How Has Oklahoma State Performed Against the Over/Under in Recent Years?

Oklahoma State had a disappointing 2017. The end.

However, a friend of the blog recently brought these national over/under win total numbers to my attention. They, of course, are what you can wager on at the start of the year in regards to Oklahoma State’s regular season win total.

They go back to 2009, and they’re pretty interesting. You can look at all teams’ numbers right here. Here are Oklahoma State’s.

I think sometimes we sort of forget what Oklahoma State’s national expectations are. Hear me here: I’m not saying 2017 was anything other than a disappointment. That’s what it was. You can’t be favored in all 12 games and be anything other than disappointed with a 9-3 record.

But this is about expectations. Oklahoma State has exceeded the expectations of most people for the last decade in terms of the seasons it has put together. But that’s the national folks, you say. We here in Oklahoma have higher standards! 

OK.

Except that three-fourths of that is inaccurate. According to OKC Dave’s preseason survey, OSU fans expected OSU to win 9.1 games this year, which is exactly what they won. In fact, only twice (2012 and 2014) has OSU wildly underperformed compared to what our expectations were.

Now maybe we purposefully temper these expectations as to soften the inevitable blow late in the year, but it’s difficult for me to reconcile all of these numbers with all of the anger and frustration I’ve seen over the last month of the season in regards to Oklahoma State football.

This year was 100 percent not what I thought it would be. I thought Oklahoma State was good enough to get into the CFB Playoff. I was wrong. Many others were, too. But according to national and even local expectations, OSU continues to meet and exceed what most folks think they can be.

The question now is, “How do you raise the expectation?”