How The Colorado Buffaloes Could Ruin Oklahoma State's Season in 2026

The Colorado Buffaloes have the chance to turn the start of the back half of Oklahoma State’s season a nightmare.

Oklahoma State head football coach Eric Morris. | NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A college football season is much like the Mike Tyson quote — “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

No doubt the Oklahoma State Cowboys have spent the past few months putting together what they hope is a road map to the season. Head coach Eric Morris knows his Cowboys have three non-conference games and nine conference games. In a perfect world, Oklahoma State wins every game. In a realistic world, the Pokes have a winning record by the time they host the Colorado Buffaloes on Oct. 24 in Stillwater.

The Buffaloes entered the 2026 season picked by most to finish toward the bottom of the Big 12 Conference. That means that the Cowboys could be favored in this game. And that's just one reason why the Buffaloes could ruin Oklahoma State season just as the Cowboys are getting some real traction.

How Colorado Could Ruin Oklahoma State’s Season

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Julian Lewis. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Their last meeting in 2024 isn't a good comparison. That matchup in Boulder was the regular season finale for both teams. Colorado was still in the mix to earn a berth in the Big 12 Championship game. Oklahoma State's season was long over as it had already lost eight straight conference games.

There was nothing on the line for Oklahoma State, one year after the Cowboys went to the Big 12 title game and lost to Texas. There was everything on the line Colorado and the Buffaloes played like it, beating the Cowboys 52-0. Few could have predicted the season would end up that way for either team.

A quick look at Colorado and, like Oklahoma State, the Buffaloes are a team in transition. Colorado has a new offensive and defensive coordinator, and it enters the season with just four returning starters, on the offensive side. That doesn't include Julian Lewis, the talented freshman who played little last year and is the quarterback that head coach Deion Sanders hopes to pin his success on the next few seasons.

This will be the seventh game of this season for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys could be sitting on a winning record overall and in Big 12 play. If so, then they’re an early contender for a Big 12 title game berth and, likely, a favorite in this game. It’s also Oklahoma State’s final home game before back-to-back road trips to Iowa State and Kansas State.

Consider this scenario. Oklahoma State has a winning record and hosts Colorado at home. The Buffaloes pull off the upset, and the Cowboys start to tailspin. With two straight road games ahead against teams they'll match up evenly against, the Cowboys could suddenly be staring at a multi-game losing streak, especially if they lost to Houston the week prior.

In other words, nothing goes to play in college football. Planning for a win over the Buffaloes is just asking for Colorado to ruin Oklahoma State’s season.