College Football Rankings 2020: Projected preseason Top 25 sans Pac-12, Big Ten

14. Oklahoma State Cowboys

• Where they were ranked in the 2019 preseason: T-42nd (3 points)
• Where they were ranked at the end of 2019: unranked (0 points)
• Where they were in our way-too-early Top 25: 18th
• Where they ranked in the preseason Coaches Poll: 16th (524 points)

The big talk this offseason was not about how Oklahoma State might have their best challenger for the Big 12 title in years but rather the fallout from a T-shirt worn by head coach Mike Gundy. When a photo of Gundy in a shirt with the logo of far-right media outlet OANN went viral, star running back Chuba Hubbard called out the optics and demanded change. A slew of support for Hubbard quickly followed from past and present players.

Then Gundy and Hubbard appeared in what can only be described as a propaganda recoding, with Hubbard apologizing and the head coach taking the lowest rung of responsibility possible for his part in the kerfuffle. He later accepted a salary reduction and issued a tepid apology, but it remains to be seen whether Hubbard and his teammates truly buy into the program after a tense offseason exacerbated by COVID-19 (and Gundy’s comments in that regard as well).

Still, with the top running back in the country back in the fold, Oklahoma State has a real chance to threaten for the conference crown. The Cowboys return a loaded offense and an even more stacked defense, raising hopes in Stillwater to a fever pitch. Most outlets have been high on this team since the end of last season, even though Oklahoma State fell 24-21 to Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl.

Motivation and momentum are always huge in college football, and Oklahoma State will be highly rated even though we can’t exactly know where the motivation of players like Hubbard is at until games start being played.