Ranking Mike Gundy’s 15 Oklahoma State Football Teams

I always thought this would be a fun exercise but frankly never really had the time for it. Now? Time is all we got! I sparred a little bit with the other guys on this and I tried to rank Gundy’s 15 squads.

To sort through them I asked this simple question: Would Team X win the majority of 100 games played against the teams below it? It’s an easy exercise in your head but a lot harder when you start to put it to paper. Except for the first one. The first one’s easy. A caveat: You get the team that was on the field for the majority of the games. So in 2015, you get Rudolph, but in 2009 you don’t get Dez.

Let’s go.

1. The 2011 team (12-1, Fiesta Bowl champs): The best OSU team of all time. Would run the 1988 team out of the building don’t @ me.

2. The 2010 team (11-2, Alamo Bowl champs): I struggled with this one, but with the chips down I have to go Weeden-Blackmon-Randle-Hunter (send help!) over the 2008 team and the 2013 team.

3. The 2008 team (9-4, lost Holiday Bowl): All four of OSU’s losses were to top-15 teams. Three to top-three teams. They went at Sammy B’s Sooners for 45 minutes before getting blown out to sea. This team had so many pros and was sort of the apex of the early really good Gundy recruiting years.

4. The 2013 team (10-3, lost Cotton Bowl): This team was probably more disciplined than the 2008 team, but that 2008 had a LOL amount of weapons. The two-three-four spots was really tough for me, and I could be talked into putting them in any order. This 2013 team had probably the best defense in school history. Pros everywhere.

5. The 2017 team (10-3, won Camping World Bowl): The losses were bizarre, but I was at that OU game. It was a war. That was a real “these are two of the 10 best teams in the country” collision. Maybe one of the best nights ever in BPS.

6. The 2016 team (10-3, won Alamo Bowl): You could make the case that this team was better than the 2017 team, but I can’t ignore the Central Michigan debacle, nor can I ignore the absolute pounding they took late in Norman. The opposite of the 2017 game.

7. The 2015 team (10-3, lost Sugar Bowl): I thought this team was pretty overrated given how many close ones it won (not a sign of greatness!) and how soft the schedule was until the end (when it got housed in three straight games). A fun team but not a great one.

8. The 2012 team (8-5, won Heart of Dallas Bowl): Once they settled in with Chelf at QB, they were formidable. Went to war in Norman, should have won. Also should have won (did win?) the Texas game at home.

9. The 2019 team (8-5, lost Texas Bowl): Not sure the record is different with Sanders at the end, but OSU in December 2019 with Sanders is a LOT better than OSU in December 2009 with Zac and no weapons. Similar Bedlam results though.

10. The 2018 team (7-6, won Liberty Bowl): This was definitely Gundy’s weirdest team. It probably would have beaten his 2010 team and lost to his 2007 team.

11. The 2009 team (9-4, lost Cotton Bowl): How did this team play in the Cotton Bowl? How was this team ranked in the top 25 every week of the regular season? They were pretty talented on defense, but without Dez and with a banged-up Zac and very little Kendall Hunter, it was a tough scene.

12. The 2007 team (7-6, won Insight Bowl): Zac’s first full season at QB. OSU lost to Texas by three and Texas A&M by one. A decent team with a freshman Dez that did things early that made me weak.

13. The 2014 team (7-6, won Cactus Bowl): I guess just give it to Tyreek and hope he can outrun the 2005-2006 defenses?

14. The 2006 team (7-6, won Independence Bowl): We want Bama! This was a “they’re going to be problematic in a few years” team that won at Nebraska and should have taken Texas A&M. Paul Thompson passed for 77 yards in Bedlam, and OU won.

15. The 2005 team (4-7): The only time in the last 18 seasons OSU hasn’t gone to a bowl game. OSU’s second-leading receiver on that team was Ricky Price, who had 16 catches for 238 yards. That’s an above-average Tylan Wallace game these days. Al Pena threw for 1,102 yards that year. Bobby Reid threw for 602. Not even 2,000 yards from your top two QBs. Astonishing.