Oklahoma State Opens as Heavy Favorite in Season Opener vs. UT Martin

Oklahoma State is set for a new season, and it should be able to start strong in Week 1.

The Cowboys have been waiting months to get on the field and see how all of their new faces gel together, and that wait will finally be over next week. With a Thursday night kickoff against UT Martin, OSU is hoping to get off to a good start to its 2025 campaign.

After losing every conference game last season, OSU knows that nonconference games certainly won’t tell the story of the season, particularly one against an FCS squad. However, OSU is also aware that it needs to make a statement in its first matchup.

Last season, the Cowboys opened with a 44-20 win against South Dakota State, marking the beginning of what looked to be a fun year in Stillwater. Of course, things turned for the worst last season, making the Cowboys’ 2024 a nightmare that they want to put in the past for good.

For OSU to truly put that disastrous campaign in the past, it will need to take a clear first step toward a successful season, which likely looks like a dominant win over UT Martin.

Cowboys’ odds for the season opener

Oklahoma State -22.5
OSU moneyline -3000, UT Martin moneyline +1200
Over/under 55.5 points
All odds via ESPN Bet

Given the Cowboys’ returning experience and overall abundance of veterans on defense, Todd Grantham’s unit should be able to click early. That means OSU’s hopes of covering will likely hinge on how explosive its new-look offense is under Doug Meacham with an unknown quarterback situation. 

Winning by over three touchdowns with so many new moving parts could be a tough task, even against a team like UT Martin, which had a solid year last season but is still an FCS opponent. Of course, the Cowboys couldn’t care less about how much they win by.

Simply put, OSU needs to have a 1-0 record when it heads to Oregon in Week 2, and it needs to show some potential to have a bounce-back year. Even some of OSU’s best teams in recent memory, like the 12-win 2021 squad, struggled against an FCS opponent, beating Missouri State by only seven points in the season opener.

Ultimately, the final score of this game won’t mean much for OSU as long as it takes care of business and finishes with more points than the Skyhawks.

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