2018 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

The 2018 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cowboys played their home games at the Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma and competed in the Big 12 Conference. They were led by 14th-year head coach Mike Gundy. They finished the season 7–6, 3–6 in Big 12 play to finish tied for seventh. They were invited to the Liberty Bowl where they defeated #24 Missouri 38-33, ending the season with a 4-1 record against teams in the top 25.

2018 Oklahoma State Cowboys football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 38–33 vs. Missouri
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Record7–6 (3–6 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Yurcich (6th season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorJim Knowles (1st season)
Base defense4–2–5
Home stadiumBoone Pickens Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Big 12 Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 4 Oklahoma y$^ 81  122 
No. 9 Texas y 72  104 
Iowa State 63  85 
No. 20 West Virginia 63  84 
TCU 45  76 
Baylor 45  76 
Oklahoma State 36  76 
Kansas State 36  57 
Texas Tech 36  57 
Kansas 18  39 
Championship: Oklahoma 39, Texas 27
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

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Award watch lists

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Listed in the order that they were released

AwardPlayerPositionYear
Chuck Bednarik Award[1]Justin PhillipsLBSR
Doak Walker Award[2]Justice HillRBJR
Butkus Award[3]Justin PhillipsLBSR
Outland Trophy[4]Marcus KeyesOLJR
Lou Groza Award[5]Matt AmmendolaKJR
Walter Camp Award[6]Justice HillRBJR
Ted Hendricks Award[7]Jordan BrailfordDEJR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[8]Taylor CorneliusQBSR

Big 12 media poll

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The Big 12 media poll was released on July 12, 2018, with the Cowboys predicted to finish in fifth place.[9]

Media poll
Predicted finishTeamVotes (1st place)
1Oklahoma509 (46)
2West Virginia432 (2)
3TCU390 (1)
4Texas370 (1)
5Oklahoma State300
6Kansas State283 (2)
7Iowa State250
8Texas Tech149
9Baylor125
10Kansas52

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.Missouri State*FS1W 58–1750,103
September 87:00 p.m.South Alabama*
  • Boone Pickens Stadium
  • Stillwater, OK
FSNW 55–1353,923
September 152:30 p.m.No. 17 Boise State*No. 24
  • Boone Pickens Stadium
  • Stillwater, OK
ESPNW 44–2154,974
September 226:00 p.m.Texas TechNo. 15
  • Boone Pickens Stadium
  • Stillwater, OK
FS1L 17–4153,166
September 2911:00 a.m.at KansasFSNW 48–2818,364
October 62:30 p.m.Iowa StateNo. 25
  • Boone Pickens Stadium
  • Stillwater, OK
ESPN2L 42–4852,995
October 1311:00 a.m.at Kansas StateESPNUL 12–3150,245
October 277:00 p.m.No. 5 Texas
  • Boone Pickens Stadium
  • Stillwater, OK
ABCW 38–3556,790
November 311:00 a.m.at BaylorFS1L 31–3543,492
November 102:30 p.m.at No. 6 OklahomaABCL 47–4887,635
November 172:30 p.m.No. 7 West Virginia
  • Boone Pickens Stadium
  • Stillwater, OK
ABCW 45–4152,842
November 247:00 p.m.at TCUFOXL 24–3142,394
December 312:45 p.m.vs. No. 24 Missouri*ESPNW 38–3376,468
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time
Schedule Source:[10]

Game summaries

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Missouri State

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1234Total
Bears0710017
Cowboys1714141358

South Alabama

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1234Total
Jaguars760013
Cowboys1417101455

Boise State

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1234Total
No. 17 Broncos0714021
No. 24 Cowboys017171044

Texas Tech

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1234Total
Red Raiders71710741
No. 15 Cowboys1070017

At Kansas

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1234Total
Cowboys1410101448
Jayhawks0771428

Iowa State

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1234Total
Cyclones92110848
No. 25 Cowboys71471442

Iowa State's Freshman Brock Purdy replaced Zeb Noland at quarterback and passed 18-for-23 for 318 yards and produced four touchdowns. He then ran for another 84 yards and another score.[11] The final score was a loss for the Cowboys at 48-42.[12]

At Kansas State

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1234Total
Cowboys330612
Wildcats03141431

The previous week loss against Iowa State put extra pressure on the Cowboys to win coming into the game against Kansas State. Some of the issues the Cowboys bring in to the include lack of discipline, a disconnected defense, and a failure to force turnovers on defense. The 2018 loss to Iowa State had many similarities to the 2017 game between Oklahoma State and Kansas State that resulted in a K-State victory 45-40.[12]

Texas

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1234Total
No. 6 Longhorns7771435
Cowboys17140738

At Baylor

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1234Total
Cowboys7314731
Bears01471435

Oklahoma

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1234Total
Cowboys141471247
No. 6 Sooners14207748

West Virginia

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1234Total
No. 7 Mountaineers141701041
Cowboys77102145

At TCU

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1234Total
Cowboys3071424
Horned Frogs0717731

Vs. Missouri (Liberty Bowl)

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1234Total
Cowboys7721338
No. 24 Tigers31331433

Statistics

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Scoring

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Scores against non-conference opponents
1234Total
Opponents0
Oklahoma State0
Scores against the Big 12
1234Total
Opponents0
Oklahoma State0
Scores against all opponents
1234Total
Opponents0
Oklahoma State0

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APRVRV2415RV25RVRV
Coaches252319152121RVRV
CFPNot releasedNot released

Players drafted into the NFL

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RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
4113Justice HillRBBaltimore Ravens
7253Jordan BrailfordDEWashington Redskins

References

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  1. ^ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  4. ^ "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Announces 2018 Preseason Watch List". July 25, 2018. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  6. ^ Carbone, Al (July 27, 2018). "Walter Camp Football Foundation Announces 2018 Player of the Year Preseason "Watch List"". Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  7. ^ "Preseason Watch List - 2018 edition of the Ted Hendricks Award" (PDF). August 14, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  8. ^ "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  9. ^ "Sooners Picked to Repeat in Big 12 Preseason Football Poll". Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  10. ^ "2018 Oklahoma State Cowboys Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  11. ^ Becker, Dana (October 7, 2018). "Iowa State Football: Cyclones get Purdy to stun Oklahoma State". Saturday Blitz. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Cooper, Mark (October 8, 2018). "OSU football: What we learned from Oklahoma State's 48-42 loss to Iowa State". Tulsa World. Retrieved October 9, 2018.