Mike Gundy, OSU’s Turnaround Should Silence Any Doubters He Had Left

What a difference a month can make. Four weeks ago Oklahoma State was off to a 1-3 Big 12 start after back-to-back losses to Texas Tech (ouch) and Baylor. Questions arose about Mike Gundy and his control over a program that appeared, frankly, a little out of control.

That program, which he built to be synonymous with consistency, had been anything but dating back over two-plus years. Head-scratching penalties, turnovers, and sometimes simply not showing up had become frustrations that were all too familiar for the fanbase. OSU and Mike Gundy’s benefit of the doubt tank was running empty.

The 2018 Cowboys were as fickle as they come with inexcusable performances against Kansas State, Baylor and TCU that were only further magnified by big wins over Texas, West Virginia and a near all-timer in Bedlam.

So when the 2019 Cowboys dropped a couple of games in October, due in large part to self-inflicted wounds, the question was fair. Did he really have this thing under control?

Don’t worry.

Just a couple of days after his most recent loss — which is now over a month old — Gundy hit us with an AaronRodgersRELAX.GIF

“The youth on this team right now,” Gundy said, “the development, the classes that we have redshirted, the players we have, the overall attitude, there’s nothing to worry about.

“… I have been cornered before, but I don’t feel that way now. I’m good. I’m excited. I like the potential. I like the youth. I like the direction we’re going. I see where we’re at. I see what we’re doing.”

That direction they were headed in has now taken the Cowboys on a four-game winning streak and sets up a Senior night Bedlam matchup with a nine-win regular season up for grabs.

Oklahoma State had to fix its turnover issues. It has. A laughable and near historic turnover margin was flipped, like a switch, almost overnight. The Cowboys were -9 in turnover margin after Baylor. They’ve gone +8 since and haven’t lost an individual TO battle.

OSU lost one of the best wide receivers to ever come through Stillwater in Tylan Wallace eight games into the season. Then it lost its starting QB who was just turning the corner in terms of fixing his own turnover issues and in his development as a signal caller. OSU had to adjust its gameplan, and it has. The Cowboys might have morphed into 1982 Nebraska. Fortunately, Chuba Hubbard is up to the challenge of playing Mike Rozier.

And Gundy heaved much of the credit for this successful stretch atop his defense that just held consecutive Big 12 opponents to 13 or less for the first time since 2013.

“These are like real games now, 20-13,” said Gundy with hearts in his eyes on Saturday. “It’s like football used to be. People are huddling up. They played with a little turbo. We played with more turbo today than we have in a month. These are almost like real football games.”

We joke around about Gundy’s Big Ten fandom, but the way he’s been able to adjust and navigate a rough conference start, losing an absolute star in Tylan Wallace and his QB1 and captained OSU to this point has been masterful. And it shows why big-time coaches get big-time paychecks.

Back during that press conference in October, Gundy said, “The program is on as good a ground as it’s ever been on here. We just gotta correct a few mistakes. That’s just life. It’s kinda the way it is.”

It is and they did.

This upcoming Bedlam is gonna Bedlam just like any other Bedlam. We’ll talk more this week about what a win next Saturday would mean for Mike Gundy’s legacy, but this 2019 turnaround has been an impressive feat on its own. And it’s put a little more trust back in the tank.