OSU's Mike Gundy Delivers Thoughts on Big 12's Nine-Game Conference Slate

College football schedules are a hot topic in 2025, and it’s no surprise that Mike Gundy has a clear take on the subject.

This season will mark Gundy’s 21st at Oklahoma State, giving him plenty of knowledge in how college football schedules have evolved. When asked about how the nonconference makeup of playing an FCS team before facing Oregon and how that might evolve in the future, Gundy simply pointed to how the conference scheduling has evolved, and how it is even more important, regardless of the nonconference slate.

“The only thing that I think helps Oklahoma State a little bit and the Big 12 is we’re playing a maximum of nine conference games,” Gundy said. “We hear a lot about adding more conference games and such. My personal opinion is that would add a lot of distractions for matchups that people wanna see, traditionally.”

The Big 12’s decision to play nine conference games is certainly something that has been championed by coaches throughout the league. Gundy’s comments on Thursday were just the latest example of how coaches in the conference feel about how the Big 12 runs things from the scheduling perspective.

Of course, that conversation is a big deal because of other conferences deciding to play only eight conference games. Most notably, the SEC chooses to play only eight conference games in the regular season, which typically l eads to highly criticized matchups against FCS teams as late as November.

“I am glad that our conference is playing nine games,” Gundy reiterated later in his press conference.

While playing nine games is certainly a perfect way to ensure that conference teams are playing against each other as much as possible to accurately determine a conference champion, it can also put leagues like the Big 12 at a bit of a disadvantage. Considering the typical chaos of the Big 12, having that ninth conference game instead of allowing members to schedule an extra cupcake school can have a negative impact on College Football Playoff berths.

Still, the Big 12 isn’t shying away from its ideology of playing in nine league games, considering it the best way to determine the best team from the conference. While the Big 12 has struggled to maintain a seat at the table when compared to other power conferences, OSU and others certainly appreciate that the conference won’t back down.

While there is no real answer to how future schedules might look, OSU knows it has to get ready for its season opener against UT Martin next week.