Be Mad About Bedlam, Sure, but Don’t Miss the View

One of my biggest frustrations with the internet (and to a lesser degree, society at large) is our inability to hold two truths in our minds at the same time. Two truths that seemingly contradict but in reality do not.

Here are two truths about Oklahoma State football.

1. Mike Gundy has coached one of the 10 winningest Power 5 programs since 2010
2. Mike Gundy has not been good against Oklahoma, even by OSU standards

Those are inarguable truths. Factually true. If you argue with either one, you’re arguing against logic.

Twitter folks have been coming at us all week about why Gundy should be let go so OSU can move on to the next heroic figure (the minority) and how I need to stop waving OSU’s 10-year record in the faces of everyone online after every Bedlam defeat (more reasonable folks).

The latter criticism is fair. I’m certainly not above criticism, nor do I hit all the notes I’m trying to hit. But I do the W-waving thing mostly as a reminder that not only is Gundy never ever going anywhere, but this OU problem that Oklahoma State has must be solved by him and him alone over the next 5-8 years.

There is no contingency plan.

https://twitter.com/BackupReferee/status/928737436267511808

We have gone over why OU is better than Oklahoma State and how unfortunate it is that one of the handful of programs that has been significantly better than OSU over the last decade also resides in the same state. It sucks. We all hate it.

Carson and I talked on the podcast on Thursday about whether the last eight years of OSU football have been a disappointment. That’s a tough question for me. We both agreed that they have been, by a sliver, a little disappointing.

I think the part that people miss, though, is how much fun the last eight years have been, as well. And all of this depends on your perspective. Do you follow college sports so you can gloat about conference and national titles, or do you follow it because it’s fun as hell to follow and meaningful games in October and November are the absolute best to enjoy with your friends? Or some mixture of the two?

Because for me, all you can ask as a fan — and this is where some of us disagree — is that your team get to the championship game of its conference. Anything can happen in singular games. Anything can happen in 60 minutes. Maybe some of you have a different expectation, but that’s mine. Get to the end, see what happens.

Since 2011, Oklahoma State has done that as much as any team in the country. Here are the teams that have played their final conference game where, if they won, they could call themselves conference champions (or in the Big 12’s case, co-champions).

So … that is a list. The criticism for Gundy from me is in the specific way he coached three of those title games (2013, 2015 and 2016). Nothing else. You’re playing for the same number of conference championships as OU, Wisconsin and Alabama and more than USC and Ohio State combined. How am I supposed to criticize that? That’s not grading-on-the-mid-90s-OSU-curve good. It’s just nationally impressive.

And yes, the Bedlam-specific criticism in those three years is more than warranted. Still, there are 11 other games that matter (eight within the conference), and OSU has won most of those in the last decade.

“As much as games like this hurt, they hurt because you put yourself into a position where games matter,” Gundy said last Saturday after moving to 2-11 against OU.

All of this begs the question, though, of whether you would rather play for two titles and win both (i.e. Baylor) or play for four and only win one. I think I’d take the latter because they make for more enjoyable entire seasons, but I understand why somebody would pick the former. And I think that’s where the disconnect is found.

It’s an age old question, too. Are you underachieving because you didn’t close or are you overachieving because you played for as many conference titles as the best team in college football despite having far inferior recruits. That’s an unanswerable question, which is why this blog now pays nine different people for their work.

Gundy needs to be better against OU — although I would argue that if Gilbert holds on to the ball, OSU is 2-2 in Big 12 title games and none of this is a conversation — and Novembers have never been more meaningful in Oklahoma State history. Both are true. And the fun for me (for us?) is figuring out how to solve the former to propel the latter. If it makes you #madonline or want to give up your season tickets then nothing I say is going to help you anyway.

And that’s the rub for me, I guess. When fans “demand” that Oklahoma State be better or say things like “Gundy’s performance is unacceptable,” I mean, what exactly are you demanding or deeming unacceptable? Are you going to give Mike Holder $15 million to pay his buyout and then find a new coach that would be as good or better? Are you suggesting that we turn this into a democracy and vote on Twitter who the next coaches should be in Stillwater?

Gundy has received plenty of criticism (from this site and other outlets) for the way he’s coached those Bedlam games — mostly 2013, 2015 and 2016. I’m not sure what else we can do beyond that? Send him punt return depth charts and hope he uses them? Draw up trick plays and email them to a graduate assistant?

The outrage is fine. Be mad at me. Be mad at our site for pumping sunshine. Be mad at Mike Yurcich (I guess for most of you it’s more like stay mad at Mike Yurcich). But my worry is that in doing so, people are going to miss out on what has been (and portends to be) one of the great stretches of Oklahoma State football ever. When we look back in 50 years on the history of the program, maybe this was still the wilderness. But … maybe this was it. Playing for four Big 12 titles in six years and possibly five in seven with a few breaks over the final three weeks this year.

The caveat in all of this, of course, is OSU not even making the Big 12 title game this year. That would indeed be a disappointment. Oklahoma State will end the year as one of the handful of teams favored in every game it plays in 2017. Going 10-2 or worse and not making it to Arlington would not be great. But that hasn’t been decided yet, and (much) crazier things have happened than Kenny Hill losing two straight road games.

Do we want OSU to be better? Yes. Does Mike Gundy want OSU to be better? Of course. Should all fans everywhere always want their teams to be better? Yes, this is why this sports subculture exists within the country and the world. That’s the fun of the whole silly show.

But I encourage you to not miss the forest for the trees.

Because damn, it’s been a pretty spectacular view.