Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon II (0) celebrates a 2-point conversion front of /tJaylon Braxton (11) in double overtime of the college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Arkansas Razorbacks at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla.,, Saturday, Sept., 7, 2024. SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ranking Every Oklahoma State Game in 2024 - No. 1: Arkansas

Originally posted on Oklahoma State Cowboys on SI
By Ivan White | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 5:30 PM ET

Oklahoma State had a rough 2024 season, but it still won one of the best games of the year in college football.

The Cowboys had almost nothing go right for them last year, but their first matchup against an FBS school was one of the most dramatic of the entire season. From Alan Bowman’s finger guns to some gutsy two-point conversions, OSU completed an impressive comeback that looked like it could have propelled its 2024 campaign.

In Week 2, OSU hosted Arkansas and looked to take care of business against a solid SEC foe. The Razorbacks mostly controlled the game and dominated the early stages. With a 14-0 lead and already making progress into OSU territory, the Cowboys needed a big play, and Kale Smith delivered.

William Purnell-Imagn Images

Smith intercepted Taylen Green and ran it back for a score, providing OSU with a 73-yard pick six to get back into the game. While Ja’Quinden Jackson’s third touchdown of the first half put Arkansas up 21-7 at halftime, the Cowboys took over in the second half.

With a couple of Logan Ward field goals cutting into the lead, Brennan Presley’s two fourth-quarter touchdowns and a De’Zhaun Stribling two-point conversion gave OSU a 28-21 lead. The Razorbacks responded with a 43-yard score to tight end Luke Hasz before the teams traded field goals in the final minute to set up overtime.

After both teams traded missed field goals in the first overtime, Ollie Gordon’s first touchdown of the afternoon with a two-point conversion gave the Cowboys a 39-31 lead. Mike Gundy’s team finally got out of Boone Pickens Stadium with the win after stuffing Rodney Hill on fourth and short in the second overtime.

SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While it wasn’t a pretty win, it was a gutsy one that appeared to set the stage for the rest of the OSU season. Of course, it turned out that trailing most of the game at home against a team that finished 7-6 wasn’t exactly an omen for success in 2024.

Still, it provided some electric and somewhat iconic moments from some of the top OSU players of the 2020s in a premier nonconference showdown in Stillwater. While the rest of the season certainly didn’t go as planned, OSU was able to channel some of its 2023 magic one final time before everything went downhill.