STILLWATER — College basketball doesn’t turn into a win-or-go-home sport for another 3.5 months, but through the first month of the season, the Cowboys proved they don’t know how to do anything but win.

For most of the last four weeks, Oklahoma State (7-0) hasn’t had to sweat out close games, the lone exceptions being an 8-point win over South Florida in a game in which OSU led by only 5 points with less than three minutes to play and the 5-point Thanksgiving win over Northwestern. The latter saw OSU lead by as few as 2 points with less than a minute to play.

Otherwise, Oklahoma State largely proved it can cruise past a schedule of largely inferior opponents (Texas A&M notwithstanding). It sounds easy, but OSU has tripped up in plenty of those games in recent years, excluding last year, which more or less started as expected.

When Oklahoma State takes the court on Tuesday night against Sam Houston (5-2), the Cowboys have a chance to start 8-0 for the first time since the 2006-07 season, but Steve Lutz’s second group isn’t just competing against itself.

As of Sunday morning, the Cowboys are tied for the eighth-longest active winning streak in the country and sit only one game back from a six-way tie for second-place.

To up the stakes even more, only 23 teams in the country remain undefeated, and two of those (Colorado and California Baptist) meet on Monday night.

Should Oklahoma State beat both Sam Houston and Grand Canyon (4-3) on Saturday, then the Cowboys will be one Bedlam victory on Dec. 13 away from a 10-0 start.

Regardless of how the next three games play out, the Cowboys are much less likely to be challenged following the game against the Sooners (5-2), considering Kansas City, Cal State-Fullerton and Bethune-Cookman are a combined 6-17.​

All of which positions Oklahoma State well to begin Big 12 play against No. 20 Texas Tech on Jan. 3 with double-digit wins. That’s noteworthy considering Oklahoma State’s best record headed into league play in the last four years occurred last season when Lutz guided the Cowboys to an 8-3 start.

Other recent Cowboy teams started the conference season 8-5, 8-4 and 7-4 in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Cade Cunningham’s group entered conference play 6-0 in 2020 before dropping three of its first four Big 12 games.

Win totals aren’t everything when it comes to March, but they certainly help. And given Oklahoma State’s recent basketball history, this group has already put together a start worthy of recognition locally. Perhaps this group will earn a spot in the national picture in month two.

---

Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.

The Cowboys’ 2025 season is finally over. There will be plenty of time for a postmortem and, more importantly, a look ahead at the Eric Morris era, but for one final time let’s see what worked for the Cowboys and what didn’t with some superlatives.

The Good: Zane Flores’ Second Quarter

The Cowboys’ offense has never been what I would call good this season, but there have been little slivers of competence. A drive or two that reminded us what a functional offense looks like. Zane Flores gave us one of those on his final drive of the first half.

Flores completed all six pass attempts and captained OSU down to the 8-yard line. Then he handed the ball to Trent Howland to seal it with a touchdown to pull within three points. At that point, Flores was 11-of-14 and had completed nine-straight attempts.

He was 12-of-20 the rest of the way with an interception and a sack-fumble, but we’re focusing on the good here. In all seriousness, Flores was dealt a tough hand this season and he kept showing up and showed improvement along the way. He’s still just a freshman. Regardless of whether he stays in Stillwater or not, I think his best football is still ahead of him.

The Bad and Ugly: Turnovers and Missed Opportunities

There’s no reason to end an ugly season on an ugly note, so we’ll just smash these two together.

The Cowboys had two turnovers that led to 10 points for the Cyclones in a game that they lost by seven. That’s not the only reason they lost, but it’s a big part of why. And missed opportunities and self-inflicted wounds also stalled drives and caused the Cowboys to settle for field goals when they had made it into or near the red zone three times.

There’s not a ton to dissect on that. It was just a continuation of a season-long trend for a team in turmoil. While many of these players may return, you kind of have to wipe the slate clean.

The Opportunity: To Appreciate Those That Are Leaving

Whether they be the seniors that were honored today, those who will transfer out or the coaches that held things together, I think this is an apt time to appreciate what the Cowboys went through and that they did so with respect.

It’s not easy being a lame duck interim head coach at your alma mater, or the second acting defensive coordinator in a calendar year, but guys like Doug Meacham and Clint Bowen and others on the staff did nothing but build credit in my eyes. And I think that, like the players who kept bringing effort week in and week out, probably did themselves some favors when it comes to finding their next landing spot.

Next up, an exciting offseason as the OSU faithful become North Texas fans for at least the next couple of weeks.

---

Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.

Carson Cunningham and Colby Powell react to OSU’s season finale vs. Iowa State and look ahead to the Eric Morris Era at Oklahoma State.

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, Brewster Consulting Group and Wulf Corporation.

PFB+ Sale: PFB+ subscriptions are 25% off when using this link

---

Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.

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

---

OSU Bullets

• For the last time this season, Marshall did a great job of summing things up in his 10 Thoughts. [PFB]

• The Top Quotes from Doug Meacham’s final press conference as OSU’s interim head coach. [PFB]

• Gotta enjoy what we can enjoy.

https://t.co/MDMDJEujFj pic.twitter.com/qe7Dgmt0Hz

— gavin freeman (@TheGavinFreeman) November 29, 2025

 

• Now we can transition fully into a North Texas site for the remainder of the year.

 

If you read today’s article, one of the base principles of the UNT defense under Skyler Cassity is that they don’t cover the first 5 yards. They let the routes sort themselves out underneath them.

Meanwhile, safety and corner, many times, will NOT know what routes are being run… pic.twitter.com/E6zQwDefWB

— OState Daily (@Ostate_Daily) November 28, 2025

 

• Here’s what OSU players and coaches said about the Eric Morris hire. [PFB]

• How Clint Bowen boosted his resume during a tough time at OSU. [PFB]

 

---

Non-OSU Bullets

• The only reason social media should still exist. 

 

Slumber Party Martyrs (flipped), by Robin F. Williams, 2023 pic.twitter.com/skbQSNvURI

— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) November 30, 2025

 

• Staying classy in Norman.

 

Tensions are high before LSU vs #Oklahoma.

Pre-game field goal gets kicked into stands and an Oklahoma fan won’t give the ball back to the LSU staff member.

A fight breaks out before the game in Norman.

I guess defending the Palace just means more. pic.twitter.com/wKt5OoGD4h

— OklahomaMuse (@OklahomaMuse) November 29, 2025

---

Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.

STILLWATER — Doug Meacham coached his final game as the Cowboys’ interim head coach on Saturday.

Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State 20-13 to finish the 2025 season 1-11 ahead of Eric Morris taking over the program moving forward. Here are five things Meacham said after the game.

1. On the Season Coming to an End

In the final weeks of his tenure as his alma mater’s interim head coach, you could tell Meacham wanted nothing more than for his players to be able to celebrate a win.

He’s made comments over recent weeks about how he’ll remember this group for the rest of his life, and Saturday, he got a picture to commemorate that.

“Hopefully those guys coming back will learn some lessons from what they went through this year,” Meacham said. “I know I certainly have and everyone else has, as well. I wish everyone luck.

“I’ve enjoyed this team. We took a big team photo in the hotel today that I’ll probably have on my wall just to remind me how special a lot of these guys were to be able to continuously show up every week and fight when a lot of kinds nowadays would’ve probably just laid down. Pretty special to watch that even though we didn’t get the outcome. It’d have been nice to have finished it up like that, but life’s not a fairytale.”

2. On His Hopes for OSU’s Future

Not only was Meacham this group’s head coach for most of the year, but he’s also an alum.

He was asked what his hopes are for the future of the program.

“Hell, I want them to win a national championship,” Meacham said. “They’ve got a lot in place here to do so. It’s a great school and a great town. It’s in a super location, great academics. Facilities and infrastructure speaks for itself. …

“Those guys (Eric Morris and his staff) will come in here and get it done. Our people know what it takes to win. They’re gonna pick the right guy, and I think they did a great job picking Eric.”

3. He Is Open to Staying

A few weeks back, Meacham noted that he cuts up North Texas’ game film every week because of his similar offensive philosophy.

Meacham said he and Morris talk occasionally about football. Meacham also noted that he’d be interested in sticking on Morris’ OSU staff.

“One of the biggest things that can bring a guy down is to not be wanted,” Meacham said. “You can work hard and do all those things, if you’re not wanted, it just makes you feel bad every day, but if they want me to stay here, man, I’d love to.

“I’m not trying to position myself or promote myself for it. We’ll see how it goes. If it happens that way, great. If it don’t, I’ll be fine. I’ll move on. That’s what we do as coaches, we go find the next one.”

4. Players ‘Know a Hell of a Lot More than You Think’

It’ll be an interesting few weeks for this group — player and coaches.

Some coaches will likely be retained while others will have to look for other opportunities.

For some players, this is it. They laced up a pair of cleats for the last time. But many others have eligibility to play, and they’ll have to figure out whether that will be in Stillwater or elsewhere.

“I know this about players — they know a hell of a lot more than you think they do,” Meacham said. “And how you conduct yourself as a coach, they read that really, really fast. If you don’t think those guys know what’s going on, you better think again, because they know what’s going on. Especially with the social media that’s out there these days, they know what’s going on.”

5. The Moment that Will Stick Out to Him the Most

It had to have been a bitter sweet few months for Meacham.

He was the head coach of his alma mater, but at the same time, the Cowboys couldn’t find a ton of success on the field.

Meacham was asked what moment from the year will stick out to him the most. He said halftime of the UCF game.

“We were winning by 14, so that was kind of our little tiny window of, ‘Holy crap. This is awesome,’” Meacham said. “But I thought we handled it as best we could. We told everybody, ‘0-0. It’s a whole new game,’ all the stuff you say when you’re up at halftime. And I’ll remember that moment because it felt like, ‘Yeah, you know what, these guys deserve it.’ And it felt good for 10 minutes.”

---

Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.

STILLWATER — Doug Meacham coached his last game as the Cowboys’ interim head coach on Saturday, but the former OSU alum is excited for the future of the program.

“Eric Morris is one of my favorite guys,” Meacham said. “You know he is an old ex-Texas Tech guy, air raid guy. He throws the ball all over the place, and I love every bit of it. In fact, I cut up all his film every week for the last two years.

“We talk occasionally, you know, football-wise. So appreciate what he does. Look forward to watching how they do here.”

News of the Morris hire broke on social media Tuesday afternoon, prompting Morris and OSU to make the announcement official. Athletic Director Chad Weiberg spoke to the football team about it later that day.

“Oklahoma State has been really steady throughout the years with coach Gundy,” Oklahoma State safety Parker Robertson said. “So, hope Coach Morris comes in here, gets the culture correct, everything right, and gets the right guys that come in here and flip this year. Because these past few years have been not Oklahoma State football, so hopefully he can come in and turn that script.”

Robertson won’t be a part of that future as he exhausted his eligibility with a 7-tackle performance in Saturday’s 20-13 loss to Iowa State, though he did cement himself as the Cowboys’ lead tackler this season (77 total) by four tackles.

Robertson said the younger guys, the ones with decisions to make in the coming weeks, handled the news well. The senior said they focused on the final game and didn’t let the Morris announcement distract them.

“Because they don’t even know where they’re going to be at if they’re going to stay,” Robertson said. “Because coach is going to have to come in here and interview them to see if they want to stay here or enter the portal.”

Meacham has talked a lot about how a changing coaching staff can provide motivation for various players who hope to prove something to either Morris’ group or coaching staffs elsewhere that they have what it takes to keep playing D-I ball.

Of course, they won’t be the only ones with decisions to make in the weeks to come. Interim defensive coordinator Clint Bowen said he does hope to stick around Stillwater, though he doesn’t have much history with Morris.

“I coached against him,” Bowen said. “That’s about it. I remember when he was a player at Texas Tech. I think we’ve bumped into each other a few times on the road, but we don’t have, like, a relationship. It’s not like we’re texting buddies or phone call buddies or anything like that. If we see each other, I’m sure we’d recognize each other and say hi. But, no, not much of a relationship.”

Meacham stumped for Bowen publicly a couple of times, including following Saturday’s game. He also praised what he’s seen out of North Texas’s defense this season.

“I love what he does on offense, and I know they have a lot of successes this year so far because of their offense, but I think their defense improved as well,” Meacham said. “They did good on D and they’ve had some injuries on defense, too, but those guys come in here and get it done.”

Before leaving the room, Meacham also mentioned he wouldn’t mind sticking around to join the new staff if things work out that way.

“Oh, absolutely,” Meacham said. “One of the biggest things that can bring a guy down is not to be wanted. You know what I mean? You can work hard on the other things, (but) if you’re not wanted, it just makes you feel bad every day.

“But if they want me to stay here, man, I’d love to, but I’m not trying to position myself or promote myself for it. We’ll see how it goes. If it happens that way, great. If it don’t, then I’ll be fine. I’ll move on, and that’s what we do as coaches. We find the next one, and just appreciate my time here again.”

---

Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.

PHOTOS
BOX SCORE

STILLWATER — Without a bowl to close things out, this season was technically shorter than many of the recent seasons of Cowboy football, but boy, it didn’t feel that way.

Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State 20-13 on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium, closing the year out 1-11. Here are 10 Thoughts on the game.

1. It’s Over

Even after the horrors last season provided, I’m not sure many could’ve predicted 2025 would be worse.

Six or seven (for the children) years ago, it would’ve been unfathomable to think OSU has gone 18 straight Big 12 games without a win. Heck, that 3-9 team last season was still good enough to hammer Tulsa 45-10, so that 19-12 loss to the Golden Hurricane itself seemed inconceivable, even after Oregon beat the Cowboys by 66 two weeks before.

OSU will enter a new era on a 20-game losing streak to FBS foes. But, after these dark days of Cowboy football, there is now a light at the end of the tunnel named Eric Morris.

2. Credit to the Guys

This will be a season OSU fans will want to put in the rear view, one that was no easy task to sit through. But it was super impressive to see a team fight to the end in a lost season.

Senior Day was a good reminder of that. There are guys who will never feel the click of a chinstrap locking into place ever again. There are guys who, until they start having children, won’t realize how much less catch they’ll play moving forward because there isn’t a football somewhere around to be thrown at all times.

For those guys, I’m glad the Cowboys fought the way they did. They finished within a possession of their final three opponents after suffering five losses earlier in the season of at least 20 points.

The season is over, and thank goodness it is. But there are a lot of guys in this group who can walk away with their heads high because when faced with an unwinnable situation, they didn’t give up.

3. Take a Bow, Clint Bowen

Over an eight-game stretch, Clint Bowen took a defense that was fundamentally broken for the better part of two years and turned it into a more than serviceable group — perhaps even a good group.

And Bowen did that while losing guys to the transfer portal and after he came to OSU to fill a role on the offensive staff.

OSU’s 2024 D gave up 5.41 yards per carry, which is the worst the program has given up since at least 1940. Bryan Nardo got let go, and Todd Grantham got in just for the Cowboys to give up 5.43 yards a carry in the opening four games of the year.

Since Bowen has gotten ahold of the play sheet, the Cowboys have given up 3.79 yards per carry. Since he’s had an open week, the Cowboys have allowed just 17 points a game.

After going down to the high school ranks before this season in Stillwater, Bowen has proven he’s worthy of a college job if anyone is paying attention.

4. Flores Had the Best Series of His Season, For What It’s Worth

This was, obviously, another woeful performance for the OSU offense, but would you believe me if I told you Zane Flores threw for nearly 100 more yards than Rocco Becht? Well, he did, and just about all of it came on one series.

Flores threw for 202 yards to Becht’s 113.

After the Cowboys’ first four drives accounted for just 38 yards of total offense, Flores led a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to send the Cowboys into the half.  He went 6-for-6 on the drive, throwing for 65 yards.

Flores had the throw of his season within the drive of his season. On 4th-and-4, Flores ripped a ball into the tightest of windows to Shamar Rigby across the middle for a 20-yard gain.

It was put to where only Rigby could grab hold of it, and it was one of three 10+-yard completions he had in the series.

Like all of OSU’s offensive success this season, it was fleeting. The Cowboys had just three drives in the second half that exceeded 10 yards of total offense.

5. I Hope Gavin Freeman Stays

Perhaps the biggest example of this team continuing to fight was Gavin Freeman — sometimes literally.

The slot receiver from Heritage Hall knows one speed: full. He’ll catch a ball over the middle, jump over a would-be tackler, juke out another then get into a shoving match with the guy who finally was able to bring him down. There was one point Saturday where Iowa State downed a punt near Freeman, and he started getting into it with four or five Cyclones circling around him with no backup.

He’s fearless, and he’s electric. I’d be more than interested in seeing what he looks like in an Eric Morris’ offense.

6. Freshman Kobi Foreman Stood Out

Kobi Foreman didn’t redshirt in his freshman season in Stillwater, which is impressive enough on its own, but he popped the most he has all season in the finale.

Foreman, a 5-foot-9 defensive back from Dallas, was back on kickoff return and made an instant impact, returning the opening kickoff 28 yards to set OSU up at its 33 to start the game.

It was one of four returns Foreman made Saturday, finishing with 84 yards (21 yards per return).

In this game alone, Foreman climbed to the top of OSU’s kick return list, as Sam Jackson V was leading the way with 67 kick return yards entering the game. With two previous returns, Foreman is up to 114 yards on a 19-yard average (the average is also a team-best).

How does that translate to the defensive side of the ball remains to be seen as Foreman’s career progresses, but at the very least, he has some explosiveness.

7. Not Even the Coin Tosses Went OSU’s Way

The Cowboys obviously didn’t have a ton of success on the football field this year, but you know where they were almost equally bad? The coin toss.

After the Cyclones won the coin toss Saturday, it meant OSU finished 2-10 on tosses this season. Both wins came on the road — at Arizona and at Texas Tech.

They tell me coin tosses are supposed to be a 50% chance of going your way, but they’ve gone the Cowboys’ way about 17% of the time this year.

When it rains, it pours. Nothing went the Cowboys’ way.

8. Sliding Doors Moments of the 2025 Season

Throughout different points in the year, Mike Gundy and Doug Meacham each noted after games how a handful of plays decided the outcome. It’s had me thinking whether any moments could’ve seen this season go differently.

The first is probably the most obvious: What happens if Hauss Hejny was healthy all year? An impossible answer to know, but a painful question to ponder after watching this offense limp to the finish line, averaging 11 points a game over the final three weeks.

I don’t know that Hejny, as good as he looked in those three series, was enough to fully overcome the overall struggles of the season. But, you wonder if OSU could’ve finished the year on a three-game winning streak, given the OSU D gave up, on average, 17 points across the past three games.

Another sliding doors moment was what if Bowen had been the Cowboys’ DC from the jump? It’s easy to look back and wonder that now, but it would’ve came out of nowhere had Gundy hired a guy who was coaching high school ball to run his defense. If you thought people flipped out when he hired Nardo from the D-II ranks, what would that have looked like hiring a high school coach?

Lastly, what would this year have looked like had Gundy been able to see it through? For starters, unless there was some exit plan in place, it’s hard to imagine that the Cowboys have Eric Morris signed to a deal at this point. As for the on-field product, it’s tough to say. Gundy is a darn good coach, but the results over the past few seasons don’t breed a ton of confidence that things would’ve been much different there.

9. OSU Did a Good Job of Getting out of the Lane Kiffin Domino Tumble

The biggest story line in college football right now isn’t something that’s happening off the field. It’s Lane Kiffin’s looming decision.

As of writing, it still hasn’t been announced whether Kiffin will stay at Ole Miss or accept the LSU job. Whatever he decides to do looks like it will kick an already hectic coaching carousel into overdrive.

But OSU fans can rest easy going into next week knowing they already have their guy.

The Cowboys’ coaching search started so early in the season that athletic director Chad Weiberg was able to wrap it up before Thanksgiving with the hiring of North Texas’ Eric Morris.

Now, the Cowboys will still have to wait for Morris to finish up in Denton, but that’s a small price to pay considering other searches are about to be in about a monthlong sprint ahead of the transfer portal opening and will all be going head to head with one another for candidates.

10. New Era on Deck

I was born in 1995, which means I technically lived through the Bob Simmons and Les Miles Eras. And while I remember a couple Miles moments (see: Let ‘er rip), just about all of my OSU football memories involve Mike Gundy being on the OSU sideline.

That obviously changed on an interim basis this year, but we’ll get to see what an OSU program can look like under someone other than Gundy.

In a lot of ways, that’s spooky. Gundy was, for the most part, a model of consistent success. Eighteen straight bowl games. Eight double-digit win seasons.

In other ways, it’s exciting. It doesn’t feel as if OSU has truly played the new era game to this point. What does a Cowboy football team that embraces some of the new situations of the sport look like? And more than that, Gundy helped build the infrastructure of OSU football. This’ll be the first time an OSU coach other than Gundy has had this nice stadium, the indoor facility and more.

Morris checks a lot of boxes as a hire, as well. At the very least, it looks as if OSU will start moving the football again (which after watching this season, thank goodness).

It’s a voyage into the unknown that brings much more excitement than concern, but Saturday also acts as a good point to look back at just how far the program has come.

---

Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.

STILLWATER — As interim coach Doug Meacham exited his final post-game presser, he shouted out a message to interim defensive coordinator Clint Bowen that, as his agent, he expects to take 5% commission on his next contract.

“That guy is all business, and he’s a hell of a football coach,” Meacham said of Bowen just seconds before his commission comment. “If I am (new OSU coach) Eric Morris, I might want to call him pretty quick because somebody is going to scoop him up quick. …

“That is winning defense, without a ton of depth, so my hat is off to him. He did a great job, and I’m kind of cheering for him, professionally, so I hope, I think he will have tons of opportunities next year.”

When Bowen took over the defense only nine weeks ago, he accepted quite the promotion, up from a quality control coach scouting opposing defenses to help the Cowboys’ offense. At the time, he was going through a soft reset of his collegiate coaching career following what Bowen described as a “career killer” decision to leave college athletics to serve as a coach for his sons at the high school level for four years.

On Saturday, Bowen could finally reframe that decision to prioritize his family years ago. As a high school coach, he had four spring periods to sit in on offensive meetings with various college coaches and pick their brains.

Then he showed up at Oklahoma State and watched Meacham install the offense during the offseason.

“(All of) that maybe improved me more as a defensive coach than my previous 15 years being a defensive coordinator (at a) Power Four school,” Bowen said. “Like it exposed me to truly what offensive guys are doing and how they’re doing it and why they’re doing it. … I didn’t have as much of an understanding as I thought, so in a lot of ways, being an offensive coordinator at the high school level and going to visit a lot of guys to learn how to be an offensive coach helped me tremendously to be a defensive coordinator.”

The Oklahoma State radio broadcast took time late in the game to praise Bowen’s group as “Big 12 competitive,” among other things, and Meacham even somewhat jokingly referred to him as “the greatest DC ever.”

The numbers the last three weeks more or less back all of that up.

Oklahoma State’s defense allowed the last three games:

Stat category	Incredible number	National rank	Big 12 rank
Third downs	30.23%	10th	1st
Points per game	17	13th	2nd
Yards per game	341	42nd	5th
Yards per rush	4.1	63rd	9th
Yards per play	5.5	T67th	11th

The 12 defenses ranked ahead in points allowed are dominated by playoff locks and teams who entered the last week on the bubble including Ohio State, Indiana, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Miami, Oregon, Alabama, James Madison and Georgia.

The nine teams ahead on third down conversions is a little bit more of a mixed bag, but still includes playoff teams Texas A&M, Indiana, Oklahoma as well as bubble teams Miami and Virginia.

As eye-catching as those first two stats are, they look even better considering OSU entered the final game ranked 123rd and 125th nationally, respectively, after a season of mostly down moments heavily impacted the numbers.

Of course, the change that sparked the late turnaround was Oklahoma State’s late bye week earlier this month. It was the only off week that Bowen had to work with the defense and marked the first time the Cowboys were able to scout opponents after spending the rest of the fall either playing an old scheme that was struggling or installing a new scheme following his elevation to coordinator.

“Then you become a good football player,” Bowen said. “You start anticipating plays, seeing formations, and knowing things. So after the bye week, those guys, the ability to take the scouting report ahead was probably the biggest step that they made.”

Bowen’s defense did everything it could to end the season on a high note in the 20-13 loss to Iowa State. The Cowboys won 10-of-14 third downs and held Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht to his second-lowest passing yardage total this season (119) on a 9-of-19 performance.

Even when Iowa State threatened to run the game out, OSU’s defense limited the Cyclones to a 4-play, 17-yard drive and an 8-play, 26-yard drive, both of which ended in punts.

As he did for the entire season, Bowen spent most of his time with the press on Saturday praising the players and the assistant coaches for sticking with him this season and not giving up despite multiple leadership changes, a long transfer portal window and the losses.

The coordinator also allowed himself to talk about his future. When asked if he would like to stay if the right opportunity presented itself on Morris’ staff, Bowen left no doubts.

“I love this place,” Bowen said. “This place has been really good for me and my family, my son is here. They gave me an opportunity. This is a unique place. … I haven’t been a ton of places in the college football world. I kind of had one or two stops, but I don’t know how it gets much better in this place.”

---

Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.

The Cowboys’ 2025 season. So here’s an appreciation post for Pistols Firing photographer Devin Wilber.

As per usual, Devin was patrolling the sidelines and the end zone to capture all the action. Here’s a look at some of his best shot. You can check out the full album

.

---

Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.

BOXSCORE

The Cowboys fought hard, but their Big 12 losing streak will extend into its third season.

Oklahoma State fell to Iowa State 20-13, despite a resilient effort on Senior Day.

The Cowboys pulled within one score three times, but turnovers and missed opportunities kept them from getting over the hump.

The Cyclones took a 10-0 lead before the Cowboys were able to get on the board. OSU remained within 10 the entire game.

After the Cowboys stalled on their first three drives, Zane Flores hit his stride in the second quarter, leading them on a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Trent Howland got the points, but Flores completed nine-straight passes in the first half.

The Cyclones extended their lead to 17-7 early in the third quarter after Abu Sama broke free for his second big run of the day, this one a 40-yard touchdown. The Cowboys answered with a field goal to make it 17-10, but a Flores interception on their next drive led directly to an ISU field goal to make it 20-10. It was the second turnover for the Cowboys that led to an Iowa State score.

The Cowboys found some momentum, but it was two steps forward, one step back.

On their third drive of the third quarter, a nice first down play to Quinton Stewart was called back thanks to a holding but then another 15 yards were tacked on thanks to an unsportsmanlike penalty on Shamar Rigby. So a positive play across midfield turned into a stalled drive.

But the Cowboys recovered the ensuing punt that bounced off a Cyclone to get the ball back with 14 yards of field. But since Cowboy fans can’t have nice things, a botched trick play turned into a loss of yards and the Pokes settled for a field goal. A microcosm for the second half of OSU’s disappointing season – some nice things occurred but ultimately the Cowboys can’t get a win.

Then late in the fourth, the Cowboys made it to the Iowa State 23-yard line before Flores fumbled, and it was recovered for a loss of 14. They had to once again settle for 3 to make it 20-13 with four minutes to go. The Cyclones essentially needed a first down to seal, and they got two. What would have been an insulting walk-off touchdown was called back for holding. The Cyclones were able to drain the clock down to 16 seconds giving OSU nine seconds to go 81 yards. The Cowboys got 10 yards before the clock expired on their hapless 2025 campaign.

Flores finished the day 19-of-30 for 166 yards and an interception. Five different Cowboys caught multiple passes, led by seven receptions for 46 yards by Gavin Freeman. Terrell Davis and Shamar Rigby each caught five passes for 57 and 52 yards, respectively.

Trent Howland rushed 14 times for 37 yards and the Cowboys’ lone TD.

On Senior Day, seniors Brian McCoy Jr. and Parker Robertson tied for the team lead with seven tackles each. Robertson also had a QB hurry. Landon Cleveland and Jacobi Oliphant Jr. each had a sack.

With the loss, the Cowboys end their 2025 season 1-11 and 0-9 in Big 12 play. Next up, the Eric Morris era.

---

Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.