OSU Football: AP Preseason Poll Set For Mid-August Release
Oklahoma State will learn where it ranks in the coming weeks.
On Tuesday, Brett McMurphy reported that the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll will be released on Aug. 12. While OSU has made the preseason poll various times, it has often been underestimated in the Mike Gundy era.
After injuries derailed the 2022 season, OSU was not ranked to begin last season but finished No. 16 in the end-of-season ranking. OSU has even been disrespected in some of its best seasons in the preseason polls, beginning 2021 unranked, rising to as high as No. 5 and finishing No. 7.
The highest OSU has started a season in the AP poll under Gundy is No. 9, which happened in 2009 and 2011. Those seasons also join 2017 as the only years OSU has begun in the top 10 in school history.
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OSU will enter next season with some of its highest expectations in recent years. Coming off of a 10-win season, OSU finished third in the Big 12’s preseason poll.
Preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Ollie Gordon II will lead the Cowboys’ offense as they look to make their first College Football Playoff appearance. Last season, Gordon won the Doak Walker Award and led the nation in rushing yards with 1,732 and 21 touchdowns.
While the Cowboys will have aspirations to make the College Football Playoff, they are unlikely to make the top 12 in the AP’s preseason rankings. With games against South Dakota State, Arkansas and Tulsa, it might take some time for them to rise up the rankings. If the Cowboys can escape their nonconference slate unbeaten, a win against Utah in one of their most important games could vault them into the top 10 for the first time in nearly two years.
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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.