How Might Oklahoma State's Season Look if Hauss Hejny Wins QB Battle?

Zane Flores seems like the favorite, but Hauss Hejny enters camp with some experience.

Oklahoma State quarterback Hauss Hejny is pictured during a Spring football practice at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Okla., Tuesday, April, 8, 2025. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State’s season begins next month, but the quarterback battle is still up in the air.

Entering fall camp, the Cowboys have plenty of questions to be answered, but naturally, the most important questions will stem from the quarterback battle. After entering spring practice with four potential starting options, the Cowboys are down to Zane Flores and Hauss Hejny for that spot when they kick off against UT Martin in August.

Also, with the season so close, EA Sports’ College Football 26 is out and has been the source of some exciting projections. Using the newest edition of the college football video game to simulate the season, OSU went 8-5, securing a 5-4 record in conference play and winning the Frisco Bowl.

With Flores as OSU’s top-rated quarterback in the game by a slim margin, he was automatically the team’s starter. But what might that simulation look like if Hejny was the man under center.

Oklahoma State’s 2025 season sim with Hauss Hejny:

UT Martin (FCS Southeast): W 38-20
at Oregon: L 28-27
Tulsa: W 35-28
Baylor: W 40-19
at Arizona: W 32-30
Houston: W 52-27
Cincinnati: L 21-17
at Texas Tech: L 31-7
at Kansas: L 34-22
Kansas State: L 31-24
at UCF: L 38-17
Iowa State: L 27-3

This simulation was a tale of two seasons. With Hejny as the starting quarterback, he threw for 2,820 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

In the original simulation, Flores was a consistent star for the Cowboys. While his 2,969 yards in 13 games doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, he had 24 touchdowns to only three interceptions.

Similarly to the simulation with Flores starting, OSU had a nice start. If the first six games of the season unfold as they did in this simulation, OSU would likely be ranked and be considered among the top contenders or at least a dark-horse contender in the Big 12.

However, after winning five of the first six with the only loss being a one-point road defeat against Oregon, OSU simply collapsed. The season ended with six straight losses and ended with a 5-7 record.

Ideally, the Cowboys can find a way to perform like the first half of this simulation when the season kicks off. Because if this team performs like the simulation’s second half, it could be a long season with another big offseason to follow.

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