AP Poll: The Cowboys Land at No. 19, Jumping into Top 25 after Road Win over West Virginia

After almost exactly two years on the outside of the Top 25, the Cowboys are ranked again.

Oklahoma State jumped into the AP poll at No. 19 after a demonstrative road win over West Virginia on Saturday night. The Cowboys were the fifth team out of the ranking in Week 3 with 50 votes. West Virginia had been the third team out receiving 93 last week.

The Cowboys were the first team out of the US LBM Coaches Poll, receiving 136 votes after receiving 36 a week ago.

Here’s a look at the full ranking.

The Cowboys have been outside the AP ranking since Sept. 29, 2024 (almost two years to the day) after dropping their second straight game to start Big 12 play. OSU started the 2024 season at No. 17 in the AP and rose as high as No. 13 after beating Arkansas before dropping to 20th.

Around the League

This means that five Big 12 teams are in the Top 25 with BYU leading the way at 10th, Texas Tech and Utah next at 12th and 13th, respectively, before OSU and Houston are paired up at 19th and 20th. The Cowboys still face two of those ranked opponents this year with a trip to Houston on Oct. 17 and then a home game versus Texas Tech Nov. 14.

Here’s how the conferences are represented.

SEC: 10
Big Ten: 6
Big 12: 5
ACC: 1
Independent: 1
G04: 2

Other Movement of in the Polls

Things always change once conference play gets going.

Ole Miss dropped from No. 4 to No. 9 after getting thumped by Florida 52-28. The Gators jumped from 21st to 8th. Texas A&M dropped from 23rd out of the ranking after the Aggies’ second loss, this one to LSU. The Tigers actually still dropped a spot to 11.

Oregon, which had dropped to 21st, dismantled No. 12 USC 41-27. The Ducks are back up to 15th. No. 13 Penn State fell out of the ranking after losing a close one to unranked Wisconsin. No. 16 Louisville also dropped out after losing to unranked Wake Forest.