Oklahoma State Must Find Success on the Road in 2026

Cowboy football needs to pick up some road wins next season.

Aug 31, 2024; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys helmet sits on the field prior to the game against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Oklahoma State has been struggling the past couple of years, but winning on the road in 2026 could be what turns things around.

OSU football is hoping to find a resurgence under Eric Morris next season and beyond, but winning on the road will be a challenge for the Cowboys. Given the Pokes’ placement in the Big 12 over the past couple of years, it hasn’t mattered where the games were played, but it will soon be much more important.

It’s no secret that the Cowboys enjoy a home-field advantage at Boone Pickens Stadium, especially when things are going well. Even in the dark stages of the 2025 season, OSU fans continued to show out.

While that didn’t result in many wins over the past couple of years, it’s still easy to see how the Cowboys could do well in the near future in games on their home field. Of course, those games only account for around half the schedule in any given year.

Since the start of the 2024 season, OSU has only secured one win on the road, and it’s hard to even classify that one as a road game. The one road win, of course, is a win at Tulsa in 2024 in a stadium that may as well be classified as Boone Pickens East when the Pokes are in town.

Next season, OSU will be back in Tulsa for the season opener, poised to pick up its first road win since 2024 and get some revenge for the 2025 matchup that was effectively the final straw for Mike Gundy’s tenure. With six road games next season, including five in Big 12 play, finding ways to win away from home will be critical to OSU’s hopes of getting back on track and into the conference title picture.

Even beyond that, OSU could very easily need some road wins to comfortably get to bowl eligibility, given that Oregon is on the slate again in 2026. While road games at Tulsa, Houston and Arizona State don’t necessarily come with tough environments, the Cowboys will have to navigate the usually rowdy road crowds at West Virginia, Iowa State and Kansas State as well.

With five more months until the season kicks off, the Cowboys have plenty of time to get prepared and head into the season with the right mindset. And once the season starts, getting some big-time wins away from Stillwater could be the key to a successful first year under Morris.