ESPN’s Greg McElroy puts Oklahoma State at No. 16 in preseason Top 25 rankings

Tony Adame

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ESPN’s Greg McElroy puts Oklahoma State at No. 16 in preseason Top 25 rankings image

Oklahoma State returns more starters than almost any team in the country and could very well find itself in the new, 12-team College Football Playoff — a big reason why ESPN’s Greg McElroy put the Cowboys at No. 16 in his preseason Top 25 rankings. 

Oklahoma State is one of six Big 12 teams to make the Top 25 along with No. 18 Utah, No. 19 Kansas State, No. 22 Arizona, No. 23 West Virginia and No. 24 Kansas. 

Oklahoma State returns one of the nation’s best players and a Heisman Trophy contender in running back Ollie Gordon II, who won the Doak Walker Award in 2023 with 1,734 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. 

Oklahoma State opens the season on Aug. 31 at home against two-time defending FCS national champion South Dakota State.

Tony Adame

Tony Adame Photo

Tony Adame covers the Big 12 Conference for The Sporting News. He is a graduate of Southern Oregon University and has been a sports journalist for 20 years. He has won APSE Awards for breaking news, games stories and feature writing. He is also the writer and host of the Florida Society of News Editors Award-winning podcast The Sheriff: Murder, Lies & Revenge in Okaloosa County for USA Today/Gannett.