What Wins, What Loses Game for Oklahoma State Against Kansas in 2026
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Oklahoma State’s last game of the year could have significant importance depending upon how the Cowboys do in their first 11.
Oklahoma State will host Kansas in its final regular season game on Nov. 28 at Boone Pickens Stadium and the post-Thanksgiving affair gives Oklahoma State a chance to finish the regular season with a flourish, no matter where they are to that point.
Oklahoma State enters this season having gone 4-20 in its last two seasons and having lost 18 straight Big 12 games. Kansas hasn't been much better. They've gone 5-7 in back-to-back seasons and haven't been to a bowl game since 2023.
Here is what wins and what loses the game for the Oklahoma State Cowboys against the Kansas Jayhawks.
What Wins the Game for Oklahoma State
Win on the Ground
Entering the season, it looks like the team that can run the football better in this game has the best chance to win. Both defensive lines have no returning starters and are trying to blend transfers with returning talent. So, there could be opportunity there, though this will be Game 12 for teams and the lines should be better by late November.
This gives OSU an edge, given starter Caleb Hawkins — who gained more than 1,400 yards last year — and the cadre of backs he has around him. Kansas took in transfer Dylan Edwards, who has the talent to be the lead back, along Jalen Dupree, previously at Colorado State.
Hawkins is the highest producer of the three, but an Edwards-Dupree tandem could give the Cowboys real problems. If the weather isn’t great in Stillwater that weekend, the run game could be even more important.
Win the Turnover Game
Both teams have put an emphasis on creating more turnovers this season. Both were among the worst units in college football when it came to turnover creation and turnover ratio.
Oklahoma State has brought in transfers that they hope can help get the football on the ground more often.
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold is putting his stock in his most experienced defensive group, his secondary, where three starters return but they only combined for one interception last year.
This being the final game of the regular season both teams will know who they are by then. They'll know whether they can be aggressive defensively or need to be conservative offensively to preserve possessions. That makes the turnover game critical for both teams.
If Oklahoma states in the plus year, there's a good chance it wins.
What Loses the Game for Oklahoma State
Quarterback Pressure
For the first time in what seems like a decade, Jalon Daniels is not the quarterback at Kansas. It really hasn't been that long — but he was with the Jayhawks a long time.
Now, Leipold and his staff are sifting through a quarterback competition that includes two of last year’s backups — redshirt junior Cole Ballard and redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall. The good news is both players have been in the program, so they understand the scheme.
But for Oklahoma State this is an opportunity to try and frustrate quarterbacks that haven't had as much experience at the FBS level as Daniels.
Put a lot of pressure on either one of them and there's a good chance they’ll create turnovers and limit third down conversion. Fail to do that and it could be a long day for the Cowboys, particularly the secondary.
Not Closing the Deal
It's difficult to know where Oklahoma State will be at this point. If the Cowboys meet expectations they're likely heading to a bowl game. But the game could have significant meaning if they're exceeding expectations (Big 12 Championship game?) or below expectations (trying to squeeze into a bowl game?).
Post-Thanksgiving game day games can be tricky. The schedule is different, players are trying to cram in family stuff during the week, and coaches are trying to be respectful of that.
By this point we should also know how good the Cowboys are at closing the deal, i.e. winning a game with the lead in the fourth quarter. If the Cowboys can't do that, it could cost them something valuable, depending upon where they're at to this point in the season.
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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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