The wrestling season is just around the corner, and you can now solidify your plans.

Oklahoma State released its 2023-24 wrestling schedule on Friday, and it is tough.

Of the Pokes’ 16 duals on the slate, 14 are against opponents currently ranked in Intermat’s preseason dual meeting rankings. Eight of those will take place in Stillwater. The Cowboys were 6-1 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena last season.

Some schedule highlights include a trip to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 1-2, a Bedlam matchup against No. 13 Oklahoma in Norman Dec. 10 — where Luke Serber pinned the Pokes to a dramatic win — and a trip to Sicily, Italy for a bout against No. 6 NC State.

The Cowboys get things started against Bucknell inside GIA on Nov. 10. Here’s a look at the full schedule.

Oklahoma State Wrestling 2023-24 Schedule
Nov. 10 – Bucknell (7 p.m.)
Dec. 1-2 – Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Dec. 8 – Lehigh (7 p.m.)
Dec. 10 – at Oklahoma (2 p.m.)
TBA – at Minnesota (TBA)
Dec. 19 – at Wyoming (TBA)
Dec. 30 – NC State (Sicily, Italy – TBA)
Jan. 12 – at Pittsburgh (6 p.m.)
Jan. 14 – at West Virginia (12 p.m.)
Jan. 21 – Oregon State (2 p.m.)
Jan. 26 – Northern Iowa (7 p.m.)
Jan. 27 – Iowa State (6 p.m.)
Feb. 2 – Arizona State (7 p.m.)
Feb. 4 – at Missouri (2 p.m.)
Feb. 10 – South Dakota State (6 p.m.)
Feb. 18 – Oklahoma (2 p.m.)
Feb. 25 – Iowa (2 p.m.)
Mar. 9-10 – Big 12 Championships (Tulsa, Okla.)
Mar. 21-23 – NCAA Championships (Kansas City, Mo.)

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Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news.

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Three Thoughts

• The Cowboys’ transfer portal comings and goings are tough to evaluate but it’s hard to see as a positive at this point (Tulsa World)

• We’re in the one place where cheering for Viktor Hovland doesn’t make perfect sense, he’s been on a tear for Europe in the Ryder Cup (CBS Sports)

• OSU’s ten touchdowns to this point in the season is a five-year low but Mike Gundy pointed to a solution:

“We’re a little ways away from that right now,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said when asked if OSU’s offense was capable of scoring 50 points. “We can improve and hit a few more big plays…”

[Tulsa World]

Two Quotes

• Incredible graphic showing points per drive offensively and defensively in the Big 12 – bless their heart, the Bears are in a league of their own on the very bottom left.

Based solely off of points scored/allowed per drive, the Big 12 has split into four groups through the first third of the 2023 season.

– Texas & OU in a league of their own. (Call it the SEC)
– KSU, TCU, Kansas and UCF in the contenders w/ strong offenses phase.
– The bad… pic.twitter.com/KoVFlxbq3J

— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_TFB) September 29, 2023

• Good to see Devin Harper getting another opportunity on a 53-man roster after being cut by the Cowboys.

Cincinnati claimed LB Devin Harper off waivers. Cowboys hoped to re-sign him to practice squad if cleared. Look for C Brock Hoffman to get signed to 53 and LB Malik Jefferson to be a standard elevation.

— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) September 29, 2023

One Question

• Love this question – if someone nationally thinks about Oklahoma State,who do they think of?

Most Viewed of the Week

• No. 1 A look at OSU’s list of transfers and how they’re doing elsewhere

• No. 2 Trey Rucker arrested on suspicion of DUI

• No. 3 Bryan Nardo talks about the shortcomings in Ames

• No. 4 Looking at OSU’s schedule and reexamining expectations

• No. 5 Breaking down Alan Bowman’s performance

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Non-OSU Bullets

• Deion Sanders has already made 16x his total contract value for Colorado
• Six contenders who need Jrue Holiday

Pretty impressive bump for the newcomers:

BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF officially joined the Big 12 in July.

The financial effects already appear to be setting in:

• BYU soccer/volleyball attendance records
• 75% spike in donations at Cincinnati
• 42% jump in Houston season ticket sales
• $70M raised for… pic.twitter.com/Lcv3yzmYLw

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 29, 2023

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Colin Carmichael’s young squad bested a ranked foe Thursday night at Neal Patterson Stadium to push the Cowgirls to 11-2 on the year and 4-0 in Big 12 play.

Oklahoma State beat No. 19 UCF 2-1 on goals from sophomores Ellie Geoffroy and Xcaret Pineda. It was the Cowgirls’ fifth-straight win and Carmichael’s 250th career win.

PFB photographer Devin Wilber was roaming the sidelines at NPS with camera in hand. Here are some of his best shots from the night. You can see his full gallery here.

OSU plays Sunday against TCU in Fort Worth, which starts a three-game road trip.

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Carson Cunningham and Colby Powell discuss OSU’s defensive problems, recruiting and NIL. Also, Viktor Hovland and the Europeans thrash Rickie Fowler and the United States.

You know what helps the show and helps us make more shows? When you rate us on Apple Podcasts or subscribe to our pod: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | SoundCloud.

As always, we appreciate our sponsors Chris’ University Spirit and Yuengling.

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Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news.

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OSU Bullets

• The Ryder Cup starts today – Viktor Hovland and Rickie are ready to go. (CBS Sports)

• Bill Haisten had solid commentary on his latest podcast talking about Mike Gundy’s tenure (Apple Podcasts)

• Weekend college football watch guide for the Cowboy bye week (PFB)

• As followers of Oklahoma State, it’s hard not to feel like Utah is in the position Oklahoma State was positioned to hold in the new Big 12.

The Utes are Big 12-bound after this season, and Utah enters as the most successful program in the 16-team league, at least of recent vintage.

Two straight trips to the Rose Bowl, and now unbeaten Utah is ranked 10th nationally, heading into a Friday night showdown at Oregon State.

[Sellout Crowd]

• New OSU point guard Javon Small talked with the O’Colly

• Is Viktor Hovland the most popular professional OSU athlete right now?

Hits a hole in one on a par 4.

Throws the ball into the crowd.

Viktor Hovland is a rockstar.

pic.twitter.com/4ou4l6wo4L

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) September 28, 2023

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Non-OSU Bullets

• Like this idea of having green, yellow and red zones
• The Damian Lillard/Jrue Holiday trade is super fascinating
• Courage through comfort (faith-based)

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The Cowboys are on a much-needed off week, giving OSU fans a break from what has been an interesting four weeks of football. This early break also gives us a chance to reflect on the season so far. “Interesting” is an understatement.

Just over a month ago, the Pistols Firing staff laid out our predictions for how the 2023 season would play out.

I wouldn’t normally try to judge preseason predictions before the end of the year, but based on how the season has started, let’s take a look at how far off we were, if for nothing else but some comic relief.

I’m just going to hit the Offensive and Defensive MVPs and where how we predicted the team to finish up.

Offensive MVP

Scott: Brennan Presley
Cox: Alan Bowman
Gregory: Ollie Gordon

Brennan Presley, OSU’s leading receiver last year, was a logical pick. But through four games he’s currently ranked fourth on the team with just 98 yards (and two scores). You have to chalk at least some of that up to the inconsistent rotation among the quarterbacks over the first three games.

I suppose I’ll still stick with my Bowman pick, but I’m much less confident based on what we’ve seen. If Bowman retains the starting job for the majority of the remainder of the season — and that’s a big if — I think he has a good shot.

Gordon was probably the most solid pick here in the preseason, and he’s probably the most likely to be MVP the rest of the way. Aside from a head-scratching three carries against South Alabama, Gordon has been the featured back for OSU’s up-and-down rush attack. If he’s not the MVP over the next eight games, he should be.

Defensive MVP

Scott: Kendal Daniels
Cox: Xavier Benson
Gregory: Kendal Daniels

Daniels was a pretty safe pick given what he showed as a freshman last year and his projected role in Bryan Nardo’s offense. So far, that pick has paid off. He’s been one of the few bright spots for OSU in the early going. And he’s currently ranked fifth in the Big 12 with 31 total tackles. His 20 solo tackles come in at No. 3 in the league.

There’s still time for Benson or another OSU defender to make a push, but as of right now Daniels is the MVP in my book.

Big 12 Record/Finish & Overall Record

Scott: 6-3, (4th) / 9-4
Cox: 6-3 (5th) / 8-5
Gregory: 6-3 (4th) / 10-3

Let’s not pile on Dekota here. It looks like all three of us got into the spiked Kool-Aid based on what we’ve seen so far. I take no pleasure in being in the lead with my prediction, but no one predicted the season to start like this.

Things aren’t going to get any easier from here on out. As Dekota wrote earlier this week, OSU went 2-2 against teams currently with losing records. The rest of the Cowboys’ opponents are at .500 or better. It looks like we all may have overshot it.

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The Cowboys are off this weekend, as are their Week 6 foe Kansas State, but that just gives us more time to take a look at what’s happening elsewhere around the country.

Here is an Oklahoma State fan’s guide to Week 5 of the 2023 college football season.

Big 12 Schedule

Cincinnati at BYU — 9:15 p.m. Friday on ESPN
No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
Houston at Texas Tech — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FS2
Baylor at UCF — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FS1
Iowa State at No. 14 Oklahoma — 6 p.m. Saturday on FS1
West Virginia at TCU — 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2

After conference newcomers started conference play 0-4, one is guaranteed to get into the win column Friday night in Provo as BYU hosts Cincinnati. The Bearcats have dropped two straight, but they did hold Oklahoma to its lowest scoring output of the season last week. Meanwhile, BYU is coming off an 11-point loss to Kansas in which the Jayhawks scored a pair of defensive touchdowns.

Kansas at Texas will have all the eyeballs being the league’s lone ranked matchup of the weekend. The Jayhawks have won twice against Texas since 2016 with their most recent victory coming in overtime in Austin during the 2021 season.

Former Texas Tech quarterback Donovan Smith will go back to Lubbock this weekend to play the 1-3 Red Raiders. Tech quarterback Tyler Shough suffered an injury that is set to see him miss at least six weeks, leaving the offense in the hands of sophomore Behren Morton.

After being picked last in the preseason, West Virginia has started the 2023 season as good as anyone could’ve imagined at 3-1, and after a Week 1 loss to Colorado, TCU has recovered nicely and also enters Saturday 3-1.

Thursday Helpings

Temple at Tulsa — 6:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN

Tulsa and Temple each enter Thursday night’s contest at 2-2, but both teams’ losses came against Power Five foes. Tulsa is a squad with a handful of former Pokes playing meaningful snaps. Kanion Williams is TU’s second-leading tackler, and Ben Kopenski leads the way with two sacks.

Friday Night (College) Lights

No. 10 Utah at No. 19 Oregon State — 8 p.m. Friday on FS1
Cincinnati at BYU — 9:15 p.m. Friday on ESPN

The Pac-12 is the conference that keeps on giving with the ranked matchups in the league’s swansong season. Oregon State dropped its first game of the season this past week at Washington State, but the Beavers return home to face an unbeaten Utah squad fresh off a 7-point win at home against UCLA.

Saturday Selections

No. 8 USC at Colorado — 11 a.m. Saturday on FOX
Texas A&M vs. Arkansas — 11 a.m. Saturday on SEC Network
No. 13 LSU at No. 20 Ole Miss — 5 p.m. Saturday on ESPN
No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 17 Duke — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
South Carolina at No. 21 Tennessee — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network

After getting flattened in Eugene, Coach Prime and Colorado return to Boulder for a bout with No. 8 USC. Can the Buffaloes recapture the magic of their 3-0 start or was Saturday’s 36-point loss more indicative of where this team is right now?

Texas A&M and Arkansas are two proud programs that are each in an interesting spot entering Saturday’s matchup in AT&T Stadium. A&M enters at 3-1 after a 17-point win against Auburn, but the Aggies lost quarterback Conner Weigman for the season. Meanwhile Arkansas is 2-2 with back-to-back losses to BYU and LSU.

Speaking of LSU, the Tigers travel to Mississippi where the Rebels are fresh off a loss to Alabama. It’s the first ranked team LSU has played since its season-opening loss to Florida State.

Notre Dame was painfully close to picking up a signature win against Ohio State last week, and the Irish’s reward is a trip to unbeaten Duke. The Blue Devils had a ton of hype surrounding them following their 28-7 win against Clemson to open the year and enter Saturday’s game with an average margin of victory of 26 points.

South Carolina’s two losses this season have come against ranked teams, but the Gamecocks will get another shot to get a ranked win Saturday with a trip to Knoxville. Tennessee enters with the better record at 3-1, but the Vols wins are against 0-4 Virginia, Austin Peay and UTSA.

The post Weekend Watch Guide: An Oklahoma State Fan’s Guide to Week 5 of the College Football Season first appeared on Pistols Firing.

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Happy anniversary to Mrs. Bullets – eleven years of forgiving, encouraging, and enjoying a guy from Payne County sure merits a lot more than flowers.

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OSU Bullets

• OSU has officially sold out another game – next Friday’s game against Kansas State (X/Twitter)

• Checking in on the transfers that left Cowboy Football + how the new transfers are doing in Stillwater (PFB + 247 Sports)

• Berry Tramel wasn’t raving about the plan to play three quarterbacks but did have some positive thoughts on the issue.

Spreading the practice reps creates more depth. And if Gundy and the rest of us can’t pick out a QB, seems likely the majority of the Cowboy roster would be the same. Giving each a chance might have enhanced team chemistry. Everybody’s candidate gets on the ballot.

[Sellout Crowd]

• Breaking down Alan Bowman’s performance in Ames (PFB)

• Why Viktor Hovland lives in Stillwater (Sellout Crowd)

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Non-OSU Bullets

• 25 of the best one-hit wonders
• Clemson may be leaving the ACC sooner than later
• Fun story from ESPN+ ($) looking at how relegation would actually work

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STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State softball teams starts its fall schedule this weekend with a pair of games. The Cowgirls will play eight games this fall with seven of those being at Cowgirl Stadium. Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewksi met with reporters Wednesday at Cowgirl Stadium to preview the upcoming slate of games.

Cowgirl Softball’s 2023 Fall Schedule

Date	Opponent
Sept. 30	at Central Arkansas
Oct. 1	Wichita State
Oct. 3	USAO
Oct. 10	Seminole State
Oct. 17	Oklahoma Baptist
Oct. 19	Oklahoma Christian
Oct. 22	West Texas A&M
Oct. 26	Tulsa

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The Cowboys are not taking it back, and that leaves little margin for error for an OSU offense that needs it.

When we dug into Bryan Nardo this offseason, following his appointment as OSU defensive coordinator, one of the more enticing factors that we uncovered was his apparent knack for coaching up forced turnovers.

During his eight years at the helm of Emporia State, Nardo’s defense was one of the best in Div. II at forcing turnovers and was the only program to force 25-plus takeaways from 2012-16. In his single year at the helm of Gannon last season, his group forced a respectable 16. That total would be an absolute miracle for OSU in 2023.

Through four games, OSU has only created two turnovers — a recovered fumble against Central Arkansas in Week 1 and an interception at Arizona State a week later. So, no takeaways in either of the Cowboys’ last two losses.

Conversely, the Pokes have coughed it up five times in four games, including four interceptions, which has them tied with UCF at the bottom of the Big 12 with a TO margin of -3.

OSU’s offense has been consistent only in its inconsistency. OSU can score 27 points against an FCS team, and two Power Five teams. It could only score seven against a Sun Belt Team. It could use all the favorable field position and extra possessions it can get.

The Cowboys used to pride themselves on forcing turnovers, coning a We Takin’ It Back slogan during the Glenn Spencer days. Some of the more impressive pick-pocket defenses in college football this century propped up Mike Gundy-coached teams.

In 2013, arguably OSU’s best defense, the Cowboys were football bandits forcing 33 takeways. Before that, the 2010 and 2011 teams ransacked offenses, forcing 39 and 44 turnovers, respectively. Those days seem like ancient history one-third of the way through 2023.

These two takeaways (through four games) are the lowest total by the Cowboys in at least 15 years. It’s still early, but I was curious how the Pokes’ paltry 0.5-turnover-per-game average might compare to the first four games of those seasons, and how it might forecast TOs the rest of the way.

It’s the lowest by a significant margin.

Year	TOs thru 4	TOs All Year
2022	4	19
2021	6	20
2020	4	16
2019	5	19
2018	6	13
2017	7	24
2016	9	25
2015	9	28
2014	6	14
2013	7	33
2012	4	22
2011	13	44
2010	14	39
2009	9	30

Let me be clear in stating that there is a certain amount of luck that goes into dispossessing your opponent, and your opponent has something to say about it as well.

So far, UCA has given up the ball four times in four games. Arizona State has coughed it up sick 11 times. South Alabama has six total turnovers. Iowa State has committed three. They run the gamut, but none are immune to foibles. The Cowboys just haven’t gotten their hands on the football enough times.

So how do they change that?

“That’s going to come with confidence,” said Nardo after the game in Ames. “That’s going to come with being able to press the issue, being able to get ourselves in our zone coverages a little bit more and get some eyes on the quarterback.”

Look, the Cowboys have plenty of issues. At this point on the page, you’re probably screaming But what about the wide-open receivers?! at your screen. We discussed that here.

It’s going to take a lot of work to get the Cowboys out their current hole, and their offense doesn’t look able to line up and outscore anyone, nor are they near the level of defense that the 2021 team had to rely on. A couple extra possessions would go a long way.

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