Oklahoma State Looking for 20th-Straight Season With Ranked Win
Oklahoma State hasn’t won against a ranked opponent this season, which could end a long-time streak.
Throughout the past 19 seasons, OSU has beaten a ranked opponent every year. Even in the Cowboys’ first and previously only losing season under Mike Gundy, OSU defeated a ranked Texas Tech team in its only conference victory.
The Cowboys’ most recent season without a ranked win was in 2004. That season, the Cowboys went 7-5 and fell to all four ranked opponents it faced in Les Miles' final season at the helm.
OSU has won only three games this season, all against unranked opponents, with only one win coming against a power conference team. This is already the worst season in Mike Gundy’s two decades as OSU’s head coach, but it doesn’t mean every streak has to be broken. After missing a bowl game and finishing with a losing record, those 18-year streaks have ended.
However, OSU has a chance to extend its streak of seasons with a ranked win against Colorado. The Buffaloes’ playoff and Big 12 title hopes took a hit in their loss to Kansas last week, but they are still in those races and remain in the top 25.
The Buffaloes present a tough task for the Cowboys. With a high-flying offense led by Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, it will likely be up to Maealiuaki Smith, Ollie Gordon and the OSU offense to pull the upset.
Needing a win in the final game of the regular season to keep the streak alive is not ideal, but it is a familiar situation for OSU. In 2014, OSU needed to beat Oklahoma in the final game to get a ranked win and secure bowl eligibility.
That season was the only time OSU went without a ranked win throughout its first 11 games in the Gundy era. While a bowl game isn’t at stake going into Boulder, this game could still mean something and give OSU some momentum going into 2025.
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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.