Editor’s note: Eighth in a series previewing each team in the Big 12.
Quick, college football fans, name the winningest program in the Big 12 over the past three seasons.
That would be the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who have racked up 27 victories since the pandemic-altered schedules three years ago, going 8-3 in 2020, 12-2 in 2021 and 7-6 last year.
“Caleb felt like he got beat out (of a starting position). So he left. But that’s his choice. … The portal is there for a variety of reasons.” — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy on Caleb Etienne, who transferred to BYU
Texas and Oklahoma, which are departing for the SEC after the 2023-24 school year, are known as the league’s Big 2, mostly because of their reputations and winning histories.
But OSU (and Baylor, Kansas State and TCU) have been more successful the past few years, overall, and will jockey to be the league’s kingpin once the more-hyped Sooners and Longhorns hit the trail.
Is Oklahoma State ready to take charge?
The Cowboys face a bit of a rebuilding project in 2023, but history suggests in the long run coach Mike Gundy’s squad will be just fine. Gundy, who took over in 2005, is the third-longest-tenured coach (with the same program) in the FBS.
Only Utah’s Kyle Whittingham and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz have been at their schools longer than the mullet-loving Gundy. Few coaches have been as successful.
Oklahoma State has had 17 consecutive winning seasons, even last year when it fell 24-17 to Wisconsin in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix, to finish an unsatisfying 7-6.
Still, it has been a tumultuous offseason in Stillwater. At least 18 scholarship players have entered the transfer portal since that loss to Wisconsin, most notably senior quarterback Spencer Sanders, who landed at Ole Miss to compete for the starting spot with former Corner Canyon star and USC transfer Jaxson Dart.
At least 12 players with starting experience and eligibility remaining departed, causing some to wonder about the program’s culture. That 12-2 season in which the Cowboys fell 21-16 to Baylor in the Big 12 championship game seemed to be in the distant past.
One of those transfers is offensive tackle Caleb Etienne, who landed at BYU although he had no ties to the program in Provo and drew some sharp criticism from Gundy.
“Caleb felt like he got beat out (of a starting position),” Gundy said in mid-April. “So he left. But that’s his choice. … The portal is there for a variety of reasons.”
Certainly, those words made their way to the ears of Etienne and his new teammates, adding spice to the regular season-ending showdown in Stillwater on Nov. 25.
Speaking of which, that matchup could mean a lot for the Cowboys, who just might be in the hunt for a conference championship. Expectations are far lower for the Cougars, who also lost a high number of players to the transfer portal — 20 at last count.
Surprisingly, perhaps, OSU has more players on its roster with Utah ties than any other non-BYU program in the Big 12. Safety Nick Session (East High), defensive end Nate Latu (Olympus/Snow College) and DL Justin Kirkland (Roy) all prepped in Utah, and Oklahoma State has made other recruiting forays into the Beehive State, having recently pursued linebacker Bo Tate, who is transferring from Skyline to Corner Canyon for his senior season.
The big question now is how Gundy will replace Sanders, who has thrown for more than 11,500 yards during his four-year starting career. And there might be some confidence issues within the program, after the Cowboys started 6-1 in 2022 and then promptly lost five of their next six games.
And that included a 48-0 thumping at the hands of Big 12 champion Kansas State.
Texas Tech and Michigan transfer Alan Bowman and Garret Rangel will battle for the starting job. After the spring scrimmage, Gundy didn’t name a starter, but he did express some optimism for a quick turnaround.
“I feel good about what we’ve been able to get accomplished,” Gundy told reporters in April. “We still have got a lot of work to do in the offseason. Coaches need to do a good job of setting these guys up where they can work on their own and continue with what we’ve started with some of the new schemes offensively and obviously the defense is new.”
Oklahoma State is transitioning to a 3-3-5 scheme on defense, and has some talent on that side of the ball in the form of Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Kendal Daniels, a defensive back. Tulsa transfers Anthony Goodlow and Justin Wright should also be big contributors.
Oklahoma State Cowboys 2023 preview
2022 record: 7-6 (4-5 Big 12)
Local ties: S Nick Session prepped at East High in Salt Lake City; DE Nathan Latu prepped at Olympus High and originally committed to BYU before playing at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah; DL Justin Kirkland prepped at Roy High and played for Utah Tech in 2022 before transferring to OSU; New BYU OL Caleb Etienne transferred from Oklahoma State after the 2022 season
2023 schedule
Sept. 2 — Central Arkansas
Sept. 9 — at Arizona State
Sept. 16 — South Alabama
Sept. 23 — at Iowa State
Oct. 6 — Kansas State
Oct. 14 — Kansas
Oct. 21 — at West Virginia
Oct. 28 — Cincinnati
Nov. 4 — Oklahoma
Nov. 11 — at UCF
Nov. 18 — at Houston
Nov. 25 — BYU
