Better Season Not Guaranteed for Cowboy Football in 2026

Oklahoma State probably can't do much worse than it did in 2025, but expectations shouldn't be too high.

An Oklahoma State helmet is pictured before a college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the Houston Cougars at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State has been one of the worst teams in college football over the past two years, and there’s no guarantee that will change in 2026.

After the past two years in Stillwater, the Cowboys look poised to right some of the program’s wrongs and get back to winning football. With Eric Morris in charge and ready to bring OSU back to national relevancy, there are some expectations for the team to bounce back in a big way.

Of course, it makes perfect sense to believe that these significant changes will result in some changes on the scoreboard as well and get the Cowboys into the win column with some consistency in 2026. However, college football can be an unpredictable and wild ride, and OSU should be ready for whatever twists and turns might come its way.

Obviously, OSU has put itself in a position to be a player in the Big 12 again as early as next season. Yet, it might only take a little bit of bad luck to keep this misery going in Boone Pickens Stadium.

Last season, OSU managed only one win all season, and it came mostly thanks to the production of Hauss Hejny, who played only one quarter before leaving with a season-ending foot injury. While no one wants to see it happen in 2026, Drew Mestemaker having a similar fate would immediately derail a promising season.

To put it simply, there are too many factors beyond OSU’s control to expect a 1-11 team to compete for a Big 12 title in just one season. Now, if OSU can get some luck on its side with injuries and everything else, it might have a chance to do something special, but that certainly shouldn’t be the expectation.

Morris has the program moving in the right direction through one offseason, and if it comes with results on the field in the fall, there will be no doubts about where the Cowboys could go from here. However, there’s no guarantee that OSU will magically become an elite football team again in 2026.

With so many moving parts to the roster and the coaching staff, there could be some early-season struggles, just like the Cowboys had in 2025 when Mike Gundy was still around. 2026 could easily be a turning point for the OSU football program and get the Cowboys back on track, but in college football, things don’t always go as planned.