Oklahoma State HC Mike Gundy Not Concerned About Early Kickoffs

The Cowboys will have earlier kickoffs than they have dealt with in recent years.

Mike Gundy walks to the stadium before a Bedlam college football game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) and the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Oklahoma State’s schedule will look different next season, particularly with start times.

OSU will kick off its season on Aug. 31 at 1 p.m. against South Dakota State. Not only is that earlier than any of OSU’s regular season games in 2023, it will follow that with back-to-back 11 a.m. kickoffs.

Last season, OSU’s earliest start time in the regular season was 2:30. OSU’s first and only 11 a.m. kickoff came in the Big 12 Championship against Texas. Although 2023 was a somewhat outlier example of OSU’s lack of early start times, it was a continuation of a years-long trend.

Throughout the past three seasons, OSU has played only three regular-season games with an early kickoff. While OSU is not necessarily accustomed to playing so many early kickoffs, coach Mike Gundy is not concerned about his team’s preparation, despite the early season heat.

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"There will be afternoon kickoffs across the country and that's a part of it during this time of year,” Gundy said. “I just talked to the team yesterday; you're going to get about six games that are going to be like this. Used to be two or three, but we play games that are extremely warm all the way up to October now, so guys have to get used to it and be prepared to play in the heat."

Part of OSU’s transition to earlier start times next season could be attributed to Texas and Oklahoma’s departure to the SEC. As OSU becomes one of the faces of the new Big 12, it also transitions into that time slot.

Last season, OU had seven 11 a.m. kickoffs, a continuation of the scheduling Sooners’ fans have criticized for years. OU has had at least six games kick off at noon or earlier in five of the past six seasons, with the shortened 2020 season being the lone exception.

While OSU has enjoyed the mid-afternoon and evening time slots throughout the past several seasons, a shift to morning kickoffs could become the new normal for the Cowboys.

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