Here’s what K-State is using as extra motivation for Oklahoma State road game
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- K-State has gone winless at Boone Pickens Stadium since 2017.
- Oklahoma State enters 2025 meeting amid an eight-game skid, coaching turnover.
- Wildcats cite the venue and past defeats as extra motivation to break the road streak.
No football venue in the Big 12 has bothered Kansas State more than Boone Pickens Stadium in recent years.
The Wildcats haven’t won a road game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys since 2017.
To put that year in perspective, Skylar Thompson was a redshirt-freshman quarterback making his first few starts for K-State and Chris Klieman was waiting for his big break as the head coach at North Dakota State.
Klieman and K-State have lost three straight games in Stillwater since then. None of them were particularly close. Oklahoma State won 26-13 in 2019, 31-20 in 2021 and 29-21 in 2023.
“We have never had great success in Stillwater,” Klieman said this week. “It’s a tough place to play.”
That is expected to change at 11 a.m. on Saturday when K-State heads to Oklahoma State as a massive (20.5-point) road favorite.
These aren’t the same Cowboys that have given the Wildcats fits over much of the past decade. Mike Gundy is no longer their coach. They have lost eight straight games this season. And they haven’t won a Big 12 game since 2023.
These days, Oklahoma State fans are best known for doing silly things in the stands instead of cheering on their team.
It will be downright embarrassing for K-State to lose another road game in this series. Tulsa, Baylor, Houston and Cincinnati have already won at Boone Pickens Stadium this year.
Still, K-State is not overlooking its next opponent. The location of this game made sure of that.
“It does motivate me,” K-State offensive lineman John Pastore said. “You hear that you haven’t won in Stillwater in however many years and it kind of hurts. I’ve been down there before, and we didn’t win. There is a little extra edge to go down there and finally win somewhere that you haven’t won in a while.”
Oklahoma State was traditionally tough at home during the Gundy era.
Much of that had to do with the quality teams he put on the field. But the Cowboys also benefit from a loud stadium and a loyal fan base.
“They get rowdy,” Pastore said. “The last time I was there they had the big paddles that they hit on the walls. They’re just a rowdy crowd, and I think they have a great atmosphere. But we’re hoping to change that this time.”
The Wildcats are motivated to end their road losing streak against the Cowboys.
“It’s always been a tough place for Kansas State to play,” defensive tackle Damian Ilalio said. “Down there ... I really don’t know the reason why we have struggled. But we’re very determined to get over that hump this weekend.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 10:18 AM with the headline "Here’s what K-State is using as extra motivation for Oklahoma State road game."