Past 2-2 Starts Provide Hope For Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is in uncommon territory at 2-2, but Mike Gundy’s teams have been in this situation before.
Since the Cowboys’ illustrious 2011 Big 12 Championship season, they have started 2-2 just three times, including this season. In the previous two instances, the Cowboys rebounded and made their way to a bowl game.
OSU was in vastly different situations in those two seasons, but this season’s team can learn valuable lessons from both. The first of those was the 2012 campaign, and it had some clear similarities to this 2023 squad.
The most interesting is that in 2012, Gundy used three quarterbacks throughout the season, but in a different way than this season. Injuries plagued the Cowboys quarterback situation that season as original starter Wes Lunt went out with injuries multiple times, leaving the door open for J.W. Walsh and Clint Chelf.
Lunt and Walsh were both freshmen and were the first two leaders of an electric offense. The search for Brandon Weeden’s replacement eventually turned into Chelf’s job.
But Chelf got almost no opportunities as OSU started 2-2. He appeared in only two of those four games and threw only eight passes.
Although the Cowboys are playing three quarterbacks this season, the 2023 offense is not comparable to 2012’s. It certainly helped that Todd Monken was the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
The 2012 team failed to get 30 points only once in 13 tries, a mark this season’s team has yet to make. Monken’s offense averaged more than 55 points in the first four games, including an 84-0 rout of Savannah State.
Thanks to the explosive offense, OSU navigated the season with a winning record. OSU finished 8-5 with a bowl win against Purdue.
Meanwhile, the 2016 OSU team was also coming off a great season, but it did not lose its big playmakers like 2012. Mason Rudolph and James Washington came into the season with big expectations, making their 2-2 start more disappointing.
The Cowboys failed to recreate their 10-0 start from 2015, but it was much worse than that. A tight game against Central Michigan in week two gave the Cowboys their first loss in 2016.
The infamous Cooper Rush Hail Mary gave Central Michigan a shocking victory. It also took OSU out of College Football Playoff contention early.
If that did not knock OSU out of the CFP race, a sloppy loss to Baylor in game four sealed its fate. Still, that did not kill OSU’s season.
The Cowboys went on to win their next seven games heading into a Bedlam matchup. The Sooners took care of business in Norman and sent the Cowboys to 9-3.
Despite its original 2-2 start, OSU finished with 10 wins, thanks to a dominant win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. While there are many things the 2023 team can learn from each of these seasons, there is one important goal that OSU needs to accomplish.
Win game five.
If the Cowboys lose to Kansas State, it will be much more notable than simply failing to follow the paths of the 2012 and 2016 teams. Since Gundy took over as head coach in 2005, the Cowboys have never had a losing record through five games.
The last time OSU began 2-3 was in 2002, and even that team went on to finish 8-5. If the Cowboys fall under .500, they will be in territory uncharted for more than two decades, and it may not be a hole they can dig themselves out of.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.