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College football odds, bets: Why Oklahoma State is undervalued as a Big 12 championship contender

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College football odds, bets: Why Oklahoma State is undervalued as a Big 12 championship contender


There’s just something about playing underdog that Mike Gundy seems to love, no matter how much he wins. Oklahoma State was picked seventh in last season’s Big 12 preseason poll. Months later, the Pokes upset Oklahoma in the final Bedlam and played for a Big 12 championship. The Cowboys have reached double-digit wins eight times under Gundy’s watch. Half came after starting the year unranked in the preseason AP Top 25. 

But in 2024, the lack of attention is head-scratching. Oklahoma State has the seventh-best odds to win the Big 12 championship, behind teams like Iowa State and Texas Tech. The Cowboys are tied with UCF, which went 6-7 during a frustrating first season as a power conference team. Ironically, the only Knights win against a legacy Power Five team came against OSU. 

Granted, Oklahoma State was by no means dominant during its run to the Big 12 title game. Bizarre losses to UCF and South Alabama came by a combined 78-10. The Cowboys needed double overtime to survive a late charge from BYU. But still, Oklahoma State steadily held its ground. Heading into 2024, last season feels far more like an early arrival than a peak. 

For one, running back Ollie Gordon II is back after a Doak Walker Award-winning campaign. Gordon rushed for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns during a breakout sophomore season and will enter the 2024 season as the top returning rusher in the sport by a wide margin. 247Sports ranks his offensive line No. 1 in the nation, ahead of behemoths at LSU and Georgia. The unit boasts five starters, including tackles Dalton Cooper and Jake Springfield who combine for 89 starts. 

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Overall, Oklahoma State ranks No. 3 in returning production nationally per ESPN, trailing only Iowa State and Stanford. An absurd 85% of production returns to college football with playmakers at almost every level. Defensive lineman Collin Oliver is a potential first-round draft pick to lead the unit. Quarterback Alan Bowman was able to wrangle yet another year of eligibility in 2024. The Pokes reached Big 12 contention only once Bowman fully took over under center. 

While returning production is no guarantee of success, it does set a baseline. Last season, Florida State, Kansas and Michigan were the three top Power Five teams in returning production. Those teams combined to go 37-5 and each put together their best seasons in at least a decade. 

By the way, the greatest stumbling block is gone. Gundy lost 15 games against Oklahoma, which represents nearly 20% of his career losses. Now, the Cowboys have eternal scoreboard and Gundy never has to worry about Oklahoma ever again. It should be a huge weight off his shoulders heading forward. 

It must be said, a non-Oklahoma team has ridden close-game luck to the Big 12 title game essentially every year since it returned in 2017. History is paved with horror stories of their follow-up seasons. There was 2023 TCU, which went from the national title game to missing a bowl game. One year earlier, Baylor went from a Sugar Bowl victory to a losing record. Iowa State also fell from a regular season first-place Big 12 finish in 2020 to a disappointing 7-6 campaign. 

However, there are a few pieces that help crack the code of a successful Mike Gundy team. For one, experience at quarterback helps. All eight of Gundy’s 10-win seasons came under multi-year starters. A superstar wide receiver helps too — and Brennan Presley is back to take that role. Defensively, the middle of the pack is good enough. That will take some improvement from Bryan Nardo’s unit but it is possible. 

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Also, low expectations don’t hurt. Since 2009, Oklahoma State has been picked top 15 in the preseason AP Top 25 six times. Five times, the Pokes finished lower in the final poll, including two unranked finishes. The only exception was during the historic 2011 season. 

Simply put, all the pieces are in place for another Mike Gundy special, despite the shockingly long odds. Then again, I doubt Oklahoma State is too worried about getting overlooked. It’s how the Cowboys live best. 

10-win seasons under Mike Gundy

2023

10-4

Unranked

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16

Alan Bowman (1st)

2021

12-2

Unranked

7

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Spencer Sanders (3rd)

2017

10-3

10

14

Mason Rudolph (3rd)

2016

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10-3

21

11

Mason Rudolph (2nd)

2015

10-3

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Unranked

20

Mason Rudolph (1st)

2013

10-3

13

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17

Clint Chelf (2nd)

2011

12-1

9

3

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Brandon Weeden (2nd)

2010

11-2

Unranked

13

Brandon Weeden (1st)

 Oklahoma State when preseason ranked

2022

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7-6

12

Unranked

2020

8-3

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15

20 (-5)

2017

10-3

10

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14 (-4)

2016 10-3 21 11 (+10)

2013

10-3

13

17 (-4)

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2012 8-5 19 Unranked

2011

12-1

9

3 (+6)

2009

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9-4

9

Unranked





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Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

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Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026


Big night in downtown OKC as the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Denver Nugget and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back on the floor.

Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.





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How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

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How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason


Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.

Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.

Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.

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Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.

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For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.

“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.

Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.

The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.

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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.

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Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.

“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.

Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.

The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).

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OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.

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For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.

“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”

On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason. 

The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.

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“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”

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Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.



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Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

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Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion


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The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament. 

A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match. 

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For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task. 

“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.” 

Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line. 

Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books. 

Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title. 

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An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction. 

“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.” 

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A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December. 

It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way. 

“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.” 

Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over. 

“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.” 

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This article will be updated.

Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.





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