Three Things Preseason Coaches Poll Says About Oklahoma State Football
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It's not clear what expectations anyone had for Oklahoma State when it came to preseason polls, but one recent poll yielded a bit of a surprise.
USA Today released the preseason Top 25 coaches poll on Tuesday. Head coaches around the country vote in this poll. Ohio State was the No. 1 team. Four Big 12 teams — led by Texas Tech — made the Top 25. Nearly 30 teams were among those also receiving votes, meaning that at least one coach gave that program one vote.
That included Oklahoma State. Considering how bad the program has been on the field the last two years, it’s surprising the Cowboys would have gotten a vote. But they didn’t get just one vote. They received 22 votes.
Here’s what it says about Oklahoma State’s future.
Coaches Know Talent
It can't be that often that a 1-11 team gets a single vote in a preseason poll the following season, much less 22 of them. But the Cowboys managed to pull that off, largely due to what head coach Eric Morris did in the offseason via the transfer portal.
He brought in nearly 90 new transfer players, with an emphasis on bringing over some of his key players from North Texas. Nearly 20 Mean Green players made the trip from Denton to Stillwater, including his big three offensive stars — quarterback Drew Mestemaker, running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young.
Coaches know good talent when they see it. And that talent is a big reason why the Cowboys got votes in the poll.
A Big 12 Pecking Order Revealed?
The Big 12 doesn’t do a conference coaches poll anymore. The league became concerned about national perception of the entire league after Arizona State was voted No. 16 in the 2024 preseason poll and ended up winning the league. The league wants to do everything to ensure it can get multiple teams in the College Football Playoffs. They saw it as a potential roadblock.
But this poll was instructive since it was voted on by coaches. Texas Tech was No. 12, followed by BYU at No. 15, Utah at No. 21 and Houston at No. 24. They were the four best teams in the league last year.
Beyond that, TCU received 63 votes and Arizona received 50 votes before Oklahoma State. By this measure, the coaches see the Cowboys as the seventh-best team in the conference going into the season. Arizona State and Kansas State were behind Oklahoma State in receiving votes.
A Path to The Top 25?
One can argue about whether polls matter during the season. But people pay attention to them. And the Cowboys would be helped greatly if they could crack the Top 25 at some point, especially when it comes to recruiting.
By getting votes from coaches now it puts them on their radar. And if Oklahoma State gets off to a hot start, that allows them to work their way up.
Oklahoma State has a legitimate pathway to a 4-1 start to the season, assuming they lose to Oregon. Coaches are unlikely to punish the Cowboys for losing at home to the Ducks unless it's another lopsided affair.
If Oklahoma State can win the other games over Tulsa, Murray State, West Virginia and UCF, there is potential for coaches to reward them with a Top 25 ranking by the time they play Houston in mid-October. Getting votes now makes it a little bit easier for that to happen later.
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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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