Will Oklahoma State Have Better Offense or Defense in 2025?

Oklahoma State needs to find its strength to find success in 2025.

As one of the worst teams in college football last season, OSU had little to look forward to in the offseason. Knowing there would be immense change in Stillwater, the Cowboys tried to prepare as best they could, adding coordinators Todd Grantham and Doug Meacham.

Over the next few months, the Cowboys added more players through the transfer portal than almost any other team in the country. Add in all of the departures the Cowboys had through the portal or players running out of eligibility, and there is almost nothing similar about the rosters of 2024 and 2025.

That means a lot of things, but perhaps the most pressing is that it means there is almost no way to effectively predict how OSU might look. Sure, most of its players have already shown how they can perform in college, but without knowing how players might gel on the field and how they will adjust to the Big 12 level, it’s a difficult task to predict the Pokes’ season.

While it’s tough to predict what OSU will look like, it might be possible to figure out what the team’s strength might be. Over the years, Mike Gundy has had teams with dominant offenses and dominant defenses. While most years don’t equate to dominance on either side, one side is typically more effective than the other, so which will it be in 2025?

Although it’s difficult to judge OSU as a whole, figuring out which side of the ball will be better might not be that hard. Grantham’s defense will return more key players than Meacham’s offense, and OSU’s new DC was able to add some size up front and some impressive players at linebacker and in the secondary.

While there’s no guarantee OSU’s newcomers will be able to have an instant impact and keep up with some of the offenses OSU will face in the Big 12, the defense should be able to hold up pretty consistently. That’s where the offense could run into a problem.

With so many new pieces in the offense, OSU’s hopes of boasting a high-scoring offense might not materialize. Perhaps the biggest factor that gives the defense the preseason nod over the offense is the quarterback situation.

With Zane Flores and Hauss Hejny battling for the starting spot with zero combined passes thrown in college, it’s impossible to fully get behind the Cowboy offense. If either quarterback can break out as a star next season, the offense might be able to be the better side of the ball, but with so many question marks surrounding the most important position, Meacham’s crew simply doesn’t have the advantage to begin fall camp.