State of the Union: Oklahoma State

February 5, 2007 by Steve Hanway

The eleventh in a twelve-part series on the state of the Big 12.

Despite the painful loss in Stillwater, I view the rise of Oklahoma State football as a positive development for Nebraska. Texas and Oklahoma have such a stranglehold on recruiting in the South that any team that can make noise in their division can help water down the two juggernauts. The $200-plus million from Boone Pickens has put a lot of life into a program that has been all but absent from contention in the conference for as long as I can remember.

The return of Bobby Reid will no doubt keep the potent Cowboy offense on track. Graduations on the defensive line might make it a lot tougher for the Cowboys to get pressure up front, which was a major factor in their win over Nebraska. They also won't have the benefit of a recent bye as they did when they faced a weary Husker team in 2006. Still, graduations on defense at Nebraska could mean that it will be a "name the score" type contest.

The Cowboys will have to play very well to avoid losing five games. They play at Georgia, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and A&M. They also face Texas at home along with Kansas State, Texas Tech, and Kansas. But with team "owner" Pickens thought to be high on head coach Mike Gundy, it probably won't matter how things play out in 2007. You'd imagine Gundy might have at least two or three more years to get things on track - and maybe longer.

If the Cowboys really wish to contend in the Big 12, they'll need to further improve their recruiting to catch up with Oklahoma, and Texas. That's hard to do in the middle of nowhere - i.e. Stillwater. But for now, the Cowboys can be happy with the progress they've made and look to the future with hope.

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