Oklahoma State Among Worst in Big 12 in Final SP+ Rankings of 2024
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Oklahoma State’s season was bad, but it could have been worse.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s ranking system, known as SP+, has been a useful tool throughout the season to determine just how good a team actually is, and he released the final ranking of the 2024 season earlier this week. After going 3-9 and finishing as the only winless team in the Big 12, the Cowboys finished at No. 84 out of 764 teams across all levels of college football.
It's time. THE FINAL 2024 COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 764!
— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) January 22, 2025
* Florida State -2.5 South Dakota
* Purdue -1 Ferris State
* Harding -3 Southern Miss
* UIndy -1 Kent State
* Ohio State -146 Oberlin
* Congrats to No. 764 ... DEAN COLLEGE OF FRANKLIN, MASS. pic.twitter.com/PyiIvQLUaS
OSU finished above only 11 power conference teams and was 14th among Big 12 teams, finishing above Arizona and Houston. OSU also finished below 24 groups of five teams and three FCS teams, including national champion North Dakota State and OSU’s season-opening opponent, South Dakota State.
OSU finished ranked above only one of its opponents from the 2024 season, with Tulsa ending at No. 155. The SP+ was also another reminder of just how bad OSU’s season was. Entering the year, the Cowboys were ranked No. 20, ahead of every opponent on the schedule outside of Kansas State and Utah.
The final ranking just came out this week after the college football playoff finale, and it shows just how long the college football postseason has been. Taking nearly two months to get from the final week of the regular season to the national championship feels like an eternity in college football today.
One of the clearest signs of just how long the postseason takes was everything OSU did during its first postseason without a game since 2005. Along with the wild ride of the transfer portal and NIL in modern college football, the postseason also provided more than enough time for OSU to change almost all of its coaching staff under Mike Gundy.
As OSU looks to finish much better than 3-9 and much higher than No. 84 next season, it has some pieces in place already. Along with bringing in Todd Grantham as defensive coordinator and Doug Meacham as offensive coordinator, those two brought in a plethora of coaches to work alongside them, including many who have previous experience together.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.