OSU Football's History With the New-Look Big 12: Utah
Oklahoma State has some new opponents in the Big 12 next season, and one might be the biggest competition for the Big 12 title.
Over the past two seasons, the Big 12 has added eight new teams while losing Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC. In 2024, the conference added four teams from the Pac-12: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.
While every team brings a potential challenge to the Cowboys for the foreseeable future, Utah could become a heated rivalry this season. The Utes were picked first in the Big 12 media poll, with OSU coming in third. The teams will meet in mid-September in the first conference game for either team.
Considering the stakes of that game, the teams will have an opportunity to make an early claim as the best in the Big 12. Although the teams are set for a classic early season matchup, they do not have much previous history.
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In fact, the Sep. 21 matchup will be the first time the Utes will travel to Stillwater. There has only been one meeting throughout the lengthy history of both programs.
In 1945, OSU dominated at Utah in a 46-6 win. That season, OSU went undefeated and claims a national championship for its 9-0 campaign. Perhaps it spells good luck for the Cowboys that the last season they played Utah, they went undefeated and were among the best in the country.
With Ollie Gordon leading the way, OSU hopes to be in a position to win the Big 12 title next season. Without a win against Utah in the conference opener, the Cowboys could be in trouble.
As star Utah quarterback Cam Rising makes his highly anticipated return, the matchup in Stillwater could be among the best in the conference all season. While the teams do not have much history going into 2024, there is plenty of potential to make some over the next few months.
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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.