Cowboys Unranked But Control Own Destiny

    As the 2014-2015 season gets under way for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, they find themselves just outside of the Top 25 for the first time in the last couple years. According to national and local media, the Cowboys will be the 7th best team in the Big 12 out of the 10 teams that the conference has. These expectations during the “rebuilding process” OSU will have to deal with this season might as well be a sham, though. To be honest, no one really knows what this year will end up looking like for Oklahoma State, and the predictions come in ranges from people thinking they will go 5-7 to those who think they might be able to pull of a 10-2 record. These rocky and inconsistent messages laid out by the media has OSU fans just as confused as the rest of us. Mike Gundy has turned into a recluse when it comes to talking to the media, and with no spring game or coaches being allowed to talk to the press on the Cowboy’s own media day, the writing is on the wall that Gundy is unhappy with his job in Stillwater, and will most likely leave the program if another job opportunity reveals itself to the head coach of this team for the last 10 seasons. With that notion coming from sources deep inside the program, it isn’t a fallacy or fantasy that it just might happen sooner than later, but with  no signs of him saying so, himself, it might as well just be an allegation. No players have come forth with their take on it, and that’s because the local media surrounding the story knows that if it asks such questions, that the answers will be nothing more than the generic, “We have no connotation that Mike is leaving,” or “Coach has said nothing about leaving this fantastic program”. So with that out of the way, what can we really expect from this year’s Oklahoma State football team?
    What to expect, as stated previously, is a complete guess. With Ryan Simmons being the only returning linebacker for the Cowboys, and a young defensive back unit lead by Kansas transfer, Tyler Patmon, the Cowboys defense will be a big question mark. From what has been said, the defense looks as if it may be able to keep up the excellent work that defensive coordinator, Glenn Spencer, began to create a couple years ago, and that is huge. According to most, the offensive side of the ball maybe the one thing people just don’t know what to expect from. Coach Gundy has publicly said that J.W. Walsh, a returning quarterback that played multiple times last year behind, and then in front of, former QB, Clint Chelf, isn’t the only one that might get some snaps in the season opener against No. 1, Florida State. Daxx Garman, a walk-on junior from Southlake, Texas, could be expected to take, “10 to 12 snaps” according to Gundy. With this being said, most Oklahoma State fans are hoping those snaps will be mop-up duty in a blowout win agains the powerful Seminoles, but that would be very wishful thinking. In all honesty, Gundy might be fearing that the Pokes will be blown out by Florida State and is telling us that is who we will see behind center after Walsh and company have been decimated. Other than Garman, freshman QB, Mason Rudolph, might just as well be expected to take a few snaps this season. With this 3-man quarterback controversy that seems to mirror the 2011-2012 season where Clint Chelf, J.W. Walsh, and Wes Lunt were interchangeable at the position throughout the year. With the most important position on the field being this so-called, “love triangle” of supposed talent, could OSU fans be looking at an 8-4 season like that of 2011-2012?
     With all their home games being against the lesser teams in the conference, the road woes that the Cowboys have had in the past, may come to haunt them again this year. They travel down to Waco to play Baylor, up to Manhattan to play Kansas State, and down to Norman to face the Sooners. All of those games could very well be losses for the Cowboys. Throw in an expected loss against last year’s Heisman winner, Jamies Winston, and the Florida State Seminoles, you’ve already got 4 losses. But even with that being said, Texas Tech, Texas, and TCU could all end up in losses for the Cowboys, as well. So could OSU possibly end up 5-7? The answer is yes.
   
Although there is a bleak possibility that the Pokes could go 5-7, this latter statement will reflect the opposite. If OSU wins all their home games, beats an offensively-challenged TCU team away from Stillwater, and pulls some rabbits out of their hats against Kansas State and OU, then you’ve got a completely different scenario. With those predictions, the Pokes would finish at 10-2, and would most likely be challenging the Baylor Bears for the Big 12 title and a possible spot in a prestigious bowl game. If the Cowboys beat up on the Bears like they did in Stillwater last year, you’ve then got an 11-1 season that no one saw coming, and might find themselves being in the Football Final Four. Imagine that. These statements only prove one thing, and one thing alone: The Oklahoma State Cowboys control their own destiny. Cliche’, we know, but with the acquisitions that the Pokes have made in the offseason, including Garden State transfer, Tyreke Hill, who is an expected star player for OSU, and returning talent that will be unquestioned, OSU will be looked at as being nothing less than competitive.
    These are just some things to reflect on and speculate as this season grows closer and closer with every passing second, and you can bet your bottom dollar that OSU has the mentality that they can be great. All that being presented to the college football jury, the verdict is still yet to come for this team, and that’s enough to make the mind wonder about all the various possibilities. Just another wrench in between the gears of the great college football analysts and enthusiasts. Let the play of this team reveal the true potential of themselves as the season unravels, and let the rest…be the past.