Ranking Every Oklahoma State Game in 2023: No. 12 Texas

Oklahoma State was one of the best teams in the Big 12 last season, but being the best was not in the cards.

In 2023, OSU won 10 games and finished second in the Big 12’s regular season standings. That earned the Cowboys a trip to arlington for the second time in the past three seasons. 

After a heartbreaking finish against Baylor in 2021 that left the Cowboys inches away from the College Football Playoff, they looked to turn around their fortunes. However, their 2023 matchup against Texas only strengthened the Longhorns case to make their first College Football Playoff appearance.

With the new-look Big 12 featuring 14 teams, the Cowboys did not face the Longhorns during the regular season and looked to extend their win streak against them to three. However, the Longhorns wasted no time jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. A couple of Quinn Ewers touchdown passes pushed OSU to the brink early,

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After falling down early, Brennan Presley helped the Cowboys get back into the game with a 5-yard score. Any momentum OSU had was short-lived, as Texas quickly went back down the field and scored another touchdown.

In response, Alan Bowman threw an interception to set Texas up deep in its own territory. That ended up being no problem for Texas as it drove 95 yards and scored another touchdown to make it 28-7 early in the second quarter.

The Longhorns’ lead never got under two scores again as they blew out the Cowboys 49-21. Ewers threw for 452 yards and four touchdowns, while OSU star Ollie Gordon managed only 34 yards on the ground.

Although getting to the title game was a major accomplishment for the Cowboys, the game itself was a low point in the latter part of OSU’s season.

Ranking OSU's 2023 season:

No. 14 South Alabama

No. 13 UCF