Daily Bullets (Aug. 29): WSJ Cites Money for Rising and Falling in Stillwater, Tre Lamb’s Two (Very) Different Quotes

Thanks for stopping by – here’s your daily dose of Oklahoma State sports news.

Three Thoughts

• The financial crew at The Wall Street Journal did an article on OSU Football – citing money as a son for upside and the reason for Mike Gundy’s fall. 

The Cowboys’ player payroll has increased significantly and will exceed $24 million this season, a school official said.

It was the Cowboys’ slow embrace of player pay that doomed previous coach Mike Gundy. He presided over the program’s best-ever stretch, with a 65% win rate over two decades.

But his progress hit a wall when he, the school and its donors balked at sharply rising prices for talent. [WSJ]

• The PFB crew did a “mega-podcast” going through the schedule, excellent stuff for building your pick for OSU’s record this season (PFB)

• Something changed between last year and this year at the University of Tulsa but here’s two different quotes from their head coach a year apart – concerning playing the Cowboys:

“There’s no reason we can’t compete with the Oklahoma States of the world and the Kansas States of the world.” (Underdog Dynasty)

“This is the most talented team we’re gonna play,” Lamb said. “That’s just what I told the guys. I do feel that way. I think they have a first-round quarterback. I think Coach Morris is a really good evaluator of talent, him and his staff, Raj (Murti), their GM. They’ve done an unreal job of bringing good players in, and we know what’s in front of us… This is not an American Conference game, this is the Big 12. It’s a different world.” (PFB)

“This is the most talented team we’re gonna play… This is the Big 12. It’s a different world.”@CoachTreLamb9

“We’ve got 10 days to get it fixed.” pic.twitter.com/lHfc50wJKH

— Jeremie Poplin (@jeremiepoplin) August 27, 2026

Two Quotes

• Eric Morris talked about how great everything has been through fall camp – and that he’s excited to break that internal feedback loop by playing somebody else.

 “…I’m looking forward to playing somebody else, really to figure out where we are, what we’re good at, what we can [hang] our hat on and then also as a coach, what we did poorly, what we’re gonna do poorly and how we start fixing all those problems that arise during the course of the game.” [PFB]

• Chad Weiberg didn’t put a win expectation/ceiling on his head football coach, but he did establish a floor. 

‘I think it’s certainly fair to have the expectation that we’re gonna be bowl eligible. … But that’s sorta the floor. I’m not ready to set any kind of cap on where we can go beyond that.’ Chad Weiberg talked season expectations and more on Big 12 Today. https://t.co/vtcNny2kdX

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) August 28, 2026

One Question

• Drew Mestemaker on expectations for this season – “I expect to light it up.” When was the last time any quarterback threw around those kinds of words in Stillwater?

Non-OSU Bullets

• An FBS oversight committee is making changes, including moving up the season

• See what lift targets a muscle group by clicking on this diagram

Gosh this would be fun. 

This is actually the best version of alignment, but no one will admit it. https://t.co/1Tu7yzQMPr

— Aggies Recruiting (@AggiesRecruitEx) August 28, 2026