2018 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

The 2018 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cowboys played their home games at the Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma and competed in the Big 12 Conference. They were led by 14th-year head coach Mike Gundy. They finished the season 7–6, 3–6 in Big 12 play to finish tied for seventh. They were invited to the Liberty Bowl where they defeated #24 Missouri 38-33, ending the season with a 4-1 record against teams in the top 25.

2018 Oklahoma State Cowboys football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 38–33 vs. Missouri
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Record	7–6 (3–6 Big 12)
Head coach	Mike Gundy (14th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Yurcich (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Jim Knowles (1st season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Boone Pickens Stadium
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Big 12 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Oklahoma y$^		8	–	1					12	–	2
No. 9 Texas y		7	–	2					10	–	4
Iowa State		6	–	3					8	–	5
No. 20 West Virginia		6	–	3					8	–	4
TCU		4	–	5					7	–	6
Baylor		4	–	5					7	–	6
Oklahoma State		3	–	6					7	–	6
Kansas State		3	–	6					5	–	7
Texas Tech		3	–	6					5	–	7
Kansas		1	–	8					3	–	9
Championship: Oklahoma 39, Texas 27
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Chuck Bednarik Award[1]	Justin Phillips	LB	SR
Doak Walker Award[2]	Justice Hill	RB	JR
Butkus Award[3]	Justin Phillips	LB	SR
Outland Trophy[4]	Marcus Keyes	OL	JR
Lou Groza Award[5]	Matt Ammendola	K	JR
Walter Camp Award[6]	Justice Hill	RB	JR
Ted Hendricks Award[7]	Jordan Brailford	DE	JR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[8]	Taylor Cornelius	QB	SR

Big 12 media poll

The Big 12 media poll was released on July 12, 2018, with the Cowboys predicted to finish in fifth place.^[9]

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Oklahoma	509 (46)
2	West Virginia	432 (2)
3	TCU	390 (1)
4	Texas	370 (1)
5	Oklahoma State	300
6	Kansas State	283 (2)
7	Iowa State	250
8	Texas Tech	149
9	Baylor	125
10	Kansas	52

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:00 p.m.	Missouri State*		Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	FS1	W 58–17	50,103
September 8	7:00 p.m.	South Alabama*		Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	FSN	W 55–13	53,923
September 15	2:30 p.m.	No. 17 Boise State*	No. 24	Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	ESPN	W 44–21	54,974
September 22	6:00 p.m.	Texas Tech	No. 15	Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	FS1	L 17–41	53,166
September 29	11:00 a.m.	at Kansas		David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	FSN	W 48–28	18,364
October 6	2:30 p.m.	Iowa State	No. 25	Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	ESPN2	L 42–48	52,995
October 13	11:00 a.m.	at Kansas State		Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium Manhattan, KS	ESPNU	L 12–31	50,245
October 27	7:00 p.m.	No. 5 Texas		Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	ABC	W 38–35	56,790
November 3	11:00 a.m.	at Baylor		McLane Stadium Waco, TX	FS1	L 31–35	43,492
November 10	2:30 p.m.	at No. 6 Oklahoma		Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam Series)	ABC	L 47–48	87,635
November 17	2:30 p.m.	No. 7 West Virginia		Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	ABC	W 45–41	52,842
November 24	7:00 p.m.	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	FOX	L 24–31	42,394
December 31	2:45 p.m.	vs. No. 24 Missouri*		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ESPN	W 38–33	76,468
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[10]

Game summaries

Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	7	10	0	17
Cowboys	17	14	14	13	58

See also: 2018 Missouri State Bears football team

South Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	7	6	0	0	13
Cowboys	14	17	10	14	55

See also: 2018 South Alabama Jaguars football team

Boise State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Broncos	0	7	14	0	21
No. 24 Cowboys	0	17	17	10	44

See also: 2018 Boise State Broncos football team

Texas Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Raiders	7	17	10	7	41
No. 15 Cowboys	10	7	0	0	17

See also: 2018 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team

At Kansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	14	10	10	14	48
Jayhawks	0	7	7	14	28

See also: 2018 Kansas Jayhawks football team

Iowa State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cyclones	9	21	10	8	48
No. 25 Cowboys	7	14	7	14	42

See also: 2018 Iowa State Cyclones football team

Iowa State's Freshman Brock Purdy replaced Zeb Noland at quarterback and passed 18-for-23 for 318 yards and produced four touchdowns. He then ran for another 84 yards and another score.^[11] The final score was a loss for the Cowboys at 48-42.^[12]

At Kansas State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	3	3	0	6	12
Wildcats	0	3	14	14	31

See also: 2018 Kansas State Wildcats football team

The previous week loss against Iowa State put extra pressure on the Cowboys to win coming into the game against Kansas State. Some of the issues the Cowboys bring in to the include lack of discipline, a disconnected defense, and a failure to force turnovers on defense. The 2018 loss to Iowa State had many similarities to the 2017 game between Oklahoma State and Kansas State that resulted in a K-State victory 45-40.^[12]

Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Longhorns	7	7	7	14	35
Cowboys	17	14	0	7	38

See also: 2018 Texas Longhorns football team

At Baylor

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	7	3	14	7	31
Bears	0	14	7	14	35

See also: 2018 Baylor Bears football team

Oklahoma

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	14	14	7	12	47
No. 6 Sooners	14	20	7	7	48

See also: 2018 Oklahoma Sooners football team

West Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 7 Mountaineers	14	17	0	10	41
Cowboys	7	7	10	21	45

See also: 2018 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

At TCU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	3	0	7	14	24
Horned Frogs	0	7	17	7	31

See also: 2018 TCU Horned Frogs football team

Vs. Missouri (Liberty Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	7	7	21	3	38
No. 24 Tigers	3	13	3	14	33

See also: 2018 Missouri Tigers football team and 2018 Liberty Bowl

Statistics

Scoring

Scores against non-conference opponents

1 2 3 4 Total Opponents 0 Oklahoma State 0

Scores against the Big 12

1 2 3 4 Total Opponents 0 Oklahoma State 0

Scores against all opponents

1 2 3 4 Total Opponents 0 Oklahoma State 0

Rankings

Further information: 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	RV	24	15	RV	25	—	—	—	RV	—	—	—	—	—	RV
Coaches	25	23	19	15	21	21	—	—	—	RV	—	—	RV	—	—	—
CFP	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2019 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
4	113	Justice Hill	RB	Baltimore Ravens
7	253	Jordan Brailford	DE	Washington Redskins