Oklahoma State's Rough Loss at Oregon Shouldn't Change Goals

The Cowboys still have 10 games ahead of them.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, left, and Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy talk before the game as the Oregon Ducks host the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Sept. 6, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State didn’t look good in Eugene, but it still has another three months to right the ship.

The Cowboys are coming off one of the worst losses in program history. For a program that had been historically bad for most of its existence, that certainly isn’t something the Cowboys want to see.

Still, the 66-point margin of defeat on Saturday doesn’t change anything about the fact that OSU is 1-1. Sure, a 1-1 with a competitive game at Oregon would have been much more encouraging, but the Cowboys are exactly where they were expected to be through two games.

Over the past few years, the Cowboys haven’t exactly lived up to the standards that were set in the 2010s. Under Mike Gundy, the expectation has typically been a 10-win season and a shot at the Big 12 championship.

Although OSU only has one conference title under Gundy, eight 10-win seasons and plenty of Big 12 championship games and de facto championship games made the program one of the top in the country. Those days seem to be long gone, with a 69-3 disaster in Oregon being the evidence in 2025.

However, the Cowboys simply can’t get too down on themselves after a loss. While a loss like that might not necessarily fit the bill for wanting to get back on the field immediately, OSU’s bye week gives the team something to think about. 

Zane Flores now has a start at quarterback, and the Cowboys clearly have some issues to address throughout the roster. While OSU has typically responded well under Gundy, this could certainly be the worst team in his tenure in Stillwater.

Although last season’s team went 3-9, marking the worst record in the Gundy era, that squad also had some NFL talent. Of course, injuries derailed any hopes of 2024 being special, and Hauss Hejny’s broken foot might give this 2025 squad a similar fate.

Still, OSU hasn’t played a Big 12 game yet, and the goal for this season was always to simply make a bowl game. There was never an expectation for a team that just won three games to go beat a national title contender in Week 2. While the 66-point margin certainly made the game in Eugene sting a bit more than most, that doesn’t change the fact that it only counts for one game.

It’s nearly impossible to predict how the rest of this season might go, but there’s at least a chance that the Cowboys rebound and reach their preseason goals.

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