The Basics
The Oklahoma State football team (5-3 overall; 3-2 Big 12) wraps up a two-game road stretch this week as it heads to Kansas State (4-4 overall; 1-4 Big 12) toface the Wildcats for a 17th consecutive season. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. CT Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.
On the Air
The game will be televised live on TNT and HBO MAX with J.B. Long & Mike Golic Jr. and Jared Greenberg on the call. It will also be carried live on the CowboyRadio Network, with Dave Hunziker handling play-by-play, John Holcomb providing analysis and Deion Imade reporting from the sideline. Fans outside of the Cowboy Radio Network can listen to the OSU broadcast for free through The Varsity Network app.
Seven Straight Games Above 30 Points
The Cowboys have scored more than 30 points in seven consecutive games for the first time since an eight-game streak during the 2021-22 seasons. If they reachnine, it would tie OSU’s single-season streak record that was set in the final nine games of the 2011 season. It would also mark the longest stretch overall for OSU since the school-record 13-game run across the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The only other double-digitstreak was a 10-game stretch from 1987-88.
The Most Improved Teams in Program History
to win totals. Here are the best teams in terms of improved win totals from the year prior:
| Rk | Win+/- | Seasons | Most Recent | Record | Years |
| 1. | 5 | 2 | 1944 | 8-1 | 1944, 1921 |
| 3. | 4 | 9 | 2026* | 5-3* | 2026*, 2021, 2002, 1992, 1987, 1983, 1979, 1953, 1924 |
| 11. | 3 | 14 | 2023 | 10-4 | 2023, 2015, 2006, 1997, 1981, 1972, 1964, 1957, |
| *in progress | 1948, 1939, 1937, 1930, 1929, 1908 | ||||
The Series
Saturday’s game marks the 73rd overall meeting between Oklahoma State and Kansas State in a series that dates to 1908. The 2026 season also marks the 17th consecutiveyear the teams have played, which is the longest active streak for any Cowboy opponent. The only teams OSU has faced more times than Kansas State are Oklahoma, Tulsa and Kansas. OSU holds a 43-29 all-time advantage in the series, and the series in Manhattanis tied at 19-19. The Cowboys have won 10 of the past 17 meetings in the series, with their last win at KSU coming in 2020. Eric Morris has never faced Kansas State as a head coach, and K-State’s Collin Klein has never faced Oklahoma State as a head coach.
In the Rankings
The Oklahoma State football team is not ranked this week, but it is receiving votes in both the AP Top 25 and the US LBM Coaches Poll. With the exception of lastyear, the Cowboys have been ranked at some point in every season since 2008. Including the 2026 season, Oklahoma State has been ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll in 15 of the past 19 seasons and has reached the top 10 in 11 of those 19 years.The first 2026 College Football Playoff rankings are released this week. It’s worth noting that OSU has been part of the CFP rankings in eight of the past 11 seasons entering 2026. The Cowboys have also been included in 43 of the all-time CFP Rankings, whichranks among the most appearances in the country. Kansas State is not ranked.
Oklahoma State from a Distance
After not winning a conference game in 2024 or 2025, Oklahoma State essentially pushed the reset button for the 2026 season. OSU brought in head coach Eric Morristo take the reins of the Cowboy program, and he then brought in more than 40 new staff members and 91 new players to build a fresh foundation for the future. The 91 newcomers are strongly believed to be the most on one team in the history of major collegefootball, surpassing Colorado’s 87 in 2023. The biggest name he brought with him was quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who leads all Power 4 players in passing yards per game and is now widely discussed as the potential No. 1 pick in the next NFL Draft and as acontender for the Heisman Trophy. The group has made a big impact, and here are some key notes on what they’ve done so far:
• Oklahoma State has gone three-and-out on only 5.3% of its drives this season, fewest in the FBS.
• Oklahoma State is averaging 41.1 points per game this season after scoring 14.2 points per game in 2025. The +26.9 improvement is the largest in the FBS in2026.
• Oklahoma State has a +97 point differential in the second half this season, tied for the largest in the FBS (Liberty). OSU has scored 190 points in the secondhalf this season, also most in the FBS.
• Oklahoma State has averaged 7.97 yards per play on first down this season, most in the Big 12 and fifth most in the FBS.
• Oklahoma State’s 26 passing touchdowns are its most through eight games in school history.
• Drew Mestemaker has seven games this season with at least 300 passing yards and multiple passing touchdowns, most in the FBS. Since 2019, the only Big 12 playerwith that many such performances in a season is Shedeur Sanders in 2024 (also seven).
91 Newcomers Mark the Most in College Football History
The 2026 Oklahoma State roster features 91 newcomers, which is strongly believed to be the most on one team in the history of major college football, breakingthe mark of 87 set by Colorado in 2023. Newcomers make up 79% of the 115-man roster. The team includes 66 new transfers, 24 returning players, 13 returning letterwinners, five players who had at least four OSU starts last season and 18 total players who hadplayed in a game for Oklahoma State prior to 2026. The transfers arrived with a combined total of 45,088 total snaps of Division I experience.
The Eric Morris Era is Underway
Eric Morris is in his inaugural season as Oklahoma State’s head coach in 2026. He was named the 25th head coach in program history on November 25, 2025. An eliteoffensive mind and talent developer, Morris had been the head coach at North Texas since 2023. His hire marked the first time since 1969 that Oklahoma State hired a sitting head coach and the first time in school history OSU hired a sitting head coach froma school that is in the FBS. In three seasons at UNT, Morris built the Mean Green from a 5-7 record in his first season to a team that won 12 games in year three and reached a conference championship game with a College Football Playoff berth on the line.Those three seasons produced three of the top four seasons for total offense per game in North Texas history.
A Top-10 Transfer Portal Class
Of those 91 newcomers, 66 are new transfers (57% of the team). That group makes up a transfer portal class that ranks No. 7 in the nation according to both TheAthletic and 247Sports.
The Only Power 4 Team with a Top-25 Passer, Rusher and Receiver
The Cowboys are the only Power 4 team with players that rank among the FBS top 25 in passing, rushing and receiving yards per game in Drew Mestemaker, Caleb Hawkins,Wyatt Young and Justin Bowick. North Texas is the only other team in the FBS that can make the claim.
| Player | Stat | Value | FBS Rank |
| Drew Mestemaker | Passing Yards Per Game | 331.1 | 2 |
| Caleb Hawkins | Rushing Yards Per Game | 113.3 | 10 |
| Justin Bowick | Receiving Yards Per Game | 91.4 | 18 |
| Wyatt Young | Receiving Yards Per Game | 89.1 | 20 |
An Oklahoma State Win Would …
• Give it five more wins than last season, matching the best year-to-year improvement in OSU history. The only other years when OSU won five more games than theprevious season were 1944 and 1921.
• Improve it to 6-3 or better for the first time since 2023.
• Improve Eric Morris to 6-3 as Oklahoma State’s head coach.
• Improve Eric Morris to 2-3 in road games as OSU’s head coach.
• Improve Eric Morris to 52-37 in his head coaching career.
• Improve Eric Morris to 37-24 in conference games.
• Improve Eric Morris to 4-2 in Big 12 conference games.
• Improve Eric Morris to 1-0 against Kansas State.
• Improve its all-time record against Kansas State to 44-29.
• Give it wins in 11 of its past 18 games against Kansas State.
• Improve its all-time record against Kansas State in Manhattan to 20-19.
• Mark its first win in Manhattan since 2020.
• Mark its 140th win since the beginning of the 2010 season, ranking among the top 15 in the FBS.
Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Game
• Oklahoma State has scored more than 30 points in seven consecutive games for the first time since an eight-game streak during the 2021-22 seasons. OSU’s single-seasonstreak record of nine was set in the final nine games of the 2011 season.
• Drew Mestemaker has passed for at least 300 yards in seven-straight games, matching Mason Rudolph’s school record streak that was set from 2016-2017.
• Mestemaker has passed for at least 200 yards in 23-straight games – the longest active streak in the FBS. He’s passed for at least 250 yards in 12 of his past13 games.
• Drew Mestemaker has thrown for at least 300 yards with multiple passing touchdowns in seven straight games to tie the longest single-season streak in Big 12history (done five other times: 2003 B.J. Symons, 2007 & 2008 Graham Harrell, 2013 Bryce Petty, 2017 Will Grier).
• Mestemaker has thrown at least one touchdown in 22 of his past 23 games.
• Wyatt Young has a touchdown reception in seven straight games. Justin Bowick has one in six straight games.
• Oklahoma State has punted just 14 times this season – two fewer than any other FBS team.
• Dating back to 2008, OSU is 85-14 when winning the turnover battle.
• Dating back to 2005, OSU is 51-7 when not committing a turnover.
• OSU has won 88 of its past 91 games when holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points, dating back to Sept. 13, 2003. Including games when opponents have scored20 points or fewer, OSU has won 96 of its past 100.
• OSU is 41-25 in its past 66 games decided by fewer than 10 points.
• OSU is 54-10 in its past 64 games when leading at halftime, dating back to Sept. 17, 2016.
• OSU has won five of its past seven overtime games.
• Caleb Hawkins is one of four FBS players and two Power 4 players (Duke’s Nate Sheppard) who have hit 100 yards from scrimmage in seven games this season.
• Hawkins scored multiple touchdowns in seven of his past 15 games.
• Hawkins has rushed for at least 100 yards in eight of his past 14 games.
• Wyatt Young has had more than 100 receiving yards in seven of his past 16 games.
• Miles Coleman has at least one catch in each of his past 27 games played.
• Wyatt Young has at least one catch in each of his past 23 games played.
• Caleb Hawkins has at least one catch in 20 of his past 21 games played.
• Ethan Wesloski has made at least one tackle in 47 consecutive games, including every game he’s played since the beginning of the 2023 season. He’s had at leastthree tackles in 19 straight games.
• Isaiah Chisom has made at least two tackles in 33 of his past 34 games.
• Quinton Hammonds has made at least two tackles in 19 straight games.
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