Mike Gundy Earns Big 12 Coach of the Year Honor, Multiple Cowboys Make All-Big 12 Teams

With the Big 12 regular season coming to a close, yearly awards and honors are being handed out.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys' path to the Big 12 title game has been nothing short of conventional, yet they made their way to Arlington with a chance to become champions. In doing so, Mike Gundy was awarded the Big 12 Coach of the Year honors. 

The Cowboys -- despite starting 2-2 with losses to South Alabama and Iowa State -- finished the season 9-3 with some impressive wins along the way. After things went south early, Gundy and his coaching staff made crucial adjustments that led to a winning streak that saw the Cowboys put themselves in prime position to make the title game.

This is now the second time in the last three seasons that Gundy has earned this honor. Of course, the last was the 2021 season where the Cowboys also played in the Big 12 Championship with a College Football Playoff berth on the line. 

𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽

For the second time in three years @CoachGundy is your @big12conference Coach of The Year! He is top 3 all-time in Big 12 victories and helped guide the Cowboys to win 7 out of the last 8 games. 🤠#GoPokes | #DAT pic.twitter.com/1slbbMSmAB

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 29, 2023

Of course, the Cowboys' Big 12 awards and honors didn't stop with Gundy being Coach of the Year. Ollie Gordon was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, which fits how the season went. He was at the center of the team's turnaround.

Joining Gordon on the All-Big 12 First Team is Nick Martin, who led the Big 12 in tackles in his phenomenal breakout season. He led an incredible trio of linebackers to anchor the Cowboys' defense this season. 

Fittingly, linebacker Collin Oliver was one of three Cowboys to make the All-Big 12 Second Team. He was joined by Brennan Presley and Alex Hale. 

For Gundy to lead his team to turn around their season after the poor start, he's deserving of the award. The culture he established after the way their season ended just a year ago and the amount of outgoing transfers was quite impressive. The other head coach deserving of the award is Steve Sarkisian, who Gundy will be coaching against in the Big 12 title game. 

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