Oklahoma State Slides in AP Poll After Losing Big 12 Opener
Oklahoma State’s time in the top 15 lasted for only two weeks.
On Sunday, the latest AP Poll was released following an action-packed fourth week of college football. After Saturday’s 22-19 loss to Utah in a top 15 battle, OSU dropped to No. 20 in the poll, its lowest ranking of the season.
Still, OSU is one of five Big 12 teams in the AP’s top 25, joining No. 10 Utah, No. 18 Iowa State, No. 22 BYU and No. 23 Kansas State. Utah’s jump after winning in Stillwater gives the Big 12 its first top 10 ranking this season.
The Cowboys had many issues in their loss to the Utes, but their inability to find a rhythm offensively was too much to overcome. The situation got bad enough that OSU coach Mike Gundy chose to start Garret Rangel at quarterback in the second half, comparing Alan Bowman’s benching to sending in a relief pitcher to calm things down.
The Cowboy defense was a bright spot, but allowing a couple of huge plays in the second half might have ended any chances of a comeback. Still, forcing three turnovers in the first half should have been enough for OSU to take care of business.
Considering the state of OSU and Kansas State, next week’s matchup in Manhattan will dramatically impact the direction of each team’s season. After falling in their conference openers, two of the Big 12’s three preseason favorites are on the brink of being out of the Big 12 race.
While it is still possible to get into the conference championship with two losses, tiebreakers are much more complicated in a 16-team league, and not having head-to-head over another Big 12 contender could be a determining factor in December.
READ MORE: Game Time Announced For Oklahoma State at Kansas State
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IVAN WHITE
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.