Oklahoma State to Wear Throwback Helmet in Nod to 1976 Tangerine Bowl Squad

The Oklahoma State Cowboys have released what they’ll be wearing for their Week 3 contest and throwback fans will love the helmet.

Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris. Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Oklahoma State Cowboys are throwing it back to one of their former eras with the helmets they’ll wear for Saturday’s game against Murray State.

The Cowboys (1-1) released the uniform combination for the contest against the Racers (1-2), which is set for 6 p.m. CT on Saturday.

The uniforms will look familiar to Cowboys fans. They're the same orange jersey tops and white pants that the Cowboys wore last week against Oregon. But it's the helmet that was the big reveal, as it harkens back to a previous era of Oklahoma State football that the school will honor this weekend.

OSU’s Week 3 Helmets

Week 3️⃣ uni drop 🤠 pic.twitter.com/V8y7aVaZa0

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) September 17, 2026

The orange helmets with a white stripe down the middle will feature a logo most associated with the Barry Sanders era of Oklahoma State football. The “OSU” logo is in all white and features a line underneath the “O” and “U” created by extended each end of the “S” underneath. The Cowboys wore the logo from the mid-1970s to 2001.

The current OSU athletic logo is similar but features orange lettering and has an italicized feel to it, unlike this logo which doesn’t.

The Cowboys are honoring their 1976 Tangerine Bowl team, which wore that logo on their helmets. That team, led by running back Terry Miller, went 9-3 and shared the Big 8 Conference championship with Colorado before beating current Big 12 member BYU, 49-21, in the Tangerine Bowl. That team was OSU’s last conference champion before the Cowboys won the 2011 Big 12 title under then-head coach Mike Gundy.

About the Game

Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Cowboys are trying to win consecutive games for the first time since winning the first three games of the 2024 season. After that the Cowboys lost their final nine games of the 2024 season, won their opener in 2025 and followed that by losing the next 11 games. Oklahoma State lost its opener to Tulsa two weeks ago and followed that with its impressive upset of Oregon last Saturday.

The Cowboys and the Racers have never faced each other on the gridiron and Murray State is coming off a victory over Valparaiso last week. Murray State has not beaten an FBS level team since it defeated Louisville in 1984 and the Racers haven't won a conference championship since 2001.

For the Cowboys this is their final non-conference game. After Saturday, they'll prepare for their Big 12 opener at Morgantown against West Virginia next Saturday at 6 p.m. central. The Cowboys will be seeking to end an 18-game Big 12 losing streak.