Oklahoma State Tabbed as Potential Playoff Contender in 2026

Oklahoma State is in a tricky situation going into next season, but it has a real chance to do something special.

After an offseason of significant changes, OSU is ready for another try in the Big 12. With Eric Morris now leading the way in Stillwater, OSU is hoping to make a huge bounce back in 2026.

While simply getting back to a bowl game would be a great success for the Pokes next season, there might be reason to look beyond the bare minimum of making it back to a bowl and look into another aspect of the postseason.

In the first 12 seasons of the College Football Playoff, OSU is arguably the most successful program to have never made an appearance. In a recent article for CBS Sports, Brad Crawford made the case for why next year’s Cowboy squad might be able to change that, even after a 1-11 season.

“Curt Cignetti's brilliance over the his first two seasons at Indiana set the standard for premium resurgence in the playoff era and the Cowboys hope they've found their own diamond in the rough with coach Eric Morris,” Crawford wrote. “A winner at North Texas, Morris has utilized a considerable boost in resources to sign a top-10 transfer class at Oklahoma State, spearheaded by many of his best players from his former program including quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Caleb Hawkins. Oklahoma State has 53 total transfers who will make up much of the two-deep, which should completely erase any semblance to last season's 1-11 face plant under Mike Gundy.”

As OSU strives to erase any comparisons to that awful team from 2025, there will likely be some adversity along the way. While getting back to winning games is certainly an attainable goal for Morris and company, getting all the way to the College Football Playoff would be quite the leap.

While there’s a full season of football that will shape the early direction of the Morris era, Crawford explained why the start of the season is so vital.

“A 66-point loss at Oregon last season was an embarrassment for the program, an indictment on the previous staff and the gap between Oklahoma State and one of the nation's elite,” Crawford wrote. “Can that change with a collection of players who didn't feel that sting and a staff coming off an 11-win campaign elsewhere? Perhaps.

"The Cowboys host the Ducks in Week 2. Oklahoma State's playoff hopes, however, ultimately fall on what happens in the Big 12 and how quickly this group can come together and execute. The first barometer game for Morris and the Cowboys comes at West Virginia on Sept. 26. If they lose that conference opener, getting to bowl eligibility then becomes the goal.”