Three Oklahoma State Cowboys Stats From 2025 That Could Define Next Season
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The Oklahoma State Cowboys will be redefined in 2026. There’s a need for it.
The Cowboys were awful in nearly every phase of the game a season ago, one that ended with a 1-11 record and the first coaching search in more than two decades after parting ways with Mike Gundy.
New head coach Eric Morris and his staff have been trusted with restoring the program back to where it was as recently as 2023 when it reached the Big 12 title game for the second time in three years.
To make that happen, it’s not just about new coaches and players. It’s about turning around some of last season’s worst numbers. Here are three that matter going into the 2026 season.
Points Allowed Per Game
The Cowboys were dead last in the Big 12 last season, as they allowed 33.3 points per game. The scoring average was a bit worse in nine conference games (33.9 ppg) but OSU was 14th in the Big 12. In FBS, the Cowboys were No. 124 in nation in scoring defense.
That must improve, obviously. The Cowboys not only hired a new head coach in Morris, but he brought along nearly his entire staff from North Texas, including defensive coordinator Skyler Cassity. How Cassity improved the Mean Green defense from 2024 to 2025 is informative of what the Cowboys are hoping for.
Before Cassity took over the UNT defense, it allowed 34.15 ppg, which was ranked No. 118 in FBS. Cassity took over the unit and the scoring defense improved to the point where the Mean Green went 12-2. The unit averaged 26.5 ppg and ranked No. 78 in FBS.
If the Cowboys experience that kind of turnaround in 2026, Oklahoma State should, at minimum, go to a bowl game.
Rushing Yards Per Game
The Cowboys’ running game really didn’t get the job done a season ago. It was last in the Big 12 in rushing yards with 1,420 and 10 touchdowns. The run game averaged 118.3 yards per game and the whole running back room has turned around, with former North Texas star Caleb Hawkins leading the way.
Morris and running backs coach Patrick Cobbs hope to make him the star of their offense for the second straight year. While with the Mean Green a year ago he rushed for 1,434 yards and was one of the best true freshmen in the country. He was transformative for the Mean Green offense, too. The season before their top two rushers — Shane Porter and Makenzie McGil II — rushed for fewer combined yards than Hawkins.
Just getting OSU back to the median rushing average of a season ago in FBS — which was around 158 yards per game — would put the Cowboys back on a winning path.
Interceptions
The Cowboys had several issues on defense, including turnover margin and sacks. But with just six interceptions last season, only two other Big 12 teams had fewer — Kansas (4) and Cincinnati (2). Two of those interceptions are back with returning starter LaDainian Fields. But Oklahoma State is going to need a boost from the other defensive backs it imported this offseason.
That means giving plenty of run to players like Texas Tech transfer Mo Horn alongside Fields at cornerback, along with redshirt senior Cameron Epps, who missed most of last season due to injury but had three interceptions as a redshirt freshman in 2023. Nine Big 12 teams had 10 or more interceptions last season. West Virginia was the only one that failed to make a bowl game. The bar to reach is clear.
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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