Which Oklahoma State football game is most important this season?

STILLWATER — While commissioner Brett Yormark continually tells the world that the Big 12 is college football’s deepest conference, a more accurate explanation would be to call it the country’s most competitive one.

The difference between the team that finishes first in the league and the one that finishes eighth will be small, and trying to predict which teams will fall between first and eighth is a hopeless task.

Oklahoma State has been predicted as a top contender for the Big 12 title, a middle-of-the-pack finisher, and everything in between.

Last year, the Big 12 earned the nickname “The No Bad Teams League,” and this year could be much of the same, only with more teams.

Because of the conference’s competitive depth, every game is going to carry a more significant level of importance for a team like OSU, which has its sights set on a third championship game appearance in a four-year span.

But which ones will be the most important for the Cowboys? Let’s take a stab at figuring that out.

Here’s a look at the OSU schedule, ranking the games in order of importance:

More: USA Today preseason All-Big 12 football team 2024: Ollie Gordon II is Player of the Year

Oklahoma State’s Joe Michalski, left, and Alan Bowman walk to the field for warmups before the Big 12 Football Championship last season.

1. at Kansas State (Sept. 28)

The take: The Pokes’ last trip to Manhattan, Kansas, was an epic disaster — the 48-0 loss in 2022 that began the violent collapse of a top-10 team. This game comes two weeks into Big 12 play, following a home game against Utah, which is picked by many as the favorite for the league title. Kansas State is right there, too, so this is a chance for OSU to steal a road win that will likely have a heavy impact on the race for the championship game.

2. vs. West Virginia (Oct. 5)

The take: More…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/oklahoma-state-football-game-most-100246084.html

Author : The Oklahoman

Publish date : 2024-08-04 10:02:46

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