Oklahoma State's rebuild rolls on against an FCS opponent that hasn't won a game in nearly two years — this one's less about drama and more about answers.
Bush’s Picks
MUROKST
MUROKST
OverUnder
Best BetOklahoma State
Oklahoma State is the easy side here — a Big 12 program retooling under a new staff against an FCS team that hasn't won since 2024. The Cowboys bring a portal-built roster and an offense that led the nation in yards a season ago at North Texas, while Murray State is still finding its footing with dozens of new faces of its own.
Murray State
+Massive roster overhaul brings fresh depth, energy
+Extra reps valuable for young, freshman-heavy roster
−0-11 in 2025, 1-22 under Wright since 2024
−Playing up a level against Big 12 competition
Oklahoma State
+New staff imports nation's-No.1-yardage offense from North Texas
+Mestemaker reunites with Morris after strong North Texas run
−Brand-new roster (80+ newcomers) still gelling
−Coaching change came mid-2025, chemistry still developing
Eric Morris didn't take the Oklahoma State job to play it safe. After Mike Gundy's 21-year run ended with a 1-2 start in 2025, the Cowboys blew up the roster — more than 80 new players, 62 of them portal transfers — and Morris brought quarterback Drew Mestemaker and a chunk of his old North Texas staff with him. By the time the Racers roll into Stillwater on Saturday, September 19, this Oklahoma State team will look almost nothing like the one that got Gundy fired.
Murray State represents the exact kind of get-right spot a new staff wants early in the year. The Racers are rebuilding too, just from a much deeper hole — Jody Wright's team went 0-11 in 2025 and has now lost 22 of 23 games under him dating back to 2024. Wright has leaned into total roster turnover of his own, with over 80 newcomers on this year's Murray State squad, but replacing that much of a losing roster takes time the MVFC schedule hasn't given him yet.
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MUR Murray State
OKST Oklahoma State
The gap here isn't just record-based, it's tier-based — Murray State plays in the FCS Missouri Valley Football Conference, a level down from Oklahoma State's Big 12. Games like this exist for programs in transition to find rhythm without much resistance, and for a Cowboys team still installing a new offense and identity, that's exactly the assignment this week.
Murray State Racers
Sep 5?@ Middle Tennessee—
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Sep 12?vs Oregon—
Sep 5?@ Tulsa—
Recent form.
What actually matters for Oklahoma State fans is how the new-look pieces look in live action. Morris's offense led the country in yards at North Texas, and Mestemaker is the engine of it — this is a chance to see how quickly that system translates against anybody, even a clearly overmatched one. For Murray State, the value is more about developing young talent than chasing an upset; a roster with 54 freshmen needs snaps more than it needs a signature win.
Don't expect much drama in Stillwater. This is a measuring-stick game for one side and a rebuilding rep for the other, and the roster and conference-level gap between these two programs is about as wide as it gets on a college football Saturday.
