How will Oklahoma State football fare in 2023? Here are our game-by-game predictions
STILLWATER — The season opener creeps ever closer for the Oklahoma State football team, which hosts Central Arkansas at 6 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium.
How will the Cowboys’ season go? It depends if you’re a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty type of person. The preseason presented plenty of reasons for excitement and plenty of reason for skepticism.
The defense seems to be full of talent and athletic ability, but it’s also a new scheme being run by lots of new players.
The offensive line has installed new blocking schemes that appear to have invigorated the run game, but those schemes are being run by mostly the same linemen who struggled to open holes last season.
The quarterback position should be less polarizing than it was when Spencer Sanders was leading the way, but will the group be talented enough to return the Cowboys to winning the way they had been accustomed to?
Will the optimism be fulfilled, or will uncertainty overwhelm the positives of a new-look squad?
To kick off the season, let’s dive into some predictions. The Oklahoman’s Scott Wright and Jacob Unruh offer their picks and thoughts for each game:
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Saturday vs. Central Arkansas, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wright: OSU 49, Central Arkansas 12
Mike Gundy says he’ll play multiple quarterbacks. He could play six of them and still win this easily.
Unruh: OSU 48, Central Arkansas 20
The Cowboys might need an adjustment period for the scheme changes, but against an overpowered FCS team it won’t make much difference.
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Sept. 9 at Arizona State, 9:30 p.m., FS1
Wright: OSU 31, Arizona State 17
The Sun Devils will be better by the time they join the Big 12 next year, but right now, they’re still experiencing the downside of so much turnover.
Unruh: OSU 27, Arizona State 17
The loss of a potential bowl game can be deflating. Ask OSU’s basketball team after the postseason hopes were taken away days before the season began. That hangover only helps the Cowboys in the desert.
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Sept. 16 vs. South Alabama, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wright: South Alabama 27, OSU 21
This South Alabama team would probably be one of the five best teams in the Big 12 this year, so the Cowboys better be on high alert.
Unruh: OSU 31, South Alabama 24
South Alabama is a veteran team that can make things interesting. But ultimately, the edge should go to the Cowboys in a home environment with Big 12 play looming.
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Sept. 23 at Iowa State
Wright: OSU 20, Iowa State 13
The Cyclones will face some struggles offensively, but that defense will be stout again, and these two always have tight games at Jack Trice Stadium.
Unruh: OSU 38, Iowa State 21
Who knows what to expect from the Cyclones as they navigate through the online gambling scheme that has left them short-handed on the field. That’s enough to put faith in the Cowboys to get a needed road victory.
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Oct. 6 vs. Kansas State, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Wright: OSU 30, Kansas State 27
A Friday night thriller with a rocking Boone Pickens Stadium crowd giving the Pokes a little extra juice.
Unruh: Kansas State 34, OSU 28
It won’t be the blowout of last season, but the Wildcats are a preseason favorite to return to Arlington for the Big 12 title game for a reason. And it starts with quarterback Will Howard, who gave OSU all kinds of problems a year ago.
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Oct. 14: Kansas
Wright: Kansas 28, OSU 24
Kansas QB Jalon Daniels continues his pursuit of Big 12 Player of the Year by leading the Jayhawks to a big road win.
Unruh: OSU 38, Kansas 35
This could actually be a shootout, but the Cowboys’ new 3-3-5 defense sets up well against a quarterback like Jalon Daniels, who did not have an impact in the rout of OSU a year ago.
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Oct. 21 at West Virginia
Wright: OSU 34, West Virginia 20
The Cowboys seem unstoppable in Morgantown and that trend continues as they bounce back from their first conference loss of the season.
Unruh: OSU 28, West Virginia 14
The Cowboys have had a lot of success in West Virginia and there is no reason to believe otherwise against a team picked to finish last in the Big 12.
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Oct. 28 vs. Cincinnati
Wright: OSU 42, Cincinnati 17
In front of the homecoming crowd, the Pokes will pour it on the Big 12 newcomers from up north.
Unruh: OSU 35, Cincinnati 24
The classic trap game, but the Cowboys have a way to avoid that if they stay focused. And a win over a program that’s rebuilding just two years after making the College Football Playoff instead of the Cowboys would be valuable.
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Nov. 4 vs. OU
Wright: OSU 35, OU 34
A Bedlam win for the ages to close the door — at least for the foreseeable future — on this wonderful series.
Unruh: OU 28, OSU 27
Being months away, the Sooners are the safe pick based on past history. Their improved defense could be a problem against an OSU offense that has struggled the past year.
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Nov. 11 at Central Florida
Wright: Central Florida 31, OSU 28
Beware the Bedlam hangover. Central Florida will show some offensive creativity that the Cowboys have not seen before and steal one in Orlando.
Unruh: UCF 34, OSU 31
Call it the Bedlam hangover or whatever you want, but this game lines up to be a problem for the Cowboys, even if they take down OU leading into the trip to Orlando.
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Nov. 18 at Houston
Wright: OSU 38, Houston 17
Houston coach Dana Holgorsen is back in the Big 12 — again — but it looks to be a difficult season for his Cougars. The Cowboys should roll here, especially bouncing back from the UCF loss.
Unruh: OSU 41, Houston 21
The Cougars are expected to struggle and this sets up for a nice bounce back win for the Cowboys on the road against former offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen.
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Nov. 25 vs. BYU
Wright: OSU 28, BYU 14
A Thanksgiving feast to finish off a 9-3 season. Could it have been better? Sure. But considering the challenges this program faced since mid-October of 2022, this shows that Gundy has the Pokes back on track.
Unruh: OSU 29, BYU 27
The Cowboys end the year with three wins against the four new programs in the conference (four in five games if you include Arizona State) to flex their muscles a bit regarding the future of the Big 12.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football game-by-game predictions for 2023 OSU Cowboys
