Five Thoughts on the 2018 Oklahoma State Football Schedule

The 2018 Oklahoma State football schedule was released on Thursday, and it’s pretty weird. Oklahoma State will have only played two road games before November next year, and one of them will be at Kansas. Then its November gauntlet will be among the toughest in college football.

Here are five thoughts I have about next year’s schedule.

1. Non-Conference Still Stinks

Missouri State, South Alabama and Boise State. Combined losses so far this year: 12. When “at least they’re all at home” is the nonconference scheduling nugget you’re hanging your mullet on, that’s not a great thing.

As a fan, I hate it.

As a blogger, I hate it.

As someone who uses Mike Gundy’s overall record as the head coach of Oklahoma State to prove that he’s a pretty great coach, it’s not the worst thing in the world.

2. QB1?

As literally every Oklahoma State fan I know has pointed out, the first six games will be a nice crash course for Keondre Wudtee Taylor Cornelius Jelani Woods Spencer Sanders before the big boys come calling. Kansas State in Manhattan is a wake-up call before the bye, but you couldn’t ask for an easier transition into the full-time job for whoever takes the reins for Rudolph.

3. The Five Games After the Bye

?

Things change rapidly, I know, but the even years feel like the harder years now, don’t they? You do get Kansas and Baylor on the road which is easy, but you have to go to TCU, OU and Kansas State. TCU and Texas probably cancel each other out. Same with WVU and Kansas State. But there’s not really an answer for OU in this year, although I’m not sure if it matters anymore whether OSU plays OU in Stillwater, Norman or on a battleship over the Pacific Ocean.

The one solace in even-numbered years? You don’t have to go to or think about Ames until college basketball season.

4. Big 12 Title Implications

Remember when the Big 12 was going to try and avoid a back-to-back Big 12 title matchup? If this schedule was made for 2017, it might have played right into that with the TCU-OSU game coming in the final week. That probably won’t be the case next year — Oklahoma State won’t be a Big 12 favorite — but one of these years the league is going to accidentally schedule the two best teams in the league in the final week, and that’s going to be a great metaphor for this conference overall.

Thankfully they won’t be promoting or highlighting any of it anyway so nobody outside this part of the country will know the difference.

Side note here: How many points is OU going to lose to West Virginia by on the Friday night after Thanksgiving in Morgantown?

Other side note: West Virginia’s November includes at Texas, at Oklahoma State and TCU and OU at home. Dana might not sleep between Halloween and December.

5. Home Cooking

After Saturday’s game against West Virginia, eight of Oklahoma State’s next 10 regular season college football games are inside BPS. As one commenter noted, “5 home games before Oct 7 = hot as hell inside BPS,” which is true. But it’s also true that Oklahoma State has been fantastic at home under Gundy.

Since 2010, OSU is 39-10 at home under Gundy and 35-4 when favored. They’ll likely be favored in most of those eight home games, if not all of them. That bodes well for a stretch run in 2017 and unearthing whatever it is this team looks like to start 2018 because I don’t see a Central Michigan logo on the slate again until 2022.