How Much Did Oklahoma State’s Loss to Houston Hurt Cowboys Top 25 Ranking?
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After losing to the Houston Cougars the only question was how far the Oklahoma State Cowboys would drop in the top 25 polls on Sunday?
How much would voters in both polls punish Oklahoma State (4-2, 2-1 in Big 12) for dropping a 35-32 road loss to the Houston Cougars. It was a matchup of ranked opponents in prime time, and it was a game that came right down to the wire.
Entering the game, the Cowboys had moved into the USA Today Top 25 for the first time this season while they had been ranked in the AP Top 25 for the past three weeks.
Further complicating what could happen was how chaotic Week 7 was. Five of the top seven teams in the country lost on Saturday. Another, No. 3 Miami, needed double overtime to defeat an unranked Florida State.
BYU, Oklahoma State’s Big 12 rival, upset No. 2 Notre Dame. The league's other two undefeated teams, Utah and Texas Tech, won as well. All three stood to move up significantly in both polls.
Would the sheer number of teams that lost in the Top 7 push the Cowboys down further than expected? As the polls are released on Sunday, we'll update this story with OSU’s new ranking and analysis.
USA Today Top 25
The Cowboys dropped out of the Top 25 in this weekend’s USA Today US LBM Top 25, which is voted on by head coaches in FBS, including OSU’s Eric Morris.
Coming out of the Houston game the Cowboys got a 364-yard passing game from quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who threw for two touchdowns and one interception. The Cowboys’ leading receiver was running back Caleb Hawkins, who caught seven passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. His receiving yards were the second-highes for an OSU running back in a single game in program history.
The Cowboys received 87 votes and that was the second-highest total of teams outside the Top 25. Arizona was ahead of them with 141 votes. Ironically, the No. 25 team is a team that OSU has beaten — Oregon, which got 189 votes.
Previous Weeks
Preseason: 22 votes
Week 1: No votes
Week 2: 16 votes
Week 3: 36 votes
Week 4: 126 votes
Week 5: 187 votes
Week 6: No. 20 (403 votes)
AP Top 25 Poll
This story will be updated with the Cowboys’ ranking in the AP Top 25 at 1 p.m. CT.
The Cowboys defense had its worst game of the season in terms of yards allowed, as Houston gained 505 yards. Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman torched the OSU secondary for 343 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.
Cowboys cornerback LaDainian Fields had his second interception of the season and OSU sacked Weigman once, only the sixth time he has been sacked in 2026.
Previous Weeks
Preseason: 8 votes
Week 1: No votes
Week 2: 36 votes
Week 3: 50 votes
Week 4: No. 19 (345 votes)
Week 5: No. 18 (477 votes)
Week 6: No. 18 (604 votes)
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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