Oklahoma State Should Be One of Big 12's Most Interesting Teams in 2026
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Oklahoma State has been one of the most interesting teams in the country this offseason, and that could easily translate to the field next fall.
Over the past several weeks, the Cowboys have begun their journey to making 2026 and beyond look far different than 2024 and 2025. After winning only four games over the past two seasons, the Pokes hired Eric Morris from North Texas to take over the program.
Along with a plethora of talented players following Morris from his old school, the Pokes have picked up some intriguing commitments from other transfers from across the country.
In terms of returning talent, the Cowboys will have next to none. On one hand, there probably isn’t too much to worry about if the talent that’s leaving was only able to muster one win last season. However, there were still plenty of talented players who showed they could make a real impact at the Big 12 level, even if their efforts alone weren’t enough to get a win for their team.
In any case, that level of turnover to the roster and the staff in a conference that has been as wide open as the Big 12 in recent history makes for one of the most interesting situations in college football. Coming into next season, OSU will likely be looking to simply make a bowl game, but it’s also easy to see a roster with this type of talent be seen as a team that could win around eight games.
While that would be great for the Cowboys, the Big 12 is simply chaotic, and a team with the talent to win eight games could easily see some major swings. Given how many one-score games and surprises there are in the conference every season, a team with eight-win talent like OSU could enter its final game needing a win to get bowl eligible or a win to clinch a spot in the conference title game.
Considering there has been so much change this offseason, either of those scenarios could be the reality when November rolls around. In the meantime, the Cowboys should continue to make some noise in the portal and be arguably the Big 12’s most intriguing team of the offseason.
It remains to be seen whether that will translate to being one of the conference’s most interesting teams on the field in 2026, but all signs certainly point to the Pokes being a team to watch for a myriad of reasons next season.
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.