Oklahoma State Featured Twice in ESPN's Top 100 Games of 2024

Oklahoma State had its worst season in decades, but it still had a couple of the most entertaining games of 2024.

On Tuesday, ESPN released its list of the top 100 college football games of the 2024 season. Of course, throughout a 3-9 campaign that featured some of the worst performances in recent OSU history, there were few close games in the year. Still, the Cowboys played in a couple of classics throughout the first two months of the season before things fell completely apart in November.

The top of ESPN’s list had no surprises, with Vanderebilt’s upset against Alabama topping the list, Alabama and Georgia’s thriller coming in second and the Big 12’s first appearance with Arizona State’s Peach Bowl loss to Texas in third.

The Cowboys’ first appearance on the list isn’t much further. OSU’s last-minute loss at BYU in mid-October earned the No. 10 spot in the ranking. Not only was the game a classic, but it also foreshadowed how the rest of OSU’s season would go.

With Garret Rangel getting injured just before halftime of his first start of the season, Alan Bowman was thrust back into the quarterback position and did enough to get OSU in a position to win.

With just over a minute left, Bowman hit Brennan Presley for a go-ahead touchdown. With OSU simply needing one stop to hand BYU its first loss and get back on track, Darrius Lassiter broke through multiple OSU defenders on his way to the end zone for a game-winning score with 10 seconds remaining.

OSU’s other spot on the list was a much happier ending for the Cowboys, as it was their only win against a power conference team all season. In Week 2, the Cowboys came back from multiple scores against Arkansas to get a double-overtime win, which is good for No. 26 on the list.

While OSU had taken the lead in regulation, it allowed Arkansas to get downfield and kick a tying field goal. Both teams missed field goals in the first overtime before Ollie Gordon’s touchdown and two-point conversion in the second overtime pushed OSU in front.

With the game on the line, OSU’s defense stuffed the Razorbacks on fourth down and secured a 39-31 win. Although it was one of the last wins of OSU’s season, it was a game the Cowboys won’t forget anytime soon.

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