This Is Easily the Toughest Stretch of the 2026 Season for Oklahoma State Cowboys

This four-game stretch will determine just how successful the Oklahoma State Cowboys’ 2026 football season will be.

Oklahoma State head football coach Eric Morris. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For a team that only won one game last year, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have pretty high expectations for 2026.

Much of that is due to new head coach Eric Morris. The replacement for program legend Mike Gundy comes from North Texas, where he led the Mean Green to an 11-2 record and a spot in the American Conference championship game before he led for Stillwater. With him came most of his staff and nearly 20 former Mean Green players, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker.

On the strength of the hire and the transfers, more is expected from Oklahoma State, which has won just four games in two years and has an 18-game Big 12 losing streak going into the season. Few expect the Cowboys to contend for a Big 12 Championship game berth. But a season that leads to a bowl game is possible. That’s why this four-game stretch is vital to making that happen.

How A Four Game Stretch Could Define a Season

Texas tech head coach Joey McGuire. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If the Cowboys play up to expectations, they could have four or five wins in hand before they head to Iowa State on Oct. 31, which is where this four-game stretch begins. The Cyclones, like the Cowboys, have a new head coach in Jimmy Rogers. He’s their first new boss in a decade after Matt Campbell left for Penn State.

Like OSU, the roster is filled with transfers — including former OSU quarterback Zane Flores. But it’s a Big 12 road game on Halloween and strange things can happen. Rogers is used to building teams with fewer resources.

Part of the reason this stretch could be tough is because there are three road games in four weeks. The following game is at Kansas State on Nov. 7. The Wildcats also have a new coach, but OSU knows this one all too well — former Heisman Trophy finalist Collin Klein. He’s made it his mission to tap all of quarterback Avery Johnson’s potential — and he may just do it. OSU’s last trip to Manhattan was a nightmare, a 42-20 loss in 2024.

The Cowboys come back home on Nov. 14, but things get no easier. Texas Tech comes to town and the Red Raiders, even with the Brendan Sorsby drama, should be prime contenders to reach the Big 12 title game for the second straight year. This should be a closer game than last season’s 42-0 pummeling in Lubbock. But the Cowboys still face a tough game, and it will feel even tougher if OSU loses on the road to ISU and K-State.

Finally, the stretch ends on Nov. 21 at Arizona State. The Sun Devils are a year removed from their Big 12 crown, but they won eight games last year and transferred in a Top 15 class. Head coach Kenny Dillingham has turned Tempe into a tough place to play. Three road games in four weeks in college football is an exhausting run.

If Oklahoma State has four or five wins by this point, this stretch will define if they’re a Big 12 contender, a bowl-bound team or a team that will be struggling to claim that elusive sixth win going into the season finale against Kansas on Nov. 28.