Oklahoma State to Face New Big 12 Titan in No. 14 BYU
With Texas and Oklahoma's respective moves to the Southeastern Conference, Oklahoma State was poised to make a run at the Big 12 title this season.
One of a few teams besides the Longhorns and Sooners to have won the conference in the past decade, Mike Gundy and co., armed with a talented squad of experienced players, were expected to be a team in the hunt for the crown, if not a shoo-in.
The reality, however, has been vastly different.
Through three Big 12 games this season, the Cowboys are winless, losing to Utah, Kansas State and West Virginia in consecutive weeks.
The team struggled offensively against the Utes on its home turf, failing to put points on the scoreboard on its biggest drive, but it still cut the final lead to just three. The losses to the Wildcats and Mountaineers, however, were extremely uncharacteristic for a Gundy-led squad, combining to lose the two contests by a whopping 46 points.
And things aren’t looking to get better just yet.
Now 3-3, the Cowboys enter a much-needed bye week, but come out of it to face who is potentially the best team in the Big 12 in No. 14 BYU. So far, the Cougars are undefeated, having beat KSU by 29 points, as well as No. 25 SMU narrowly.
In what could be their toughest test this season and with the team reeling, many are scheduling a loss for the Cowboys. But a competitive game against a top-ranked team could be just what Gundy’s squad needs to catapult into the back half of the season.
If OSU can manage to find a win next Saturday, it faces a run of easier opponents to end the season. At this point, clinching a bowl game and ending the season on a higher note is likely the best case scenario for the Cowboys.
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Derek is co-founder of All Pokes and publisher for Draft Digest and Inside The Thunder for Fan Nation, powered by Sports Illustrated. He has been a sports writer in the Oklahoma market for five years now covering a variety of sports over the course of his career.