Oklahoma State's Game at Kansas a Perfect Illustration of Cowboys' Fall

Oklahoma State’s matchup against Kansas could soon show how far the Cowboys have fallen.

Entering the 2024 season, OSU was operating as if it was about to enter a typical season under Mike Gundy. With the introduction of the 12-team playoff format, OSU’s hopes of competing for a national title were as high as they’d been since the 2021 season. 

Entering as one of the favorites to compete for a Big 12 title and perhaps earn a spot in that 12-team field, OSU’s 3-0 start only confirmed that the Cowboys were ready for a special season. Of course, that turned out not to be the case.

Over the next couple of months, OSU would lose again and again, piling up the defeats on its way to an 0-9 mark in conference play and the first losing season in Stillwater since 2005. That awful year prompted many changes to the Cowboy program, with Gundy narrowly avoiding the axe.

Of course, it only took three games into the 2025 season for Gundy’s tenure in Stillwater to finally come to an end. Without Gundy, OSU’s problems haven’t gotten any better, with the Pokes holding a 1-7 record ahead of their game in Lawrence this weekend.

While it’s easy to see the fall the Cowboys have had, there might not be any clearer illustration of OSU’s demise than what might happen on the field on Saturday against Kansas. While the Jayhawks have seen some real success under Lance Leipold, it wasn’t that long ago that they were the laughing stock of the Big 12 and the FBS.

Throughout the 2010s, Kansas was nothing more than an embarrassment for the Big 12 and college football. Rarely winning a conference game and going through coaches at an alarming rate, the Jayhawks were always viewed as the easy win on the Big 12 schedule. 

Fast forward to this weekend, and that’s exactly how Kansas views its matchup against OSU as it looks to inch a bit closer to bowl eligibility. A 4-4 Kansas team entering as an over-three-touchdown favorite against OSU is simply not something that would’ve been feasible just five years ago. 

The Cowboys are at the lowest they’ve been in decades, and rebounding from the end of the Gundy era could take some time. And for as long as it takes for the Cowboys to get back on track, they’ll likely be in that last-place spot in the Big 12, holding their spot as the new Kansas in college football.