Three Things to Know about Oklahoma State’s Season Opener against UT-Martin

The Cowboys kick off their 2025 season on Thursday with a visit from an FCS opponent, but it’s more about what the Cowboys can learn about themselves than who’s playing from the other sideline.

We already know who’s taking the first snaps at QB, even if both Hauss Hejny and Zane Flores are expected to see the field. But let’s look at some other things to watch out for as the Pokes break the seal on 2025.

1. OSU Still Needs to Figure Out the RB Rotation

The Cowboys’ initial depth chart for 2025 included no defined hierarchy for the ball carriers, with five running backs separated only by an “OR.” Now that Ollie Gordon II is a Dolphin, OSU needs to settle on a bellcow to run its offense through, and that question still seems up in the air. It’s a varied group in terms of physical traits, style and experience with apparently all of the following still in the running for reps.

Trent Howland
Rodney Fields Jr.
Freddie Brock
Kalib Hicks
Sesi Vailahi

With several hungry mouths to feed, some healthy competition in Week 1 may not be the worst thing. And they may not be running through a wet paper. UT-Martin did rank sixth in the FCS in rush defense last season. Also, it wasn’t long ago that an early nebulous RB rotation materialized into the Jaylen Warren season.

2. Throw Out the Numbers

Normally, I would try to prop up some type of expectation for what we can expect from the Cowboys, but what is the point?

No need to look at last year’s offense ranking within the Big 12, or why the Cowboys were able to hang 44 on South Dakota State. There’s no real reason to project how many more Big 12 wins the Cowboys will have than last year until we see them on the field. It’s kind of a clean slate.

The Cowboys have more than 60 new players on their roster, and virtually an entire new coaching staff below Mike Gundy. So there are few variables that we can point to from last year that will have any real effect on how things play this fall. On the bright side, most of those numbers we’d be pointing to were pretty ugly. So we can start from ugly, or we can start from zero. Either way you look at it there’s nowhere to go but up.

3. All the (Exciting) New Faces

Week 1 is often an opportunity for newcomers to make their first big play in front of the home crowd, but the more casual Cowboy fans may want to keep a numerical roster handy. Including freshmen and a mass of incoming transfers, more than half the Cowboys’ roster will suit up for the first time Thursday night. And with the abovementioned ORs still littering OSU’s depth chart, it can be hard to know what to expect.

Such is college football in the days of the portal and NIL and all the get-off-my-lawn buzzwords I can muster. It makes things a bit more uncertain, if not exciting. For a team that’s looking to completely flip the script from last season in a conference that’s known for parity, that could make for some provocative football regardless of the opponent. And for a fanbase thirsty for something to cheer for, it could make things downright exciting.