Daily Bullets (June 13): OSU a Top-11 Football Program?

Enjoy the U.S. Open today – we’ve got Eckroat, Wolff, and Hovland to cheer for along with the usuals.

Bullets Rundown

• OSU is (nearly) a top-ten program by wins
• Cowboys look like a top 25 mainstay
• Big football recruiting weekend on the horizon

OSU Bullets

• It surprised me how close OSU was to being the tenth-winningest college football program over the last decade.

Had (J.W.) Walsh not fumbled and Oklahoma State scored and won the game, a few ifs there, but that’s how close it is for top 100 college football programs of the last decade. Reverse that game and Oklahoma State is 10th at 95-35 with a .730 percentage and Florida State is 11th at 96-37 with a .721 percentage. [GoPokes]

I know there’s a strong current of “championships or burn it down!” but the fact that Mike Gundy has made OSU this nationally competitive over the last decade is incredible.

• In the throes of the offseason, obscure top 25’s and rankings reign supreme. In this version, college football teams are ranked based on their projections over the next three years – the Pokes came in at No. 24.

Mike Gundy has been here before, emerging from a below-average season (7-6) with questions at quarterback, on defense and elsewhere. After back-to-back 7-6 campaigns in 2006 and 2007, Oklahoma State went 41-11 over the next four years. The Pokes then followed a 7-6 season in 2014 with three consecutive 10-win campaigns. Though the past doesn’t guarantee a solid future, Gundy has earned the benefit of the doubt. [ESPN $$$]

This narrative is getting worn out but it’s a lot of fun that a pattern of busting out of the seven-win seasons has emerged.

• There’s going to be a full house in Stillwater this weekend as recruits come in for camps – a big recruiting weekend is on the horizon.

(Quarterback commit Shane) Illingworth has been to Stillwater, but this time he will throw the ball in competitive situations with campers in The Show. That will be fun to see and then Illingworth will take his official visit and he could have a big say in how successful the visit weekend goes. Quarterbacks have always been effective in helping the recruiting effort. [GoPokes]

The quarterback, often a team leader by nature of the position, tends to be a defacto leader in a recruiting class. Illingworth being on campus could pay dividends.

• Neat story here about incoming basketball freshman Avery Anderson:

• Gosh, this guy is likable. You’ve got the world by the tail and able to not take yourself too seriously. Hovland will be fun to cheer for as a pro.

So lifelike! #okstate #golfschool pic.twitter.com/7KGCh00fTD

— Oklahoma State Golf (@OSUCowboyGolf) June 12, 2019

• Probably one of the best things about athletics is how it gives folks an opportunity to do what they’re passionate about.

Same number, new team ? #relentless https://t.co/XkTjMZYmK7 pic.twitter.com/x6zblRjjVT

— Samantha Show (@SamanthaShow03) June 13, 2019

Non-OSU Bullets

• What Kevin Durant’s injury means to the Warriors and the NBA

• This faith-based read faithfully detailed the process of growth – encouraging to understand we’re all in process

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