Oklahoma State and Texas seem to be headed in different directions.

Both teams have a bye week and will meet at 7 p.m. (on ABC TV) on October 27 in Stillwater.

Texas (4-0 in the Big 12, 6-1 overall) beat Baylor last weekend while OSU (1-3 in the Big 12, 4-3 overall) fell to Kansas State.

OSU is 1-3 in the conference for the first time since 2005 – Mike Gundy’s first year as coach. OSU has lost five of their past seven Big 12 home games.

The Longhorns sit alone at the top of the Big 12 standings while several setbacks have put the Cowboys at next-to-last place (Kansas is in last place).

After stumbling in the opener against Maryland, Texas has won six in a row and is ranked No. 7 in the AP poll.

Now, OSU is pretty much playing for bowl eligibility (six wins). An upset over Texas would be a nice addition to a disappointing season.

“This is a week-to-week deal,” Gundy said after the Kansas State game. “We will practice again, get more coverage, get some rest. You can’t panic. You can’t do that, you know? We have to look and see what we are doing, where we are at, and what can we do to correct it. We are certainly aware of the situation and I mean, you don’t have to worry about that.”

Gundy said he is aware of the problems.

“We know what’s going on, we are trying to do what we can as soon as possible to fix them,” he said. “The approach really hasn’t changed for years, for me. It’s pretty much all the same, I guess you can’t take them out there six times and beat them to death.

“As I said, I think the effort is good. They are giving us effort, so, we look and see what we should work on and change. Not only players, but coaches also.”

The problem is more about execution than game plans.

“I thought we had good schemes,” Gundy said. “Defensively, when they start pushing us around a little bit late in the third quarter, and offensively we stood with the ball very good. So as a coach, you look at it and say, you know, was there times that we had good protection and had guys open, we didn’t throw it or hit them? You can’t count that down as a bad play or a bad rep, you gotta say, hey, we gotta be able to execute that. Then you go to, are we doing something so much that we aren’t getting quality reps? That’s kind of what I am talking about. There’s a lot of different ways to look at it, you gotta come up with the best plan, put it all together and from that point move forward.”

The players may be dwelling on mistakes and that could lead to further problems.

“You have to stay positive when people mess up, it’s just the name of the game,” said OSU defensive end Jordan Brailford. “People are going to mess up, but at the same time you have to let them know what’s right and what’s not right. We have to make sure they react the right way. We need to get better. Keep getting better. We cannot just stay stagnant because when you do that you lose. We just have to get better. We have to keep pushing.”

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger has an AC sprain on his throwing shoulder and was replaced by backup Shane Buechele.

“We’re going to obviously get an MRI to make sure that there’s no ligament damage, but you know, some rest and treatment and hopefully have him, from what I’ve been told, have him throwing the ball by the end of this week,” Texas coach Tom Herman said last Saturday.

OSU versus Arkansas

Oklahoma State is reviving a traditional non-conference football rivalry by scheduling a home-and-home series with the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Razorbacks will visit Stillwater on September 7, 2024, with the Cowboys going to Fayetteville for the return game on September 11, 2027.

It is only 173 miles from Stillwater, Oklahoma, to Fayetteville, Arkansas. OSU and Arkansas have played 46 times but not since 1980. Both were members of the Southwest Conference from 1915-24, before OSU went to the Missouri Valley Conference.

They met as nonconference opponents 38 times in the next 56 years – including every season from 1962-80 – before the series came to a halt.

The Razorbacks have a 30-15-1 all-time advantage over the Cowboys, but 32 of the 46 meetings were played on Arkansas’ home field.

The nine games played in Stillwater produced a 4-4-1 dead heat and OSU has a 3-2-1 advantage over the Hogs on neutral soil.