s television schedule kept moving Monday, and the league also locked in the rest of that weekend’s slate.
Oklahoma State enters the bye at 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 play after its win at West Virginia on Saturday. That victory carried extra weight beyond the standings.
It was OSU’s first conference win since Nov. 25, 2023, when it beat BYU, ending an 18-game Big 12 losing streak that lasted 1,036 days. It also marked the Cowboys’ first road Big 12 win since Nov. 18, 2023, when they defeated Houston, 43-30.
The Cowboys are back in the AP Top 25 for the first time since Week 4 of the 2024 season, and they’ll spend the off week riding a three-game winning streak for the first time since opening 2024 at 3-0. The turnaround comes after a brutal stretch across 2024 and 2025, when Oklahoma State went 4-20 combined and 1-11 in 2025. That run led to the firing of Mike Gundy and the eventual hiring of Eric Morris, who was the head coach at North Texas last season.
This year’s wins have already rewritten a few more lines in the record book. Oklahoma State snapped a 21-game FBS losing streak by beating Oregon in Week 2, and that was the program’s first home win over a Big Ten opponent. The victory at West Virginia was the Cowboys’ sixth straight in Morgantown and their second road night-game win over the Mountaineers.
While Oklahoma State rests, UCF will have a major test of its own. The Knights are headed to Houston to face No.
20 Houston on Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN. UCF has played its last two games without starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III, and his status remains unclear heading into the week.
In Other News...
BYU May Be Getting A Much Different UCF Than Expected
UCF has quietly become one of the more interesting defensive stories in the Big 12 this season. The Knights are giving up just 15 points per game, sitting fourth in the league in scoring defense, and they have already forced nine turnovers while backing up the numbers with a recent win over TCU.
Now comes the part that could tell us a lot more about where this team really stands. UCF is heading into a brutal stretch against one ranked opponent after another, and the next few weeks will show whether this defensive turnaround is built to last or just a strong run against a softer part of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma States Bye Week Just Made One Lineup Battle Feel Bigger
Oklahoma States win over West Virginia did more than keep the Cowboys moving toward Big 12 contention. It also offered a cleaner look at the offensive front, with all five starting linemen on the field for every snap for the first time this season. With Joseph Hanson back at right guard and other key pieces logging major minutes, the staff got a rare chance to see what the group can look like when it stays intact.
The timing matters because the Cowboys now have a bye week to sort through the details before the schedule picks back up, including a matchup with UCF. There was also a notable defensive moment in the win, with Phillips starting at free safety and helping swing momentum with an interception, another reminder that the team is beginning to settle into a more complete version of itself just as the next stretch arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Finally Has The Big 12 Breakthrough Fans Needed
A long-awaited reset finally arrived for Oklahoma State with a win over West Virginia, a result that did more than just get the Cowboys back in the conference win column. It also snapped a stretch that had dragged on since November 2023, giving the program its first Big 12 victory in nearly a year and a half and its first league road win in that same span.
Eric Morris made clear how much it meant inside the building, especially for defensive end and captain Jaleel Johnson, who has lived through the entire skid and stayed with the team through it all. The Cowboys are back in the AP Top 25, too, which only sharpens the stakes as they try to turn one breakthrough into something more lasting in Big 12 play. [Read more 🡒]