Oklahoma State Looking to Avoid Worst Season Since Pre-Gundy Era

The Cowboys will look to stave off their worst season in several decades.

Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Sam Jackson V (18) throws an interception during a college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys (OSU) and the Houston Cougars at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Saturday evening, the Oklahoma State Cowboys will face off against No. 24 Cincinnati, using the bout as another chance to avoid its worst season since the pre-Mike Gundy era.

Just a few games into the season, Gundy was now-famously let go. A non-conference loss to Tulsa would be the nail in the coffin, with Doug Meacham serving as the interim head coach.

While the Cowboys have made some progress, the letting go of Gundy sent ripples across the roster, and they’ve still only accrued one win to this point. And unfortunately for the Pokes, they’re running out of opportunities to pick up more.

This week and next they’ll face off against ranked opponents, one of which is No. 7 Tennessee. 

They’ll then take on three-loss Kansas and four-loss Kansas State, who certainly aren’t infallible opponents, but who’ve looked a tier more talented than OSU to this point. 

The Cowboys will cap their season with UCF and Iowa State.

It’s not out of the question Oklahoma State can rattle off a few end-of-season wins, but it certainly seems like the team is trending toward that not being the case. The offense — while somewhat improved under Meacham — continues to string together consistent scoring opportunities. And the defense has shown little improvement since last year’s failure to win a conference game.

Gundy went 3-9 last year, succumbing to the Big 12, which would make his worst season since his 4-7 debut with the program. To find a season with less than three wins, one would have to look all the way back to 1991, when Pat Jones’ squad went 0-10-1.

With a win, the 2025 Cowboys already have a leg up on that squad — and they fortunately won’t be able to tie, as OSU did in a 6-6 result with Iowa State — though this year’s team would certainly like to put a little more distance between the two.

The Pokes are certain to be outmatched and less-than-favored in each remaining matchup on the year, but crazier things have happened in modern college football than a simple upset. They'll need to find ways to score points and get stops, but it won't be an impossible task given the last few opponents.

Even a few more wins would go a long ways in terms of building morale ahead of the most important offseason for the program in decades.

The Cowboys and Bearcats will kick off at 7 p.m. CT tonight.