Cowboys Move Up in the Polls, Will Debut at No. 11 Against Tulsa

While many teams were kicking off their 2020 season, Oklahoma State was inactive thanks to a last-minute schedule tweak that pushed its opener against Tulsa back one week. But that didn’t stop the Cowboys from taking a step up in the polls.

Oklahoma State moved from No. 15 to 11 in the AP poll but that climb is more the result of some housecleaning than any big shakeup in Week 1.

Of the three other Big 12 teams listed in Week 1 poll, the league went 2-1. Oklahoma blew out Missouri State 48-zip and Texas put a similar beating on UTEP, 59-3. No. 23 Iowa State was upset by Louisiana-Lafayette, a game which landed the Ragin’ Cajuns at No. 19 and knocked the Cyclones out of the top 25 altogether.

Four teams that were ranked ahead of OSU — but whose conferences are not set to play this fall — were removed from the top 25: Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon and Wisconsin. For the same reason, OSU moved from 16th to 12th in the Amway Coaches Poll.

In all, nine preseason top 25 teams will sit out this fall. When you actually see that adjustment in print, it really lands just how much different this college football season will be.