Why OSU could lose four home games in 2023

The parity in the Big 12 is greater than most points in the conference history.

There’s fewer “easy” wins and Oklahoma and Texas haven’t competed in the conference championship in a few years. With the four new teams in the Big 12, Oklahoma State’s schedule looks much different than in prior years. The Cowboys aren’t facing Texas, Texas Tech, TCU or Baylor but will play each of the four new schools.

Here, I ranked each of OSU’s 2023 opponents from the most difficult matchup to the least.

Kansas State (Week 6, Home)

The Wildcats thumped OSU 48-0 last year in Manhattan en route to a Big 12 championship. Kansas State was picked second in the Big 12 preseason poll, and entering Stillwater on a Friday night in Week 6, the Cowboys will hope to not be embarrassed at home.

Oklahoma (Week 10, Home)

Oklahoma and its 91 wins against OSU is often the most important game on the Cowboys’ schedule — and while it still is — it’s not the toughest game. OSU will likely play with the backing of 55,000 in Boone Pickens Stadium as they go for one last win against the Sooners before they leave for the SEC.

Kansas (Week 7, Home)

Kansas used to be a freebie on every Big 12 schedule. Now, it’s one of the toughest teams in the conference. The Cowboys lost 37-16 last year in Lawrence to quarterback Jason Bean and running back Devin Neal. Quarterback and preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Jalon Daniels will likely be back, making it even worse for OSU.

South Alabama (Week 3, Home)

Call me crazy, but this is prime upset material. The Jaguars won 10 games last year, returned most of their starters, and with OSU likely still be adapting to its new offensive and defensive systems, South Alabama could walk into BPS in and earn a nonconference win.

UCF (Week 11, Away)

FBC Mortgage Field is a great home field advantage for UCF. The Knights’ game vs

OSU is sold out, and near the end of the season, both will be scrapping for a better bowl bid. UCF’s John Rhys Plumlee is one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12, and Gus Malzahn’s offense could give the Cowboys a fit.

Houston (Week 12, Away)

These next few games are 50/50 for OSU, at least on paper. The Cowboys have experience facing Houston quarterback Donovan Smith when he played at Texas Tech, but maybe Lucas Coley is the starter by this point in the season. The Cougars are a wellrounded team, and this should be a good matchup.

Iowa State (Week 4, Away)

OSU has long despised Jack Trice Stadium. From 2011 and 2021 losses, the Cowboys continue to fear Ames. This year, they could likely get a win after defeating Iowa State in a sicko’s game in 2022, but you never know.

BYU (Week 13, Home)

Kind of upset OSU won’t travel to Utah this season, but despite my personal desire to travel to Provo and cover a game, the Cowboys are lucky they get BYU at home. Who knows where either of these teams are by the last week of the season, but if I had to pick four months out, I’ll take OSU.

Arizona State (Week 2, Away)

OSU handled the Sun Devils last year at home in maybe the best Cowboys performance of the season. Now going to Tempe, I don’t think it’ll be any more difficult. It is a late game, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue as it is an annoyance.

Cincinnati (Week 9, Home) OSU’s defense shut down now Cincinnati quarterback Emory Jones when he played with Arizona State last year, and with the homecoming environment, the Cowboys likely won’t be caught off guard.

West Virginia (Week 8, Away)

Neal Brown voiced his disdain to the media for the media picking West Virginia last in the conference. Well, someone had to, and the Moun- taineers after not adding significance in the transfer portal are gearing for another losing season. OSU last won 24-3 in Morgantown in 2021, and while I don’t expect the same outcome — especially after last year’s loss in Stillwater — the Cowboys should leave with a win.

Central Arkansas (Week 3, Home) sports.ed@ocolly.com

I’m not sure how much OSU is paying Central Arkansas to come to Stillwater, but it’s probably more than what the university would contribute to a new softball stadium. If Central Arkansas beats OSU, I would delete Twitter off my phone so I don’t have to see Cowboys fans crying and calling for heads.

201 S. Perkins Rd · 405-372-7170 Mon–Fri 9:30–6:30,

Still, Slovis has big upside and has shown he can be the signal caller on a major college football team. Coach Kalani Sitake was looking for a QB with experience who could make an immediate impact on a team in transition, and he found that.

“I want to make sure we give him a comfortable pocket, but I know if it’s not too comfortable he can find ways to extend the plays and hopefully find success,” Sitake said. “There’s a lot of things that he brings to the table with his leadership and with the experience that we’re going to lean on heavily.”

Slovis will have the benefit of having preseason allconference offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia protecting him. The sophomore started in 12 games as a redshirt freshman and didn’t allow a sack in 361 pass block snaps.

“He’s one of the best linemen in the country. A lot of people know it, he knows it,” Sitake told BYU Sports Nation. “There’s a lot of expectation for him… I imagine that we’re going to have the best five on the field, and I’m glad that he’s leading the charge.”

Sitake brought in Jay Hill from Weber State to be his new defensive coordinator, and Hill is implementing a new system. The Cougars will often play with a 4-3 front and try to put pressure on the quarterback, along with man-press coverage in the backfield. Hill will also present an occasional 4-2-5 scheme. Sitake, who spent a decade with Hill coaching at Utah, said Hill runs a defense just like Sitake himself would run it and that Hill is a good fit in Provo.

“We speak the same language when it comes to defensive-minded football,” Sitake said. “I think he’s going to be the guy that to be table to take our defense to where I think we do it.”

BYU gave up 29.8 points and 407 yards a game last season, which each ranked 86th in the country. Sitake wants improvement there as they enter the Big 12, and players are already taking notice of Hill’s new scheme. Linebacker Ben Bywater said the defense plays downhill more than last year are attacking gaps harder.

“It’s a lot more aggressive, I like it a lot,” said defensive lineman John Nelson. “The scheme lets the defensive tackles get more up field and cause havoc by themselves. As a whole, the defense has been pushed a lot harder and it’s been good.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

Positions...

But Bray – a 6-foot-2, 200-pound redshirt sophomore – is a player who coach Mike Gundy and offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn need a breakout from in 2023. Bray has shown flashes of high upside but has yet to stay healthy for a long enough period to play consistent snaps. He redshirted last season after only playing limited snaps in three games while dealing with a hand injury. Aside from Presley and Bray, there’s plenty of room for somebody else to have an impact. So, who could that be?

Well, OSU brought in new faces from the transfer portal in Arland Bruce IV (Iowa), Leon Johnson III (George Fox) and De’Zhaun Stribling (Washington

State). It also returns Rashod Owens, who appeared in 12 games last year, Tayln Shettron and Blaine Green.

Bruce started 11 games as a sophomore for the Hawkeyes last season, and at 5-10, 200 pounds, he could fill the role at slot receiver left by Richardson. Johnson and Stribling, at 6-5 and 6-3, respectively, are big targets on the outside and give OSU more deep threats. Each could become a significant contributor right away, and Presley said they’re fitting nicely into the offense so far.

“I worked out with Strib the other day, he’s gained like 20 pounds, or 18 pounds,” Presley said at Big 12 Media Days. “Arland has lost like eight pounds because he said we run too much in the Big 12.”

OSU also made a positions name change to its offense. The “Cowboy back” position, which was a tight end/fullback combo, is no more. OSU is going back to two separate positions with tight ends and fullbacks. With this change, UMass transfer Josiah Johnson could start at tight end and bring a pass-catching element that Cowboy backs lacked. OSU replenished pass catchers in the transfer portal, and it will soon know whether or not those additions outweigh the losses. Either way, there are plenty of new names to watch out for.

“We’re gonna find out where we’re at with the swap out of players,” Gundy said. “What we tried to do is if we swapped three wideouts, say they left, we tried to bring three wideouts in. If one of them had three years of experience and was young, we kind of looked for a guy that we felt like could replace that type of player. If one of them was a one-year guy, then we tried to bring a one-year guy in to keep our numbers balanced.” sports.ed@ocolly.com