Oklahoma State Could Benefit From Chaos of Big 12

Oklahoma State’s hopes of winning a Big 12 title are slim, but stranger things have happened in recent years.

OSU is entering a rebuilding season in 2025. After going 3-9 last season as a preseason Big 12 favorite, OSU made significant changes in the offseason.

While Mike Gundy is still around as head coach for his 21st season at the helm, OSU’s remaining coaching staff is filled with new faces. Meanwhile, the Cowboys’ roster has an abundance of newcomers, both from the high school ranks and the transfer portal, with OSU’s portal class being among the largest in the country.

Despite all of the changes, OSU still projects to be one of the worst teams in the Big 12. One of the main reasons OSU was bad last season was its injuries and the overall absence of key veterans.

With almost all of the key players from 2024 beginning the next chapter of their careers, last season’s problems could be even worse this fall. However, there is still a chance that OSU’s massive moves could lead to the Cowboys having a sudden resurgence.

With so few key players from last season’s team remaining, the cloud of a 3-9 season won’t be hanging over the team’s head. Instead, OSU has many players with something to prove.

That could be where things begin to tip significantly in OSU’s favor. See, in the Big 12, there has been almost no way of predicting things before the season.

That was on full display last season, with Arizona State finishing last in the preseason poll before winning the conference and earning the Big 12’s only playoff bid. In a 16-team league with some complicated tiebreakers, perhaps that chaos can tilt in OSU’s favor next season.

The conference has many twists and turns, and with parity being a key selling point for the league, OSU might not be far off from the top of the conference, even in a rebuilding year.

If the Cowboys can have some breakout stars and get some close games to go their way, they might just be heading to Arlington when the regular season ends.