Oklahoma State finished 2022 with a middling 7-6 record in 2022. The team came out of the gates red hot with five straight wins. They narrowly lost to TCU in their sixth game before defeating Texas in their seventh. Unfortunately, the wheels fell off and Oklahoma State ended up losing five of their last six games. While injury certainly played a role, last year’s finish leaves a sour taste for fans. This year, FanDuel Sportsbook expects a similar season, opening the bidding on Oklahoma State’s win total at 6.5, with the under juiced to -150. The Cowboys also come in at +6000 to win the Big 12, which puts them ahead of just four other teams and behind Kansas. With all of that said, let’s dive into the Oklahoma State roster.
2023 Oklahoma State Football Season Preview & Predictions
Oklahoma State Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff
Head coach Mike Gundy returns for another season at Oklahoma State after initially beginning his run in 2005. Gundy holds a 156-75 record with Oklahoma State that cannot be argued with. The team hasn’t had a losing season since that inaugural 2005 season, which should afford Gundy a longer leash.
He retains Kasey Dunn as offensive coordinator, but he hired a new defensive coordinator in Bryan Nardo. Nardo operated as the Gannon University defensive coordinator in 2022. In most programs this would be a surprise hire. However, Gundy has often taken an unconventional approach to hiring with relative success. We’ll see if he can find that same success here.
Oklahoma State Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense
Quarterback
Unfortunately, Oklahoma State lost four years of starting experience when Spencer Sanders transferred to Ole Miss. The Cowboys turned to Alan Bowman from the transfer portal to help ease this void. Bowman spent his last two seasons as a depth piece with Michigan. He spent the three prior seasons with Texas Tech. Bowman played a considerable amount there, but he also struggled to stay healthy.
Over the course of his career, Bowman boasts a 66.6% completion percentage for 7.3 yards per attempt. He also has 34 touchdowns to 18 interceptions. Bowman operates as a pure pocket passer with -9 rushing yards to his name on 46 career rushing attempts. He has only taken eight career sacks, which really highlights his inability to run. Behind him, Garret Rangel should remain the backup. Forced into action briefly last year, Rangel looked overwhelmed. He completed 51.3% of his passes for 6.2 yards per attempt, four touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also operates as a pure pocket passer. This position comes with some serious questions ahead of 2023.
Running Back
Oklahoma State lost their top rusher from 2022 with Dominic Richardson hitting the transfer portal. He vacates 149 carries for 543 rushing yards, along with 22 catches for 220 receiving yards. Sanders also vacated 391 yards and eight scores as a massive part of Oklahoma State’s run game last year. Fortunately, they return third and fourth leading rushers Ollie Gordon and Jaden Nixon.
Gordon stands 6-1, 221 pounds and rushed 61 times for 305 yards and two scores. He also added 12 receptions for 76 yards. He averaged 3.02 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 26.2% of his attempts. Nixon stands 5-10, 185 pounds and rushed 46 times for 181 yards. He operated more as a pass catcher, recording 21 receptions for 189 yards. They two should form a one-two punch with Michigan State transfer Elijah Collins also in the mix.
Collins stands 6-1, 225 pounds and rushed 70 times for 318 yards and six scores with the Spartans last year. His best season came in 2019 with 994 yards on 221 carries, but it has been downhill ever since. Collins has decent pass catching chops with 14 receptions last year. However, he has never been the most efficient rusher.
Wide Receiver
The Cowboys lost a number of receivers from last year’s team, including Bryson Green, Braydon Johnson, John Paul Richardson, and Stephon Johnson Jr.. Luckily, they return their top receiver Brennan Presley, who recorded 67 receptions for 813 yards and a pair of scores. Presley stands 5-8, 175 pounds and played in the slot 94.7% of the time. His 1.99 yards per route ranked 13th in the Big12.
Blaine Green could be another starter here after missing all of 2022. Sometimes listed as a tight end, Green stands 6-1, 220 pounds and caught 21 balls for 314 yards in 2021. He mostly played in the slot and recorded a solid 1.63 yards per route. Jaden Bray also returns after an injury-shortened 2022, where he only caught five of 19 targets. In 2021, Bray caught 13 balls for 250 yards and posted 1.02 yards per route. However, Green’s and Bray’s starting spots can’t be guaranteed with the incoming transfers.
Arland Bruce comes in from Iowa after catching 19 balls for 191 yards. The 5-10, 198 pound receiver played in the slot 28.6% of the time and recorded 0.76 yards per route. The quarterback situation was so bad at Iowa that it’s tough to properly evaluate Bruce’s performance. De’Zhaun Stribling also comes in from Washington State. Stribling stands 6-3, 204 pounds and caught 51 balls for 602 yards and five scores last year. He played in the slot 45.8% of the time and his 1.43 yards per route ranked 43rd in the PAC12 last year.
Talyn Shettron could see a larger role after entering the program as a four-star recruit last year. He was the 162nd player in that class. Rashod Owen also returns after contributing intermittently. His best season came in 2021 with 17 catches for 257 yards. Ultimately, this position has a lot to prove, but there shouldn’t be a massive step back this season.
Tight End
Oklahoma State varies their personnel a ton. Sometimes they use a tight end. Sometimes they use an H-Back. Sometimes they simply opt to trot out four wide receivers. This leads to a number of questions at the position, but Oklahoma State took a pair of transfers at tight end. Ian Edenfield comes in from California University of Pennsylvania in DII. Josiah Johnson comes in from UMass for his sixth season. He caught 24 balls for 163 yards last year.
Braden Cassity and Jake Schultz remain in place as well. Cassity is 6-2, 240 pounds and caught five passes last year. He blocked on 69.6% of his snaps. Schultz only played 183 snaps, but he followed a similar ratio. This position has a surprising number of bodies for an offense that historically underutilizes tight ends.
Offensive Line
Oklahoma State lost left tackle Caleb Etienne and right guard Hunter Woodard this offseason. Etienne actually didn’t play well for most of last year, but losing his experience hurts. Instead, Oklahoma State will likely turn to Texas State transfer Dalton Cooper at the tackle position. Cooper has three years of starting experience with Texas State and previously earned Freshman All-American honors.
Left guard looks like Jason Brooks Jr., who missed some time with injury last year. He ultimately ended up playing 516 snaps after transferring over from Vanderbilt. Preston Wilson returns at center after 632 snaps. However, he battled some injuries last year, which allowed Joe Michalski to receive some quality snaps as well. Both will be options on the interior this year.
From there, Oklahoma State should get back Cole Birmingham from injury. He played 1,047 snaps in 2021, which mostly came at left tackle. However, he did play a little bit of guard that year. Birmingham could play either position, if fully healthy. Oklahoma State also returns former walk-on Jake Springfield), who played 856 snaps last year and now has three years of starting experience. Most of his experience came at right tackle so far. Ultimately, this group probably gets shaken up this summer to find the best starting five, but it should be in a solid place without any further injuries.
Oklahoma State Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense
Oklahoma State ranked 53rd in overall defense in 2022. This comes as a bit of a surprise, but this defense really tailed off towards the end of the season due to injury. Regardless, they now change defensive coordinators and likely make additional changes on this side of the ball. This included the 65th-ranked run defense, 48th-ranked pass rush and 61st-ranked secondary. The Cowboys’ defense lost a lot of contributors this offseason, but there may be some addition by subtraction situation. Oklahoma State’s recruiting has hit a bit of a tough patch, so they will rely on the five defense transfers to help ease the losses.
Defensive Line
It looks like Oklahoma State will move to three defensive linemen this year. They still lost a pair of edge rushers in Brock Martin and Tyler Lacy. This leaves Kody Walterscheid as the top returning edge after playing 313 snaps last year. He recorded one sack and one tackle for loss, but he will be relied upon much more this season. Oklahoma State also added Tulsa transfer Anthony Goodlaw. While he only finished with three sacks last year, he brings three years of starting experience to the defense. Nathan Latu should also play a larger role in this rotation after 144 snaps last year.
On the interior Oklahoma State lost Sione Asi. They return 333 snaps from incumbent Collin Clay, but this could another position reliant on transfers. Justin Kirkland comes over from Utah Tech after a solid season there. He stands 6-4, 295 pounds and should help clogging the middle.
Linebacker
The new system uses three linebackers, which explains Collin Oliver‘s position change. Previously an edge, Oliver played 462 snaps last year and led the team with 5.0 sacks. Oliver recorded 7.5 tackles for loss and 28 tackles as well. This skillset gives him the ability to rotate across the defense. As for true linebackers, Xavier Benson also returns after 894 snaps last year. He played solid football and ranked third on the team with 76 tackles. The final linebacker spot could be depth piece Jeff Roberson or one of Oklahoma State’s transfers. Justin Wright comes over from Tulsa after starting for three years there. He led their team with 101 tackles last year. Bryce Drummond also transferred in from North Texas. A former quarterback converted to linebacker, he projects as pure depth.
Defensive Back
The secondary lost plenty of production with Jason Taylor II, Jabbar Muhammad, Sean Michael Flanagan, and Thomas Harper all leaving. The corner position does return full time starter Korie Black after 716 snaps last year. Black certainly had his ups and downs, but he finished with four passes defensed and 25 tackles last year.
The team added Arkansas State transfer Kenneth Harris to compete for the other corner spot. He broke up six passes last year. Harris will likely compete with returner Cam Smith, who played 462 snaps last year. Smith struggled at times, but gives Oklahoma State depth and experience here. In the slot, Trey Rucker will likely be given a shot. Rucker started the bowl game against Wisconsin and previously started for Wake Forest. While still unproven, Oklahoma State decided to ride with their depth in the secondary for the most part.
At safety, the team returns nickel safety Kendal Daniels. Daniels rotated between safety and slot corner last year, playing 652 snaps overall. He defended five passes and notched three interceptions. His 71 tackles were also fourth on the team. Expect him to move between safety and nickel this year. The other safety spot looks like Lardarius Webb Jr.. Webb played at the JUCO level the past two seasons. He was All-MACCC both seasons at Jones College and fielded offers from around the country. While not the deepest position, Oklahoma State appears to have a talented secondary.
2023 Oklahoma State Football Schedule & Predictions
Oklahoma State Football 2023 Schedule
From a scheduling perspective, Oklahoma State did themselves a favor scheduling Central Arkansas, Arizona State, and South Alabama in non-conference. Traveling to Arizona State could be dangerous, but that team is in the midst of a rebuild. For conference play, Oklahoma State has to play Kansas State and Oklahoma. Otherwise, they dodge almost all of the strongest teams in the conference, including Texas. Games like UCF and Kansas could be close to pick’ems, but Oklahoma State still doesn’t have a difficult schedule.
Oklahoma State Football Futures Bet & Prediction
Interestingly, sportsbooks are predicting Gundy’s worst finish since he took over the program in 2005. Oklahoma State has failed to meet recruiting standards and instead lived through the portal in recent years. This creates a lot of questions, despite an easy schedule. Ultimately, this line comes in fairly priced, but over 6.5 wins sitting at +122 looks interesting. Gundy’s track record alone almost warrants a sprinkle here.
Best Oklahoma State Football Futures Bet: Over 6.5 Wins +122 at FanDuel
You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!
- Alabama Season Preview & Predictions
- Arkansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Auburn Season Preview & Predictions
- Georgia Season Preview & Predictions
- Kentucky Season Preview & Predictions
- LSU Season Preview & Predictions
- Mississippi State Season Preview & Predictions
- Missouri Season Preview & Predictions
- Ole Miss Season Preview & Predictions
- South Carolina Season Preview & Predictions
- Tennessee Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas A&M Season Preview & Predictions
