Oklahoma State Jumps 35 Spots in The Athletic's Preseason FBS Ranking

The Cowboys are in a new season, but they have to overcome last fall’s failure.

Oklahoma State’s 2025 season will inevitably be linked to its 2024 campaign. After OSU’s disastrous 3-9 season, it is hoping to rise back into the Big 12 title race over the next couple of years.

The Cowboys know that there isn’t too much external pressure on them to perform. While there will be some serious criticism if they fail to make a bowl game again, simply securing a .500 record in the regular season will be enough for the consensus to be that the program is moving in the right direction.

After failing to win against any Big 12 teams last season, the Cowboys need to at least compete in their conference schedule. Considering the Cowboys made some significant changes in the offseason, it would be absurd for them to repeat their 0-9 Big 12 mark.

A big jump, but not big enough

The Cowboys’ expectations are to compete for a Big 12 title in every season under Mike Gundy. Those expectations, of course, have been set by all of the success the program has seen since Gundy’s arrival as the head coach in 2005. 

Still, after winning three games, it would be unreasonable to expect the Cowboys to ascend back into conference title contention this fall. However, the Cowboys still might need to outperform national expectations to truly get where they want to go.

In The Athletic’s recent ranking of the 136 teams in the FBS, it ranked the Cowboys perfectly in the middle at No. 68. While OSU would like to be much more than the face of mediocre in the FBS next season, that ranking is 35 spots higher than its No. 103 spot where it ended the 2024 season.

Like other national outlets, The Athletic is projecting the Cowboys to be among the worst teams in the Power Four next season. Interestingly enough, that doesn’t even mean The Athletic is spelling doom for the Cowboys next season.

Considering the Big 12’s unpredictability, OSU’s No. 68 spot is still good for 12th out of 16 Big 12 teams. With nearly half of the Big 12 sitting outside of the top 50, there is a chance for the Cowboys to climb up the conference standings without much trouble.

While it’s easier said than done, OSU has a path to outperforming expectations if it takes care of business at home and steals a game or two on the road.