ESPN Projects Rough Finish to 2024 for Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State’s season has taken an unexpected turn, and it might not turn around.
On Saturday, OSU lost at Kansas State 42-20 in a matchup that showcased the team’s flaws again. After holding a 13-7 lead in the first half, OSU trailed 42-13 in the closing minutes in one of the most disappointing games of the past few seasons.
The Cowboys’ struggles were followed by dropping out of the top 25 on Sunday, marking OSU’s first time being unranked this season. Falling to 3-2, including 0-2 in Big 12 play, has significantly hampered the Cowboys’ chances of reaching their championship goals.
OSU still has seven contests to try to right the ship. However, a 7-0 record to finish the year still might not be enough to make the Big 12 Championship or College Football Playoff. Although OSU made the conference championship with two losses last season and rebounded from a 2-2 start to win 10 games, the team’s outlook does not look great.
According to ESPN Analytics, OSU is the favorite to win only four of its remaining seven games. ESPN has the Cowboys winning all three of their remaining home games and struggling on the road.
ESPN projects losses at BYU, TCU and Colorado, all games that projected to be wins for OSU before the season. The regular season finale at Colorado holds OSU’s lowest chance of winning at 42.9%.
If OSU follows ESPN’s projections perfectly, it would finish 7-5 overall and have a losing record in Big 12 games for the second time in the past three seasons. Mike Gundy’s teams have had a knack for overcoming the odds, but even at this point last season, it seemed there were things to build on.
Considering OSU does not have a 70% chance of winning any of its remaining games, a couple of losses as favorites, along with the projected poor road performances, could see OSU miss a bowl game for the first time in nearly two decades.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.