Kickoff: 6:30 PM CT
Location: Boone Pickens Stadium (Stillwater, Oklahoma)
Television: ESPN+
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network
Twitter: Follow @HeartlandPokes for live tweets during the game
After the worst season in Mike Gundy’s tenure as head coach at Oklahoma State, the Cowboys start with a clean slate in 2025 as they open up their season on Thursday night in Stillwater against the UT Martin Skyhawks. Oklahoma State’s coaching staff has undergone quite the transformation, and the roster has quite a new faces as well. Expectations are pretty low as far as national and conference media go, but Cowboy fans should be in unanimous agreement that there is plenty to look forward to this season as it surely can’t get any worse…right?
How the Cowboys Win
The Cowboys are a heavy favorite, but numerous questions remain unanswered. The first game of the season with a lot of new players doesn’t have to be flashy to be successful. UT Martin is a decent FCS team, but Oklahoma State has not lost to an FCS school under Mike Gundy’s tenure, so this should be an easy win. To do that, they should focus on the fundamentals of the game, particularly areas where they struggled last season, like running the ball and protecting the quarterback on offense and getting stops of any kind on defense.
How the Skyhawks Win
The Skyhawks have had success at the FCS level, but they hold just 2 wins total against FBS-level schools, the second of which came last season against D1-FBS newcomer Kennesaw State. UT Martin has an opportunity for an upset by exploiting any immediate weakness that may arise in Oklahoma State’s game plan. With a nearly completely new set of starters for the Cowboys, UT Martin could cause some problems with a couple of early momentum plays.
Odds & Predictions
Staff Score Predictions
| Staff | Prediction |
|---|---|
| Caleb | Oklahoma State 28 – UT Martin 17 |
| Craig | Oklahoma State 42 – UT Martin 20 |
| Matt | Oklahoma State 38 – UT Martin 13 |
| Zack | Oklahoma State 38 – UT Martin 17 |
An Oklahoma State Win Would…
- Give the Cowboys 30 consecutive wins in home openers, increasing the longest active streak in college football and the third-longest streak overall since at least 1979. The only longer streaks since 1979 are Ohio State’s 35 straight from 1979-2013 and Florida’s 34 straight from 1990-2023.
- Give the Cowboys 13 straight wins in Thursday games, increasing the longest active streak in college football and matching the second-longest streak in the history of college football. The only longer streak was Miami’s (FL) 15 straight from 1998 through 2008. Washington & Jefferson also had 13 straight from 1905 through 1921.
- Increase the school record to 11 consecutive wins in season openers.
- Give the Cowboys wins in 11 straight, 17 of its past 18, 20 of its past 22, and 37 of its past 45 season openers.
- Improve Mike Gundy’s record in August games to 7-1.
- Improve Mike Gundy’s record against non-Power conference teams to 46-5.
- Improve Mike Gundy’s record in season openers to 19-2 and his record in home openers to 21-0.
- Improve Mike Gundy’s record in non-conference games to 68-16.
- Give the Cowboys five straight wins in non-conference games.
- Improve Mike Gundy’s record against FCS teams to 17-0.
- Improve the Cowboys’ record in season openers to 80-40-6 and their record in home season openers to 57-5-5.
- Make the Cowboys 91-29-5 in home openers.
- Give the Cowboys wins in 50 of their past 56 home openers.
- Make the Cowboys 29-5 in their past 34 non-conference games and 51-11 in their past 60 non-conference games.
- Make the Cowboys 98-29 in their past 127 games vs. opponents outside of the AP Top 25, dating to 2010.
Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Game
- OSU has won 10 consecutive season openers and 29 consecutive home openers, both OSU records.
- Oklahoma State has converted 5 of its past 6 two-point conversion attempts dating to last season.
- OSU is 13-2 in the past 15 games when winning or tying the turnover battle.
- Dating back to 2008, OSU is 82-10 when winning the turnover battle.
- Dating back to 2005, OSU is 49-4 when not committing a turnover.
- OSU has won 86 consecutive games when holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points, dating back to Sept. 13, 2003 – the longest active stretch of time in the FBS, the longest since at least 1980, and likely the longest in college football history.
- OSU has held its opponent to less than a 50% third-down conversion rate in 53 of its past 64 games.
- OSU is 40-19 in its past 59 games decided by fewer than 10 points.
- OSU is 51-9 in its past 60 games when leading at halftime, dating back to Sept. 17, 2016.
- OSU has won five of its past seven overtime games.