Editor’s Choice: Our Favorite Posts in 2019

With 2019 coming to an end, the editors here at PFB — Kyles (Porter, Cox and Boone) as well as Marshall Scott — thought it would be fun to look back on a few of our favorite pieces.

We picked some from each other and some of our own to highlight a wild, and crazy fun year in OSU athletics. Hope you enjoy looking back on a few of these along with us!

Kyle Boone

1. Magic Man (A.J. Green): Our first real feature story, and on a really good player. I think the arc of the story told really explains what college athletes have to endure and overcome.

2. Gundy’s OU Problem: Why OSU continues to fall flat in Bedlam, and why it will continue to do so barring sweeping changes. Not a hit job, but a critical look at why OU is distancing itself from OSU as the class of the conference.

3. OSU’s Gundy Problem: Unique look at Mike Gundy’s trajectory as OSU’s coach, OSU’s trajectory as a program, and why both … kinda just are what they are for the foreseeable future.

4. Ten Thoughts on Cade: Expanded thoughts on what the biggest sports commitment in OSU history (?) means for the program, for Boynton, for next season ….

5. How Chris Carson Became Great: The pinnacle of blogging. This was essentially a feature story based on the aggregation of other stories, told through a different lens and with our own twist. Plus, Chris Carson’s story from seventh-rounder to stardom remains fascinating.

Kyle Porter

Most of the stuff I love is little and nuanced — I’ll holler in Slack about how Kyle Cox nailed a NFL note or Marshall highlighted the perfect Gundy quote or whatever. Writing for a site like this is an art (see Boone’s note on Chris Carson above), and these guys have gotten really good at it.

1. Q&A With Mike Holder: He provides the best content, and I’d listen to him talk about pretty much anything. Seth got some great stuff out of him in that Q&A.

2. Fiesta Bowl Rewatchables: I love it when we do these, and we should definitely do more this summer.

3. Boone Pickens, Invisible Agent of Change and Chu, Chu: Two places where I emptied the tank.

4. Bryce Picks KU: Obviously not the greatest topic here, but a sign of how much we’ve improved when it comes to reporting. Kyle B. was all over the Bryce stuff.

5. OSU’s Embarrassment of Riches at WR: Again, just an example of a normal, straightforward post, but Kyle Cox makes it interesting by tossing in some quotes, GIFs and analysis and stirring the stew to perfection.

Marshall Scott

1. His Heart Was In Stillwater: Not to toot my own horn too much here, but PFB was in on Isaac Likekele before it was cool. I wrote this in March ahead of the Big 12 Tournament, and it was a lot of fun speaking with people close to Ice about what makes him tick.

2. 10 Great Quotes from T. Boone Pickens: Boone (Kyle) did a great job with this, getting Boone (Pickens) quotes on a lot of different topics, OSU-related, life-related and flexing on Drake, it was all great.

3. Let’s Rank These 36 Desmond Mason Dunks from His Days at OSU: This is stuff you can’t get anywhere else. Desmond Mason tweeted out a video, and Porter broke it down dunk by dunk.

4. Chuba Hubbard Got a Head Start as RB1 and How That Can Help OSU in 2019: Cox wrote this in May, and in hindsight it looks even better than it did when it came out.

5. Film Look: Breaking Down OSU 2020 Recruit Shane Illingworth: Dustin Ragusa does great work that goes far beyond him breaking down Xs and Os (which he also does a great job at). Tracking down random high school game film from around the country is no easy task, but he does an awesome job.

Kyle Cox

1. Gen Z Punk Watches Bedlam 1988:  I remember commenting to Marshall that this was the type of post he could only write at PFB, and that he did a hell of a job with it. I love nostalgic pieces and seeing something through the eyes of someone for the first time. He nailed both in a way that was fun and engaging.

2. A Look at QB Evaluation after Week 1: Steven Mandeville does an outstanding job getting our days started off the right way with Daily Bullets every morning. But every once in a while he treats us with a topical post. There was no bigger story early this season than OSU’s quarterback competition and he tackled it well. Great post from Steven sharing adding some smart, level-headed perspective on a topic that got people plenty off-center.

3. Current Cowboys Remember the Ten: Another great one from Marsh about some young men and a young coach connecting with something that has been special to people around Oklahoma State a long time before they came around.

4. Boone on Cade Cunningham’s Impact at OSU: One the biggest commitments ever to Oklahoma State summarized expertly by one of the best to ever cover commitments to Oklahoma State.

5. Mike Gundy Handled This QB Competition Correctly: As much guff as we give the man with the mullet about quarterback coaching, he handled this year’s competition as well as he could — at least from August on. Kyle Porter does a great job of positing the upside and benefit of riding with Spencer, a decision which may just pay off for Gundy come next fall.