There’s just something about playing underdog that Mike Gundy seems to love, no matter how much he wins. Oklahoma State was picked seventh in last season’s Big 12 preseason poll. Months later, the Pokes upset Oklahoma in the final Bedlam and played for a Big 12 championship. The Cowboys have reached double-digit wins eight times under Gundy’s watch. Half came after starting the year unranked in the preseason AP Top 25.
But in 2024, the lack of attention is head-scratching. Oklahoma State has the seventh-best odds to win the Big 12 championship, behind teams like Iowa State and Texas Tech. The Cowboys are tied with UCF, which went 6-7 during a frustrating first season as a power conference team. Ironically, the only Knights win against a legacy Power Five team came against OSU.
Granted, Oklahoma State was by no means dominant during its run to the Big 12 title game. Bizarre losses to UCF and South Alabama came by a combined 78-10. The Cowboys needed double overtime to survive a late charge from BYU. But still, Oklahoma State steadily held its ground. Heading into 2024, last season feels far more like an early arrival than a peak.
For one, running back Ollie Gordon II is back after a Doak Walker Award-winning campaign. Gordon rushed for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns during a breakout sophomore season and will enter the 2024 season as the top returning rusher in the sport by a wide margin. 247Sports ranks his offensive line No. 1 in the nation, ahead of behemoths at LSU and Georgia. The unit boasts five starters, including tackles Dalton Cooper and Jake Springfield who combine for 89 starts.
Overall, Oklahoma State ranks No. 3 in returning production nationally per ESPN, trailing only Iowa State and Stanford. An absurd 85% of…
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