Coming off a horrible 3-9 season in which Oklahoma State didn’t go to a bowl game, there are great expectations for the Cowboys in 2025. It was the first time since Mike Gundy’s first season as head coach, in 2005, that OSU didn’t play in a bowl game.

The Cowboys had 18 straight winning seasons prior to last year, but 2024 was the team’s worst campaign since 2000 and they failed to win a conference game for the first time since 1994.

Sure, they were hit with injuries, like a lot of teams, but that wasn’t the only problem. The Cowboys lacked the talent at many positions to compete in the Big 12. The bright spot to the season was a 39-31 double overtime win against Arkansas, in week two.

Many OSU fans wanted Gundy to be replaced after the season, but it’s difficult to discredit what he put together over the previous 20 years. He did, however, clean house within his coaching staff, with many new personnel in place. If the futility continues into this season, that could trigger a different response to the coach’s job security. To say Gundy and his staff will be under the microscope this season, might be an understatement.

There has been a lot of turnover on the roster, as well. OSU was very heavy into the transfer portal and there will be close to 40 new players on the roster from high school signees and the portal. Time will tell if these newcomers can mesh with the current system and bring success to Stillwater.

One big change this season is at quarterback. OSU experimented with three players at that position last season, but they have all left. The team has two redshirt freshmen vying for the job: Zan Flores and Hauss Hejny. However, neither of them has yet thrown a pass in a college game. The lead candidate is Flores, a lanky 6’3” quarterback who likes to pass the ball. He is coming off a season in which he took a medical red shirt, but he is likely to be the starter when the season begins. Hejny is a transfer from TCU and should be a capable backup to Flores and might be used more in the running game as he is considered more of a dual threat.

The Cowboys’ leading receiver from last season, Talyn Shettron, is expected to lead a very talented core of receivers including newcomers, Christian Fitzpatrick from Marshall, Jaylen Lloyd, who averaged 26 yards per catch for Nebraska, and Terrill Davis, who caught 109 passes for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns at Central Oklahoma in 2024.

Also returning from last season, is tight end Josh Ford, who caught 10 passes for 92 yards as a true freshman.

One of the Cowboys’ top transfers on defense is Kyran Duhon, a defensive end from UTEP. He will certainly help solidify OSU’s pass rush after racking up 43 tackles and seven sacks last season.

OSU should be able to win two of their first three games without much difficulty, hosting UT Martin and Tulsa, but the Cowboys will have a tough test in week three at Oregon. After that, the Big 12 portion of the schedule can be anybody’s guess. I don’t expect OSU to go winless in the Big 12 as they did last year, but becoming bowl eligible and winning four out of eight conference games could be quite a chore. The most difficult tests will be against Iowa State, Kansas State and UCF, late in the season. If healthy, OSU could pull off a couple victories, but if dinged by injuries, they may be on the outside looking in when it comes to a bowl appearance.

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