Could Tulsa Game be Oklahoma State's Final Win of 2025?

Oklahoma State has been one of the Big 12’s best teams throughout Mike Gundy’s tenure, but that seems to be changing.

Over the past two seasons, the Cowboys have quickly gone from a squad that looked poised to be one of the Big 12’s elite in the conference’s new era to a team that might miss bowl games in consecutive seasons. The dark days of OSU football seemed to be well behind the Cowboys.

Even in a season like 2023, where OSU had few expectations and was blown out at home by a Sun Belt team, Gundy and company still managed to get 10 wins and even made an appearance in the Big 12 Championship. While a 69-3 loss at Oregon doesn’t necessarily signal that things have changed dramatically in Stillwater on its own, it still shows that OSU certainly isn’t the national brand it once was.

With a matchup against Tulsa looming, the Cowboys seem to be in a position where losing to the Golden Hurricane wouldn’t be the shocking outcome it would have been for the past two decades. OSU’s streak of cracking the AP Top 25 seems all but certain to come to an end this season, barring a miraculous run even more improbable than what happened in 2023.

Still, the Cowboys have a chance to get back on the right track with a win against Tulsa on Friday night in the team’s blackout contest. However, that matchup also has the potential to be the final game OSU wins this season.

Sure, the Big 12 hasn’t exactly established itself as a clear player in the national landscape this season, but OSU’s ability to compete with even the worst in the conference is a question mark at best. After an unconvincing win against UT Martin, the Cowboys’ massive loss at Oregon only raised more questions, mostly about how bad the team might be.

Hauss Hejny has only been on the field for one of OSU’s eight quarters, yet his drives have accounted for nearly as many points as Zane Flores has put on the board in seven quarters. There are plenty of stats across the board that point to OSU’s potential struggles throughout Big 12 play.

While OSU made some big changes this offseason to ensure there won’t be a repeat of 2024, this team has less talent and could easily see the same fate of an 0-9 conference mark.