OSU hosts Murray State to wrap up nonconference play

Saturday, September 19

Stillwater, OK

6 p.m. CT

Oklahoma State University

Murray State

Tickets From $65 - $340

September 15, 2026 | Cowboy Football

Complete notes available here

The Basics
The Oklahoma State football team (1-1 overall; 0-0 Big 12) hosts Murray State (1-2 overall; 0-0 MVFC) in the Cowboys' final regular season nonconference game of the 2026 season at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, September 19, at Boone Pickens Stadium. It marks the first matchup between the two programs.

Single-Game Tickets Sold Out
Single-game tickets for Saturday's game are sold out, but fans can still secure their ticket through a limited number of season ticket packages or by purchasing through SeatGeek, the official secondary partner of OSU Athletics. Single-game inventory for OSU's Homecoming matchup with Colorado is also sold out, and the single-game inventory for OSU's other three home games is moving quickly. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets soon to secure their spot at Boone Pickens Stadium this season. Tickets are available at www.okstate.com/tickets or by contacting the ticket office at 877-ALL-4-OSU.

On the Air
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with James Westling and Jeff Woody on the call. It will also be carried live on the Cowboy Radio Network, with Dave Hunziker handling play-by-play, John Holcomb providing analysis and Deion Imade reporting from the sideline. Fans outside of the Cowboy Radio Network can listen to the OSU broadcast for free through The Varsity Network app.

A Perfect Record Against the FCS/I-AA
Murray State marks the lone FCS team on the Cowboys' schedule in 2026. Oklahoma State is 32-0 against FCS/NCAA Division I-AA opponents since Division I split in 1978, including one win in each of the past five seasons.

Honoring the 1976 Team
The annual Cowboy Football Reunion will be held this weekend and the 1976 Tangerine Bowl team will be honored as the team of special recognition as part OSU's matchup with Murray State. This season marks the 50-year anniversary for a 1976 squad that began the year unranked before a historic 31-24 Bedlam win in Norman over undefeated and fifth-ranked Oklahoma catapulted them into the national picture and paved the way for a share of the Big Eight Conference championship and OSU's first nine-win season in 31 years.

The win was part of three AP top 10 wins that year that still stand alone as a school single-season record. The others were a 21-14 win over No. 8 Kansas and a 20-19 Homecoming win over No. 10 Missouri. Those were just half of the ranked opponents the Cowboys faced in a brutal schedule that also included a 42-21 win over No. 14 Iowa State and road trips to No. 12 Arkansas and No. 9 Nebraska that saw the Pokes fall by less than a touchdown. The six AP-ranked opponents faced by OSU established a school record that has only been matched twice since then in 2014 and 2021, and the four wins over AP-ranked teams rank only behind the five of 2011 and 2021.

Those six contests were part of a regular season that gave OSU its first conference title since 1953 and sent the Cowboys to the Tangerine Bowl, where they defeated a nine-win BYU team, 49-21.

Individually, the Cowboys were led by College Football Hall of Fame running back Terry Miller, who finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy while rushing for more than 1,500 yards and more than 20 touchdowns. Other standouts included All-America center Derrel Gofourth, All-America defensive tackle Phillip Dokes, All-Big Eight defensive end Daria Butler, All-Big Eight kicker Abby Daigle, All-Big Eight punter Cliff Parsley, quarterback Charlie Weatherbie, linebacker John Weimer, linebacker John Corker and many more.

The offense totaled 39 rushing touchdowns on the year, which ranks second in school history only to 1988, as well as 3,085 rushing yards, which still ranks sixth in school history. The defense held opponents to just 3,430 total yards to rank as the seventh-best mark in OSU history and just 1,406 passing yards, which ranks third. It also set school records that still stand today with 30 fumbles forced and 31 fumbles recovered, and its 41 total turnovers forced are the seventh-most in program history.

The Series
Saturday's game marks the first matchup between Oklahoma State and Murray State. Eric Morris has never faced Murray State, and MSU coach Jody Wright has never faced Oklahoma State.

In the Rankings
The Oklahoma State football team is receiving votes in the AP Top 25 and US LBM Coaches Poll, reaching the equivalent of Nos. 29 and 36, respectively. With the exception of last year, the Cowboys have been ranked at some point in every season since 2008. Through the 2025 season, Oklahoma State has been ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll in 15 of the past 18 seasons and has reached the top 10 in 11 of those 18 years. Although the first College Football Playoff rankings won't be released until November, it's worth noting that OSU has been part of the CFP rankings in eight of the past 11 seasons entering 2026. The Cowboys have also been included in 43 of the all-time CFP Rankings, which ranks among the most appearances in the country. Murray State is not ranked in the FCS polls.

Oklahoma State from a Distance
After not winning a conference game in 2024 or 2025, Oklahoma State essentially pushed the reset button for the 2026 season.

OSU brought in head coach Eric Morris to take the reins of the Cowboy program, and he then brought in more than 40 new staff members and 91 new players to build a fresh foundation for the future. The 91 newcomers are strongly believed to be the most on one team in the history of major college football, surpassing Colorado's 87 in 2023. They came with experience, too, as the Cowboys added more than 45,000 Division I snaps of experience to bring their team total to nearly 55,000.

It hasn't taken long for the new group to make a big impact, as in game two Oklahoma State became the first team in college football history to end a double-digit losing streak against an AP top-10 team.

OSU's win over Oregon earned a long list of accolades, including being named the FWAA's Pops Tarts Bowl Crazy Good Team of the Week.

The Cowboys hauled in the individual accolades too, as quarterback Drew Mestemaker received multiple national players of the week honors and OSU nearly swept the conference players of the week as Mestemaker was honored for offense, linebacker Ethan Wesloski for defense and Sam Keltner for special teams. OSU was also named the offensive line and defensive line of the week.

The Eric Morris Era Begins
Eric Morris is in his inaugural season as Oklahoma State's head coach in 2026. He was named the 25th head coach in program history on November 25, 2025.

An elite offensive mind and talent developer, Morris had been the head coach at North Texas since 2023. His hire marked the first time since 1969 that Oklahoma State hired a sitting head coach and the first time in school history OSU hired a sitting head coach from a school that is in the FBS.

In three seasons at UNT, Morris built the Mean Green from a 5-7 record in his first season to a team that won 12 games in year three and reached a conference championship game with a College Football Playoff berth on the line. Those three seasons produced three of the top four seasons for total offense per game in North Texas history.
91 Newcomers Mark the Most in College Football History

The 2026 Oklahoma State roster features 91 newcomers, which is strongly believed to be the most on one team in the history of major college football, breaking the mark of 87 set by Colorado in 2023.

Newcomers make up 79% of the 115-man roster. The team includes 66 new transfers, 24 returning players, 13 returning letterwinners, five players who had at least four OSU starts last season and 18 total players who had played in a game for Oklahoma State prior to 2026. The transfers arrived with a combined total of 45,088 total snaps of Division I experience.

A Top-10 Transfer Portal Class
Of those 91 newcomers, 66 are new transfers (57% of the team). That group makes up a transfer portal class that ranks No. 7 in the nation according to both The Athletic and 247Sports.

An Oklahoma State Win Would ...
• Improve it to 33-0 against FCS/I-AA opponents since Division I split in 1978.
• Improve Eric Morris to 2-1 as Oklahoma State's head coach.
• Improve Eric Morris to 2-0 at Boone Pickens Stadium as OSU's head coach.
• Improve Eric Morris to 48-35 in his head coaching career.
• Improve Eric Morris to 15-13 in nonconference games.
• Improve Eric Morris to 1-0 against Murray State.
• Improve its all-time record against Murray State to 1-0.
• Mark its 136th win since the beginning of the 2010 season, ranking among the top 15 in the FBS.
• Make it 31-8 in its past 39 nonconference games and 53-14 in its past 67 non-conference games.

Notable Streaks and Trends Entering the Game
• Dating back to 2008, OSU is 83-14 when winning the turnover battle.
• Dating back to 2005, OSU is 50-7 when not committing a turnover.
• OSU has won 87 of its past 90 games when holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points, dating back to Sept. 13, 2003. Including games when opponents have scored 20 points or fewer, OSU has won 95 of its past 99.
• OSU is 41-23 in its past 64 games decided by fewer than 10 points.
• OSU is 53-10 in its past 63 games when leading at halftime, dating back to Sept. 17, 2016.
• OSU has won five of its past seven overtime games.
• Drew Mestemaker has passed for at least 200 yards in 17-straight games - the longest active streak in the FBS. He's passed for at least 250 yards in six of his past seven games.
• Mestemaker has thrown at least one touchdown in 16 of his past 17 games.
• Caleb Hawkins has scored multiple touchdowns in six of his past nine games. He's scored at least three touchdowns in five of his past eight.
• Hawkins has rushed for at least 100 yards in five of his past eight games.
• Wyatt Young has had more than 100 receiving yards in six of his past 10 games.
• Israel Polk has at least one catch in each of his past 24 games played.
• Miles Coleman has at least one catch in each of his past 21 games played.
• Wyatt Young has at least one catch in each of his past 17 games played.
• Caleb Hawkins has at least one catch in each of his past 15 games played.
• Chris Barnes has at least one catch in each of his past 14 games played.
• Ethan Wesloski has made at least one tackle in 41 consecutive games, including every game he's played since the beginning of the 2023 season. He's had at least four tackles in 13 straight games.
• Jack Puckett has made at least one tackle in 34 of the 36 games of his career and at least three tackles in 30 games. He played at the Div. II level until 2026.
• Isaiah Chisom has made at least two tackles in 28 straight games.
• Quinton Hammonds has made at least two tackles in 13 straight games.
• Jaleel Johnson has made at least two tackles in 10 of his past 11 games.
• Christian Bodnar has made at least three tackles in seven of his past eight games.
• LaDainian Fields has started eight straight games for OSU, the longest streak of any player on the roster.