Daily Bullets (May 9)

When a Bill becomes a Law

An early voting session saw college football pass an early signing period, something that Gundy has been campaigning for.

In February 2015, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said: “I’ve said for years that we should sign July 1. These guys who want to commit in the spring, if they want to sign, sign them up July 1.

“Then we need to sign again in December and then we can sign in February, and that will eliminate a lot of this and it will also save money. Because the ones that are already signed, you don’t have to get in a car, you don’t have to get in an airplane, you don’t have to spend on a hotel, per diem — all the things that could help the budget of athletic departments. I’d be all for it.” [NewsOK]

Gundy didn’t get his July signing period but he got December 20-22. It’s hard to tell who will take the plunge and sign early or wait until February to sign but as Porter noted, it should help schools like Oklahoma State who are able to lock up players before a late flip.

Not Going Home Alone

The conference realignment fiasco is currently quiet but Robert Allen posits the Pokes don’t need the Sooners to get where they’d need to go.

Now, if Oklahoma were to decide to skip out and accept an offer to be in the SEC or the Pac-12, the two most likely options, could Oklahoma State exist and even wrangle an invite to join another power five conference if the Big 12 imploded?

My answer is yes. Oklahoma State still has 51 NCAA championships, fourth most in Division I history. In the accurate standings Penn State is next at 49. Oklahoma State now even has a national football championship that they can wave.

That is important because all the wrestling, golf, cross country, and baseball championships are nice but in the land of power five it is football that gets your foot in the door and an invitation to join the club. Oklahoma State currently has a football program that is easily a top 20 program in the nation and is very close to being considered a top 10 program. [GoPokes $$$]

I’d agree that football relevance puts Oklahoma State in the conversation and the other national championships do look nice in a press release (and help you fit into the PAC 12 with all of their Olympic championships). What’s bothersome about Oklahoma State’s independent candidacy is the TV sets it doesn’t bring.

Oklahoma City is the 45th largest TV market and Tulsa is the 61st but how much of that can the Cowboys claim over the Sooners, who hypothetically wouldn’t be joining said league with the Cowboys? Gundy/Holder/Boone have built a relevant program that should be competitive just about anywhere but it’s about the money…

Here’s to hoping in the Big 12 doomsday scenario that the Bedlam rivals work collaboratively to find the best home.

Future Homes?

And while we’re talking realignment, Berry Tramel had some good thoughts on Oklahoma’s potential future home that puts a nice button on the conversation.

The Sooners would be willing to leave OSU or even Texas behind for the Big Ten. Not so, I don’t believe, for the SEC or Pac-12. That would require negotiation.

The SEC offers better football and recruiting bounty, plus some geographic concessions with a West Division. The Pac-12 offers more academic prestige and some fiscal sanity. My guess is OU would pick the Pac, but that’s just a guess.

I am not guessing on OU’s desire for the Big 12 to work. The Sooners want the Big 12 to work. They just don’t know if it will. [NewsOK]

So OU’s hopes are 1) Big 12 forever 2) Big Ten 3) Pac 12 with friends 4) S-E-C. OSU could fit into at least a couple of those scenarios but I’d pay for a live audio stream of Bob Stoops at his first SEC media days in Hoover, Alabama.

OSU and NCAA News

Really interesting eligibility change for college football being proposed….Cowboys have the second best quarterback room in the league….The Miami Dolphins learned Vincent Taylor’s secret weapon….Arkansas’ leading rusher is retiring….Bill Snyder is warring for his kiddo to take over….A former Cowboy wrestler hired to coach D-1 wrestling

It’d be tough to find a more productive set of triplets in the NCAA.

You may not be able to find a better group of returning offensive triplets anywhere in college football. #okstate #GoPokes

A post shared by Oklahoma State Football (@cowboy_fb) on May 8, 2017 at 11:23am PDT

Over one third of the all-Big 12 golf team hails from Karsten Creek:

Your 2017 Men's All-#Big12GOLF Team student-athletes ranked within the top 63 in the nation according to Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. ?⛳️ pic.twitter.com/sAbKEWnlJP

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) May 8, 2017

Odds of a mulleted man with a Mike Gundy tattoo in Boone Pickens this fall? He’s gotta make a playoff before that happens, right?

Bama fan at Talladega is rocking a Nick Saban back tat. Amazing. (Via reader email tip). pic.twitter.com/rK59fJWgVp

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 7, 2017

What You Missed on PFB

• Great piece on Mason’s pro prospects
• What will the 2017-2018 basketball rotations look like?
• A few projections have Jawun Evans as a first round pick
• Post-season hopes look pretty well done after Lamar series loss
• Check out the latest recruiting reload
• Spring review of the quarterback position
• A stud corner for 2018 listed OSU in his top schools
• Vincent Taylor got paid by the Dolphins

Other Stuff I’m Reading

You can actually swim in Scrooge McDuck’s money (soon)….The Ringer ranks NBA teams by who should blow up the roster….Porter’s comments on the Players Championship’s importance are solid

Russ for governor. Still skeptical that he’ll leave but he’s thawing the harshest of critics with commercials like this.